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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 10-22.6 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.6)
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7 | Sec. 10-22.6. Suspension or expulsion of pupils; school | ||||||
8 | searches.
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9 | (a) To expel pupils guilty of gross disobedience or | ||||||
10 | misconduct, including gross disobedience or misconduct | ||||||
11 | perpetuated by electronic means, and
no action shall lie | ||||||
12 | against them for such expulsion. Expulsion shall
take place | ||||||
13 | only after the parents have been requested to appear at a
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14 | meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by | ||||||
15 | it, to
discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be | ||||||
16 | made by registered
or certified mail and shall state the time, | ||||||
17 | place and purpose of the
meeting. The board, or a hearing | ||||||
18 | officer appointed by it, at such
meeting shall state the | ||||||
19 | reasons for dismissal and the date on which the
expulsion is to | ||||||
20 | become effective. If a hearing officer is appointed by
the | ||||||
21 | board he shall report to the board a written summary of the | ||||||
22 | evidence
heard at the meeting and the board may take such | ||||||
23 | action thereon as it
finds appropriate.
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1 | (b) To suspend or by regulation to authorize the | ||||||
2 | superintendent of
the district or the principal, assistant | ||||||
3 | principal, or dean of students
of any school to suspend pupils | ||||||
4 | guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct, or
to suspend | ||||||
5 | pupils guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct on the school | ||||||
6 | bus
from riding the school bus, and no action
shall lie against | ||||||
7 | them for such suspension. The board may by regulation
authorize | ||||||
8 | the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
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9 | principal, or dean of students of any
school to suspend pupils | ||||||
10 | guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed
10 school days. | ||||||
11 | If a pupil is suspended due to gross disobedience or misconduct
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12 | on a school bus, the board may suspend the pupil in excess of | ||||||
13 | 10
school
days for safety reasons. Any suspension shall be | ||||||
14 | reported immediately to the
parents or guardian of such pupil | ||||||
15 | along with a full statement of the
reasons for such suspension | ||||||
16 | and a notice of their right to a review, a
copy of which shall | ||||||
17 | be given to the school board. Upon request of the
parents or | ||||||
18 | guardian the school board or a hearing officer appointed by
it | ||||||
19 | shall review such action of the superintendent or principal, | ||||||
20 | assistant
principal, or dean of students. At such
review the | ||||||
21 | parents or guardian of the pupil may appear and discuss the
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22 | suspension with the board or its hearing officer. If a hearing | ||||||
23 | officer
is appointed by the board he shall report to the board | ||||||
24 | a written summary
of the evidence heard at the meeting. After | ||||||
25 | its hearing or upon receipt
of the written report of its | ||||||
26 | hearing officer, the board may take such
action as it finds |
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1 | appropriate.
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2 | (c) The Department of Human Services
shall be invited to | ||||||
3 | send a representative to consult with the board at
such meeting | ||||||
4 | whenever there is evidence that mental illness may be the
cause | ||||||
5 | for expulsion or suspension.
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6 | (d) The board may expel a student for a definite period of | ||||||
7 | time not to
exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case by | ||||||
8 | case basis.
A student who
is determined to have brought a | ||||||
9 | weapon to school, any school-sponsored activity
or event, or
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10 | any activity or event which bears a reasonable relationship to | ||||||
11 | school shall
be expelled for a period of not less than
one | ||||||
12 | year, except that the expulsion period may be modified by the
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13 | superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may be | ||||||
14 | modified by
the board
on a case by case basis. For the purpose | ||||||
15 | of this Section, the term "weapon"
means (1)
possession,
use, | ||||||
16 | control, or transfer of any gun, rifle, shotgun, weapon as
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17 | defined by Section 921 of Title 18, United States Code, firearm | ||||||
18 | as
defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification | ||||||
19 | Act, or use of
a weapon as defined in Section 24-1 of the | ||||||
20 | Criminal Code, (2) any other
object if used or attempted to be | ||||||
21 | used to cause bodily harm, including but not
limited to, | ||||||
22 | knives, brass knuckles,
or
billy clubs, or (3) "look alikes" of | ||||||
23 | any weapon as defined in this
Section. Expulsion
or suspension
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24 | shall be construed in a
manner consistent with the Federal | ||||||
25 | Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. A student who is | ||||||
26 | subject to suspension or expulsion as provided in this
Section |
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1 | may be eligible for a transfer to an alternative school program | ||||||
2 | in
accordance with Article 13A of the School Code. The | ||||||
3 | provisions of this
subsection (d) apply in all school | ||||||
4 | districts,
including special charter districts and districts | ||||||
5 | organized under Article 34.
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6 | (d-5) The board may suspend or by regulation
authorize the | ||||||
7 | superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
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8 | principal, or dean of students of any
school to suspend a | ||||||
9 | student for a period not to exceed
10 school days or may expel | ||||||
10 | a student for a definite period of time not to
exceed 2 | ||||||
11 | calendar years, as determined on a case by case basis, if (i) | ||||||
12 | that student has been determined to have made an explicit | ||||||
13 | threat on an Internet web site against a school employee, a | ||||||
14 | student, or any school-related personnel, (ii) the Internet web | ||||||
15 | site through which the threat was made is a site that was | ||||||
16 | accessible within the school at the time the threat was made or | ||||||
17 | was available to third parties who worked or studied within the | ||||||
18 | school grounds at the time the threat was made, and (iii) the | ||||||
19 | threat could be reasonably interpreted as threatening to the | ||||||
20 | safety and security of the threatened individual because of his | ||||||
21 | or her duties or employment status or status as a student | ||||||
22 | inside the school. The provisions of this
subsection (d-5) | ||||||
23 | apply in all school districts,
including special charter | ||||||
24 | districts and districts organized under Article 34.
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25 | (e) To maintain order and security in the schools, school | ||||||
26 | authorities may
inspect and search places and areas such as |
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1 | lockers, desks, parking lots, and
other school property and | ||||||
2 | equipment owned or controlled by the school, as well
as | ||||||
3 | personal effects left in those places and areas by students, | ||||||
4 | without notice
to or the consent of the student, and without a | ||||||
5 | search warrant. As a matter of
public policy, the General | ||||||
6 | Assembly finds that students have no reasonable
expectation of | ||||||
7 | privacy in these places and areas or in their personal effects
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8 | left in these places and areas. School authorities may request | ||||||
9 | the assistance
of law enforcement officials for the purpose of | ||||||
10 | conducting inspections and
searches of lockers, desks, parking | ||||||
11 | lots, and other school property and
equipment owned or | ||||||
12 | controlled by the school for illegal drugs, weapons, or
other
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13 | illegal or dangerous substances or materials, including | ||||||
14 | searches conducted
through the use of specially trained dogs. | ||||||
15 | If a search conducted in accordance
with this Section produces | ||||||
16 | evidence that the student has violated or is
violating either | ||||||
17 | the law, local ordinance, or the school's policies or rules,
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18 | such evidence may be seized by school authorities, and | ||||||
19 | disciplinary action may
be taken. School authorities may also | ||||||
20 | turn over such evidence to law
enforcement authorities. The | ||||||
21 | provisions of this subsection (e) apply in all
school | ||||||
22 | districts, including special charter districts and districts | ||||||
23 | organized
under Article 34.
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24 | (f) Suspension or expulsion may include suspension or | ||||||
25 | expulsion from
school and all school activities and a | ||||||
26 | prohibition from being present on school
grounds.
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1 | (g) A school district may adopt a policy providing that if | ||||||
2 | a student
is suspended or expelled for any reason from any | ||||||
3 | public or private school
in this or any other state, the | ||||||
4 | student must complete the entire term of
the suspension or | ||||||
5 | expulsion before being admitted into the school
district. This | ||||||
6 | policy may allow placement of the student in an alternative
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7 | school program established under Article 13A of this Code, if | ||||||
8 | available, for
the
remainder of the suspension or expulsion. | ||||||
9 | This subsection (g) applies to
all school districts, including | ||||||
10 | special charter districts and districts
organized under | ||||||
11 | Article 34 of this Code.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 92-64, eff. 7-12-01.)
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