|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning education.
| |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 10-22.6 as follows:
| |||||||||||||||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.6)
| |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 10-22.6. Suspension or expulsion of pupils; school | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | searches.
| |||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||||||||||||||
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.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
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
| ||||||
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
| ||||||
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
| ||||||
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 |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | appropriate.
| ||||||
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.
| ||||||
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 one of | ||||||
9 | the following objects to school, any school-sponsored activity
| ||||||
10 | or event, or any activity or event that bears a reasonable | ||||||
11 | relationship to school shall be expelled for a period of not | ||||||
12 | less than
one year: | ||||||
13 | (1) A firearm. For the purposes of this Section, | ||||||
14 | "firearm" means any gun, rifle, shotgun, weapon as defined | ||||||
15 | by Section 921 of Title 18 of the United States Code, | ||||||
16 | firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners | ||||||
17 | Identification Card Act, or firearm as defined in Section | ||||||
18 | 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961. The expulsion period | ||||||
19 | under this subdivision (1) may be modified by the | ||||||
20 | superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may | ||||||
21 | be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis. | ||||||
22 | (2) A knife, brass knuckles or other knuckle weapon | ||||||
23 | regardless of its composition, a billy club, or any other | ||||||
24 | object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily | ||||||
25 | harm, including "look alikes" of any firearm as defined in | ||||||
26 | subdivision (1) of this subsection (d). The expulsion |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | requirement under this subdivision (2) may be modified by | ||||||
2 | the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination | ||||||
3 | may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis. | ||||||
4 | Expulsion
or suspension
shall be construed in a
manner | ||||||
5 | consistent with the Federal Individuals with Disabilities | ||||||
6 | Education
Act. A student who is subject to suspension or | ||||||
7 | expulsion as provided in this
Section may be eligible for a | ||||||
8 | transfer to an alternative school program in
accordance with | ||||||
9 | Article 13A of the School Code. The provisions of this
| ||||||
10 | subsection (d) apply in all school districts,
including special | ||||||
11 | charter districts and districts organized under Article 34.
| ||||||
12 | (d-5) The board may suspend or by regulation
authorize the | ||||||
13 | superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
| ||||||
14 | principal, or dean of students of any
school to suspend a | ||||||
15 | student for a period not to exceed
10 school days or may expel | ||||||
16 | a student for a definite period of time not to
exceed 2 | ||||||
17 | calendar years, as determined on a case by case basis, if (i) | ||||||
18 | that student has been determined to have made an explicit | ||||||
19 | threat on an Internet web site against a school employee, a | ||||||
20 | student, or any school-related personnel, (ii) the Internet web | ||||||
21 | site through which the threat was made is a site that was | ||||||
22 | accessible within the school at the time the threat was made or | ||||||
23 | was available to third parties who worked or studied within the | ||||||
24 | school grounds at the time the threat was made, and (iii) the | ||||||
25 | threat could be reasonably interpreted as threatening to the | ||||||
26 | safety and security of the threatened individual because of his |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | or her duties or employment status or status as a student | ||||||
2 | inside the school. The provisions of this
subsection (d-5) | ||||||
3 | apply in all school districts,
including special charter | ||||||
4 | districts and districts organized under Article 34.
| ||||||
5 | (e) To maintain order and security in the schools, school | ||||||
6 | authorities may
inspect and search places and areas such as | ||||||
7 | lockers, desks, parking lots, and
other school property and | ||||||
8 | equipment owned or controlled by the school, as well
as | ||||||
9 | personal effects left in those places and areas by students, | ||||||
10 | without notice
to or the consent of the student, and without a | ||||||
11 | search warrant. As a matter of
public policy, the General | ||||||
12 | Assembly finds that students have no reasonable
expectation of | ||||||
13 | privacy in these places and areas or in their personal effects
| ||||||
14 | left in these places and areas. School authorities may request | ||||||
15 | the assistance
of law enforcement officials for the purpose of | ||||||
16 | conducting inspections and
searches of lockers, desks, parking | ||||||
17 | lots, and other school property and
equipment owned or | ||||||
18 | controlled by the school for illegal drugs, weapons, or
other
| ||||||
19 | illegal or dangerous substances or materials, including | ||||||
20 | searches conducted
through the use of specially trained dogs. | ||||||
21 | If a search conducted in accordance
with this Section produces | ||||||
22 | evidence that the student has violated or is
violating either | ||||||
23 | the law, local ordinance, or the school's policies or rules,
| ||||||
24 | such evidence may be seized by school authorities, and | ||||||
25 | disciplinary action may
be taken. School authorities may also | ||||||
26 | turn over such evidence to law
enforcement authorities. The |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | provisions of this subsection (e) apply in all
school | ||||||
2 | districts, including special charter districts and districts | ||||||
3 | organized
under Article 34.
| ||||||
4 | (f) Suspension or expulsion may include suspension or | ||||||
5 | expulsion from
school and all school activities and a | ||||||
6 | prohibition from being present on school
grounds.
| ||||||
7 | (g) A school district may adopt a policy providing that if | ||||||
8 | a student
is suspended or expelled for any reason from any | ||||||
9 | public or private school
in this or any other state, the | ||||||
10 | student must complete the entire term of
the suspension or | ||||||
11 | expulsion before being admitted into the school
district. This | ||||||
12 | policy may allow placement of the student in an alternative
| ||||||
13 | school program established under Article 13A of this Code, if | ||||||
14 | available, for
the
remainder of the suspension or expulsion. | ||||||
15 | This subsection (g) applies to
all school districts, including | ||||||
16 | special charter districts and districts
organized under | ||||||
17 | Article 34 of this Code.
| ||||||
18 | (Source: P.A. 96-633, eff. 8-24-09.)
|