HB2291eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB2291 Engrossed LRB096 08905 NHT 19040 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 10-17a and by adding Sections 10-20.46 and 34-18.37 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-17a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)

Sec. 10-17a. Better schools accountability.

(1) Policy and Purpose. It shall be the policy of the State of Illinois that each school district in this State, including special charter districts and districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, shall submit to parents, taxpayers of such district, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Education a school report card assessing the performance of its schools and students. The report card shall be an index of school performance measured against statewide and local standards and will provide information to make prior year comparisons and to set future year targets through the school improvement plan.

(2) Reporting Requirements. Each school district shall prepare a report card in accordance with the guidelines set forth in this Section which describes the performance of its students by school attendance centers and by district and the district's financial resources and use of financial resources. Such report card shall be presented at a regular school board meeting subject to applicable notice requirements, posted on the school district's Internet web site, if the district maintains an Internet web site, made available to a newspaper of general circulation serving the district, and, upon request, sent home to a parent (unless the district does not maintain an Internet web site, in which case the report card shall be sent home to parents without request). If the district posts the report card on its Internet web site, the district shall send a written notice home to parents stating (i) that the report card is available on the web site, (ii) the address of the web site, (iii) that a printed copy of the report card will be sent to parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone number that parents may call to request a printed copy of the report card. In addition, each school district shall submit the completed report card to the office of the district's Regional Superintendent which shall make copies available to any individuals requesting them.

The report card shall be completed and disseminated prior to October 31 in each school year. The report card shall contain, but not be limited to, actual local school attendance center, school district and statewide data indicating the present performance of the school, the State norms and the areas for planned improvement for the school and school district.

(3) (a) The report card shall include the following applicable indicators of attendance center, district, and statewide student performance: percent of students who exceed, meet, or do not meet standards established by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25a; composite and subtest means on nationally normed achievement tests for college bound students; student attendance rates; chronic truancy rate; dropout rate; graduation rate; and student mobility, turnover shown as a percent of transfers out and a percent of transfers in.

(b) The report card shall include the following descriptions for the school, district, and State: average class size; amount of time per day devoted to mathematics, science, English and social science at primary, middle and junior high school grade levels; number of students taking the Prairie State Achievement Examination under subsection (c) of Section 2-3.64, the number of those students who received a score of excellent, and the average score by school of students taking the examination; pupil-teacher ratio; pupil-administrator ratio; operating expenditure per pupil; district expenditure by fund; average administrator salary; and average teacher salary; beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the number and percentage of students assessed at each grade level under Section 10-20.46 or 34-18.37 of this Code and the percentage of students by gender in each grade level that showed scores in the range deemed "healthy" on each of the fitness assessments; and the average number of minutes per week of physical education for each grade level. The report card shall also specify the amount of money that the district receives from all sources, including without limitation subcategories specifying the amount from local property taxes, the amount from general State aid, the amount from other State funding, and the amount from other income.

(c) The report card shall include applicable indicators of parental involvement in each attendance center. The parental involvement component of the report card shall include the percentage of students whose parents or guardians have had one or more personal contacts with the students' teachers during the school year concerning the students' education, and such other information, commentary, and suggestions as the school district desires. For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal contact" includes, but is not limited to, parent-teacher conferences, parental visits to school, school visits to home, telephone conversations, and written correspondence. The parental involvement component shall not single out or identify individual students, parents, or guardians by name.

(d) The report card form shall be prepared by the State Board of Education and provided to school districts by the most efficient, economic, and appropriate means.

(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.46 new)

Sec. 10-20.46. Physical fitness; assessment.

(a) Subject to appropriation, each school board shall require an annual assessment of the physical fitness levels of all students in grades 5, 7, and 9, which shall be referred to as FITNESSGRAM and shall be reported on the State Board of Education's Internet website until the 2012-2013 school year and on the school district's school report card beginning with the 2012-2013 school year under Section 10-17a of this Code. Assessment data must be reported to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall collect the data and assist school districts in reporting their data on the school report card.

(b) The specific physical fitness assessment tool to be used by a school district must be a standardized tool designated by the State Board of Education. All of the assessments must be based on criterion-referenced standards. The individual assessments shall include the following health-related physical fitness assessments:

(1) the Pacer test for cardio-respiratory endurance;

(2) the push-up test for upper body strength and endurance;

(3) the curl-up test for abdominal strength and endurance; and

(4) the Backsaver sit and reach test for lower back and leg flexibility.

(c) School districts shall report their raw physical fitness assessment data electronically to a central collection point designated by the State Board of Education by April 1st of each school year. The State Board shall then compile the results, including statewide averages, broken down by gender and grade level. The State Board shall use this assessment data to file a summary report every other year, beginning in October of 2012, regarding the overall status of health-related fitness of Illinois public school children. This report must be filed with the Office of the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Department of Public Health on or before October 31st of the reporting year. The accumulated data must also be made available to the Department of Public Health for the purposes of Section 4 of the Illinois Health Statistics Act.

(d) Students who have a medical excuse from a physician must be excused from the physical fitness assessment. Students with disabilities whose parent or physician requests that they not be assessed must also be excused from the assessment.

(e) The State Board of Education may award a grant to the University of Illinois for the purposes of data management as related to the FITNESSGRAM assessment. The State Board of Education and the University of Illinois shall work together with a statewide professional organization of physical educators.

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.37 new)

Sec. 34-18.37. Physical fitness; assessment.

(a) Subject to appropriation, the board shall require an annual assessment of the physical fitness levels of all students in grades 5, 7, and 9, which shall be referred to as FITNESSGRAM and shall be reported on the State Board of Education's Internet website until the 2012-2013 school year and on an attendance center's report card beginning with the 2012-2013 school year under Section 34-88 of this Code. Assessment data must be reported to the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall collect the data and assist attendance centers in reporting their data on the report card.

(b) The specific physical fitness assessment tool to be used by the school district must be a standardized tool designated by the State Board of Education. All of the assessments must be based on criterion-referenced standards. The individual assessments shall include the following health-related physical fitness assessments:

(1) the Pacer test for cardio-respiratory endurance;

(2) the push-up test for upper body strength and endurance;

(3) the curl-up test for abdominal strength and endurance; and

(4) the Backsaver sit and reach test for lower back and leg flexibility.

(c) The school district shall report its raw physical fitness assessment data electronically to a central collection point designated by the State Board of Education by April 1st of each school year. The State Board shall then compile the results and use this assessment data to file a summary report as provided in subsection (c) of Section 10-20.46 of this Code.

(d) Students who have a medical excuse from a physician must be excused from the physical fitness assessment. Students with disabilities whose parent or physician requests that they not be assessed must also be excused from the assessment.

(e) The State Board of Education may award a grant to the University of Illinois for the purposes of data management as related to the FITNESSGRAM assessment. The State Board of Education and the University of Illinois shall work together with a statewide professional organization of physical educators.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.