99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB1538

 

Introduced 2/6/2015, by Rep. Scott Drury

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/1A-4  from Ch. 122, par. 1A-4

    Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the powers and duties of the State Board of Education.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
51A-4 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/1A-4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 1A-4)
7    Sec. 1A-4. Powers and duties of the Board.
8    A. (Blank).
9    B. The The Board shall determine the qualifications of and
10appoint a chief education officer, to be known as the State
11Superintendent of Education, who may be proposed by the
12Governor and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board and
13pursuant to a performance-based contract linked to statewide
14student performance and academic improvement within Illinois
15schools. Upon expiration or buyout of the contract of the State
16Superintendent of Education in office on the effective date of
17this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, a State
18Superintendent of Education shall be appointed by a State Board
19of Education that includes the 7 new Board members who were
20appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
21on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
22General Assembly. Thereafter, a State Superintendent of
23Education must, at a minimum, be appointed at the beginning of

 

 

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1each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
2appointments to the Board. A performance-based contract issued
3for the employment of a State Superintendent of Education
4entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory
5Act of the 93rd General Assembly must expire no later than
6February 1, 2007, and subsequent contracts must expire no later
7than February 1 each 4 years thereafter. No contract shall be
8extended or renewed beyond February 1, 2007 and February 1 each
94 years thereafter, but a State Superintendent of Education
10shall serve until his or her successor is appointed. Each
11contract entered into on or before January 8, 2007 with a State
12Superintendent of Education must provide that the State Board
13of Education may terminate the contract for cause, and the
14State Board of Education shall not thereafter be liable for
15further payments under the contract. With regard to this
16amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, it is the intent
17of the General Assembly that, beginning with the Governor who
18takes office on the second Monday of January, 2007, a State
19Superintendent of Education be appointed at the beginning of
20each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
21appointments to the Board. The State Superintendent of
22Education shall not serve as a member of the State Board of
23Education. The Board shall set the compensation of the State
24Superintendent of Education who shall serve as the Board's
25chief executive officer. The Board shall also establish the
26duties, powers and responsibilities of the State

 

 

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1Superintendent, which shall be included in the State
2Superintendent's performance-based contract along with the
3goals and indicators of student performance and academic
4improvement used to measure the performance and effectiveness
5of the State Superintendent. The State Board of Education may
6delegate to the State Superintendent of Education the authority
7to act on the Board's behalf, provided such delegation is made
8pursuant to adopted board policy or the powers delegated are
9ministerial in nature. The State Board may not delegate
10authority under this Section to the State Superintendent to (1)
11nonrecognize school districts, (2) withhold State payments as a
12penalty, or (3) make final decisions under the contested case
13provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act unless
14otherwise provided by law.
15    C. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education
16shall encompass all duties delegated to the Office of
17Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 12, 1975,
18except as the law providing for such powers and duties is
19thereafter amended, and such other powers and duties as the
20General Assembly shall designate. The Board shall be
21responsible for the educational policies and guidelines for
22public schools, pre-school through grade 12 and Vocational
23Education in the State of Illinois. The Board shall analyze the
24present and future aims, needs, and requirements of education
25in the State of Illinois and recommend to the General Assembly
26the powers which should be exercised by the Board. The Board

 

 

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1shall recommend the passage and the legislation necessary to
2determine the appropriate relationship between the Board and
3local boards of education and the various State agencies and
4shall recommend desirable modifications in the laws which
5affect schools.
6    D. Two members of the Board shall be appointed by the
7chairperson to serve on a standing joint Education Committee, 2
8others shall be appointed from the Board of Higher Education, 2
9others shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Illinois
10Community College Board, and 2 others shall be appointed by the
11chairperson of the Human Resource Investment Council. The
12Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations
13concerning the submission of any workforce development plan or
14workforce training program required by federal law or under any
15block grant authority. The Committee will be responsible for
16developing policy on matters of mutual concern to elementary,
17secondary and higher education such as Occupational and Career
18Education, Teacher Preparation and Certification, Educational
19Finance, Articulation between Elementary, Secondary and Higher
20Education and Research and Planning. The joint Education
21Committee shall meet at least quarterly and submit an annual
22report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the
23State Board of Education, the Board of Higher Education, the
24Illinois Community College Board, the Human Resource
25Investment Council, the Governor, and the General Assembly. All
26meetings of this Committee shall be official meetings for

 

 

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1reimbursement under this Act. On the effective date of this
2amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Joint
3Education Committee is abolished.
4    E. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A
5majority vote of the members appointed, confirmed and serving
6on the Board is required to approve any action, except that the
77 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members
8whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this
9amendatory act of the 93rd General Assembly may vote to approve
10actions when appointed and serving.
11    Using the most recently available data, the Board shall
12prepare and submit to the General Assembly and the Governor on
13or before January 14, 1976 and annually thereafter a report or
14reports of its findings and recommendations. Such annual report
15shall contain a separate section which provides a critique and
16analysis of the status of education in Illinois and which
17identifies its specific problems and recommends express
18solutions therefor. Such annual report also shall contain the
19following information for the preceding year ending on June 30:
20each act or omission of a school district of which the State
21Board of Education has knowledge as a consequence of scheduled,
22approved visits and which constituted a failure by the district
23to comply with applicable State or federal laws or regulations
24relating to public education, the name of such district, the
25date or dates on which the State Board of Education notified
26the school district of such act or omission, and what action,

 

 

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1if any, the school district took with respect thereto after
2being notified thereof by the State Board of Education. The
3report shall also include the statewide high school dropout
4rate by grade level, sex and race and the annual student
5dropout rate of and the number of students who graduate from,
6transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual programs. The
7Auditor General shall annually perform a compliance audit of
8the State Board of Education's performance of the reporting
9duty imposed by this amendatory Act of 1986. A regular system
10of communication with other directly related State agencies
11shall be implemented.
12    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
13be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
14the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
15Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
16Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Council, as
17required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
18Act, and filing such additional copies with the State
19Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly
20as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
21Library Act.
22    F. Upon appointment of the 7 new Board members who were
23appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
24on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
25General Assembly, the Board shall review all of its current
26rules in an effort to streamline procedures, improve

 

 

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1efficiency, and eliminate unnecessary forms and paperwork.
2(Source: P.A. 95-626, eff. 6-1-08; 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)