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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 | 2-3.162 and by adding Section 2-3.173 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.162) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 2-3.162. Student discipline report; school discipline | ||||||
8 | improvement plan. | ||||||
9 | (a) On or before October 31, 2015 and on or before October | ||||||
10 | 31 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education, | ||||||
11 | through the State Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a | ||||||
12 | report on student discipline in all school districts in this | ||||||
13 | State, including State-authorized charter schools. This report | ||||||
14 | shall include data from all public schools within school | ||||||
15 | districts, including district-authorized charter schools. This | ||||||
16 | report must be posted on the Internet website of the State | ||||||
17 | Board of Education. The report shall include data on the | ||||||
18 | issuance of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and | ||||||
19 | removals to alternative settings in lieu of another | ||||||
20 | disciplinary action, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, | ||||||
21 | gender, age, grade level, whether a student is an English | ||||||
22 | learner, incident type, and discipline duration. | ||||||
23 | (b) The State Board of Education shall analyze the data |
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1 | under subsection (a) of this Section on an annual basis and | ||||||
2 | determine the top 20% of school districts qualifying under any | ||||||
3 | of for the following metrics: | ||||||
4 | (1) Total number of out-of-school suspensions divided | ||||||
5 | by the total district enrollment by the last school day in | ||||||
6 | September for the year in which the data was collected, | ||||||
7 | multiplied by 100. | ||||||
8 | (2) Total number of out-of-school expulsions divided | ||||||
9 | by the total district enrollment by the last school day in | ||||||
10 | September for the year in which the data was collected, | ||||||
11 | multiplied by 100. | ||||||
12 | (3) Racial disproportionality, defined as the | ||||||
13 | overrepresentation of students of color or white students | ||||||
14 | in comparison to the total number of students of color or | ||||||
15 | white students on October 1st of the school year in which | ||||||
16 | data are collected, with respect to the use of | ||||||
17 | out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, which must be | ||||||
18 | calculated using the same method as the U.S. Department of | ||||||
19 | Education's Office for Civil Rights uses. | ||||||
20 | The analysis must be based on data collected over 3 | ||||||
21 | consecutive school years, beginning with the 2014-2015 school | ||||||
22 | year. | ||||||
23 | (c) On or before October 31, 2018 and on or before October | ||||||
24 | 31 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education shall | ||||||
25 | notify each school district Beginning with the 2017-2018 school | ||||||
26 | year, the State Board of Education shall require each of the |
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1 | school districts that are identified in the top 20% of any of | ||||||
2 | the metrics described in this subsection (b) of this Section | ||||||
3 | for 3 consecutive school years that the school district must | ||||||
4 | submit a plan in conformance with subsection (d) of this | ||||||
5 | Section. | ||||||
6 | (d) School districts identified in the top 20% of any of | ||||||
7 | the metrics described in subsection (b) of this Section for 3 | ||||||
8 | consecutive school years must, in a manner prescribed by the | ||||||
9 | State Board of Education, submit a plan to the State Board of | ||||||
10 | Education that identifies to submit a plan identifying the | ||||||
11 | strategies the school district will implement to reduce the use | ||||||
12 | of exclusionary disciplinary practices or racial | ||||||
13 | disproportionality or both, if applicable. School districts | ||||||
14 | that no longer meet the criteria described in any of the | ||||||
15 | metrics described in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive | ||||||
16 | years shall no longer be required to submit a plan. | ||||||
17 | This plan may be combined with any other improvement plans | ||||||
18 | required under federal or State law. | ||||||
19 | The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting | ||||||
20 | no later than 90 days after notification from the State Board | ||||||
21 | of Education pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section and | ||||||
22 | must be posted on the school district's Internet website. | ||||||
23 | Within one calendar year after the school board's approval of | ||||||
24 | the plan, the school district shall submit to the State Board | ||||||
25 | of Education, in a manner prescribed by the State Board of | ||||||
26 | Education, and post on the district's Internet website a |
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1 | progress report describing the implementation of the plan and | ||||||
2 | the results achieved. Additional annual progress reports shall | ||||||
3 | be required until a school district no longer meets the | ||||||
4 | criteria in any of the metrics described in subsection (b) of | ||||||
5 | this Section for 3 consecutive school years. | ||||||
6 | (e) The calculation of the top 20% of any of the metrics | ||||||
7 | described in this subsection (b) of this Section shall exclude | ||||||
8 | all school districts, State-authorized charter schools, and | ||||||
9 | special charter districts that issued fewer than a total of 10 | ||||||
10 | out-of-school suspensions or expulsions, whichever is | ||||||
11 | applicable, during the school year. The calculation of the top | ||||||
12 | 20% of the metric described in subdivision (3) of this | ||||||
13 | subsection (b) of this Section shall exclude all school | ||||||
14 | districts with an enrollment of fewer than 50 white students or | ||||||
15 | fewer than 50 students of color. | ||||||
16 | The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting | ||||||
17 | and posted on the school district's Internet website. Within | ||||||
18 | one year after being identified, the school district shall | ||||||
19 | submit to the State Board of Education and post on the | ||||||
20 | district's Internet website a progress report describing the | ||||||
21 | implementation of the plan and the results achieved.
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22 | (Source: P.A. 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; 99-30, eff. 7-10-15; | ||||||
23 | 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; revised 9-25-17.) | ||||||
24 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.173 new) | ||||||
25 | Sec. 2-3.173. Safe Schools and Healthy Learning |
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1 | Environments Program. | ||||||
2 | (a) The General Assembly recognizes that (i) many K-12 | ||||||
3 | students around the State are arrested in school and sent into | ||||||
4 | the justice system, often for minor offenses that do not pose a | ||||||
5 | serious threat to school safety; (ii) some schools across the | ||||||
6 | State have become overly reliant on law enforcement personnel | ||||||
7 | to handle routine school disciplinary matters; (iii) many | ||||||
8 | student behaviors that result in arrest in some schools are | ||||||
9 | addressed without involving the justice system in others; (iv) | ||||||
10 | the overcriminalization of K-12 students has had significant | ||||||
11 | negative consequences for students, families, and entire | ||||||
12 | communities; (v) these dynamics, known as the | ||||||
13 | "school-to-prison pipeline", have disproportionately affected | ||||||
14 | students of color; (vi) these practices impose substantial | ||||||
15 | economic costs on both localities and the State overall; and | ||||||
16 | (vii) eliminating unnecessary school-based arrests and law | ||||||
17 | enforcement presence in school while promoting the use of | ||||||
18 | developmentally appropriate alternatives will protect school | ||||||
19 | safety, improve school climate, raise academic achievement, | ||||||
20 | and save taxpayer dollars. | ||||||
21 | (b) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation, | ||||||
22 | is authorized to award competitive grants on an annual basis | ||||||
23 | under a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Program. | ||||||
24 | The goal of this grant program is to promote school safety and | ||||||
25 | healthy learning environments by reducing the reliance on law | ||||||
26 | enforcement to address school disciplinary matters and |
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1 | implement alternative strategies that will better address the | ||||||
2 | full range of students' intellectual, social, emotional, | ||||||
3 | physical, psychological, and moral developmental needs. To | ||||||
4 | receive a grant under this program, school districts must | ||||||
5 | develop plans for implementing evidence-based and promising | ||||||
6 | practices that are aligned with this goal, including, but not | ||||||
7 | limited to, hiring restorative justice practitioners, school | ||||||
8 | psychologists, social workers, and other mental and behavioral | ||||||
9 | health specialists, providing drug and alcohol treatment | ||||||
10 | services and wraparound services for youth, training for school | ||||||
11 | staff on alternatives to law enforcement involvement for | ||||||
12 | school-based offenses that include restorative justice | ||||||
13 | approaches, conflict resolution techniques, and expanded use | ||||||
14 | of school support personnel and community-based services, | ||||||
15 | trauma-informed approaches to meeting students' developmental | ||||||
16 | needs, and addressing the effects of toxic stress. For purposes | ||||||
17 | of this subsection (b), "promising practices" means practices | ||||||
18 | that present, based on preliminary information, potential for | ||||||
19 | becoming evidence-based practices. | ||||||
20 | Grant funds shall not be used to increase the use of | ||||||
21 | school-based law enforcement or security personnel. Nothing in | ||||||
22 | this Section shall prohibit school districts from involving law | ||||||
23 | enforcement personnel when necessary and allowed by law. | ||||||
24 | (c) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation | ||||||
25 | of the grant program, shall annually disseminate a request for | ||||||
26 | applications to this program and funds shall be distributed |
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1 | annually. The criteria to be considered by the State Board of | ||||||
2 | Education in awarding the funds shall be (i) the arrest rates | ||||||
3 | in the target schools over the preceding 3 years, which shall | ||||||
4 | be calculated as the number of arrests divided by the number of | ||||||
5 | students; (ii) the ratio of school-based law enforcement | ||||||
6 | personnel to students in the target schools over the preceding | ||||||
7 | 3 years; and (iii) the degree to which the proposal articulates | ||||||
8 | a strong, comprehensive approach for eliminating unnecessary | ||||||
9 | school-based arrests and the over-reliance on law enforcement | ||||||
10 | to address school disciplinary matters while building safer and | ||||||
11 | healthier learning environments. | ||||||
12 | For criterion (i), applicant school districts shall be | ||||||
13 | ranked from highest arrest rates to lowest, with higher arrest | ||||||
14 | rates receiving priority. For criterion (ii), applicant school | ||||||
15 | districts shall be ranked from the highest ratio of | ||||||
16 | school-based law enforcement to students to the lowest ratio, | ||||||
17 | with the higher ratios receiving priority. For criterion (iii), | ||||||
18 | applicant school districts shall be ranked on the basis of the | ||||||
19 | strength of their overall strategy, with all school districts | ||||||
20 | that fail to articulate a sound approach being excluded from | ||||||
21 | consideration. The State Board of Education shall determine a | ||||||
22 | scoring system for each criterion based on the relative ranking | ||||||
23 | of the applicant school districts. Applicant school districts' | ||||||
24 | overall cumulative scores shall be based on the following | ||||||
25 | weights: criterion (i): 40%; criterion (ii): 20%; and criterion | ||||||
26 | (iii): 40%. If the appropriated funds are insufficient to |
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1 | provide funds to all selected grantees, the State Board of | ||||||
2 | Education shall have discretion to choose the number of school | ||||||
3 | districts that will receive funds as well as the amount of | ||||||
4 | their grant awards, with the highest-scoring school districts | ||||||
5 | receiving priority. If the appropriated funds exceed what is | ||||||
6 | required to provide funding to all qualified applicants, the | ||||||
7 | surplus shall be rolled over to be used for grants the | ||||||
8 | following year. | ||||||
9 | (d) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation | ||||||
10 | to the grant program, shall produce an
annual report on the | ||||||
11 | results of the Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments | ||||||
12 | Program in
cooperation with the school districts participating | ||||||
13 | in the program. The report shall include both
quantitative and | ||||||
14 | qualitative information on the progress being made in reducing | ||||||
15 | unnecessary
school-based arrests and the over-reliance on law | ||||||
16 | enforcement to address school
disciplinary matters, and the | ||||||
17 | effects of the program on school safety and school climate. The | ||||||
18 | report
shall include the number of school-based arrests made | ||||||
19 | within participating schools during the 3
school years prior to | ||||||
20 | the grant compared to the number of school-based arrests made | ||||||
21 | during the school
year the grant was awarded. This report shall | ||||||
22 | be posted on the State Board of Education's website by
October | ||||||
23 | 31 of each year, beginning in 2019. | ||||||
24 | (e) The State Board of Education may adopt rules necessary | ||||||
25 | for the implementation of this program.
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26 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
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1 | 2018. |