102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1685

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Scott M. Bennett

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 128/20

    Amends the School Safety Drill Act. Allows parents of students to exempt their children from participation in a law enforcement drill.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

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 Safety Drill Act is amended by
5changing Section 20 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 128/20)
7    Sec. 20. Number of drills; incidents covered; local
8authority participation.
9    (a) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
10minimum of 3 school evacuation drills to address and prepare
11students and school personnel for fire incidents. These drills
12must meet all of the following criteria:
13        (1) One of the 3 school evacuation drills shall
14    require the participation of the appropriate local fire
15    department or district.
16            (A) Each local fire department or fire district
17        must contact the appropriate school administrator or
18        his or her designee no later than September 1 of each
19        year in order to arrange for the participation of the
20        department or district in the school evacuation drill.
21            (B) Each school administrator or his or her
22        designee must contact the responding local fire
23        official no later than September 15 of each year and

 

 

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1        propose to the local fire official 4 dates within the
2        month of October, during at least 2 different weeks of
3        October, on which the drill shall occur. The fire
4        official may choose any of the 4 available dates, and
5        if he or she does so, the drill shall occur on that
6        date.
7            (C) The school administrator or his or her
8        designee and the local fire official may also, by
9        mutual agreement, set any other date for the drill,
10        including a date outside of the month of October.
11            (D) If the fire official does not select one of the
12        4 offered dates in October or set another date by
13        mutual agreement, the requirement that the school
14        include the local fire service in one of its mandatory
15        school evacuation drills shall be waived. Schools,
16        however, shall continue to be strongly encouraged to
17        include the fire service in a school evacuation drill
18        at a mutually agreed-upon time.
19            (E) Upon the participation of the local fire
20        service, the appropriate local fire official shall
21        certify that the school evacuation drill was
22        conducted.
23            (F) When scheduling the school evacuation drill,
24        the school administrator or his or her designee and
25        the local fire department or fire district may, by
26        mutual agreement on or before September 14, choose to

 

 

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1        waive the provisions of subparagraphs (B), (C), and
2        (D) of this paragraph (1).
3        Additional school evacuation drills for fire incidents
4    may involve the participation of the appropriate local
5    fire department or district.
6        (2) Schools may conduct additional school evacuation
7    drills to account for other evacuation incidents,
8    including without limitation suspicious items or bomb
9    threats.
10        (3) All drills shall be conducted at each school
11    building that houses school children.
12    (b) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
13minimum of one bus evacuation drill. This drill shall be
14accounted for in the curriculum in all public schools and in
15all other educational institutions in this State that are
16supported or maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds
17and that provide instruction in any of the grades kindergarten
18through 12. This curriculum shall include instruction in safe
19bus riding practices for all students. Schools may conduct
20additional bus evacuation drills. All drills shall be
21conducted at each school building that houses school children.
22    (b-5) Notwithstanding the minimum requirements established
23by this Act, private schools that do not utilize a bus to
24transport students for any purpose are exempt from subsection
25(b) of this Section, provided that the chief school
26administrator of the private school provides written assurance

 

 

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1to the State Board of Education that the private school does
2not plan to utilize a bus to transport students for any purpose
3during the current academic year. The assurance must be made
4on a form supplied by the State Board of Education and filed no
5later than October 15. If a private school utilizes a bus to
6transport students for any purpose during an academic year
7when an assurance pursuant to this subsection (b-5) has been
8filed with the State Board of Education, the private school
9shall immediately notify the State Board of Education and
10comply with subsection (b) of this Section no later than 30
11calendar days after utilization of the bus to transport
12students, except that, at the discretion of the private
13school, students chosen for participation in the bus
14evacuation drill need include only the subgroup of students
15that are utilizing bus transportation.
16    (c) During each academic year, schools must conduct a law
17enforcement drill to address a school shooting incident. No
18later than 90 days after the first day of each school year,
19schools must conduct at least one law enforcement drill that
20addresses an active threat or an active shooter within a
21school building. Such drills must be conducted according to
22the school district's or private school's emergency and crisis
23response plans, protocols, and procedures to evaluate the
24preparedness of school personnel and students. Law enforcement
25drills must be conducted on days and times when students are
26normally present in the school building and must involve

 

 

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1participation from all school personnel and students present
2at school at the time of the drill, except that
3administrators, or school support personnel, or students'
4parents in their discretion may exempt students from the
5drill. The appropriate local law enforcement agency shall
6observe the administration of the drill. All drills must be
7conducted at each school building that houses school children.
8        (1) A law enforcement drill must meet all of the
9    following criteria:
10            (A) During each calendar year, the appropriate
11        local law enforcement agency shall contact the
12        appropriate school administrator to request to
13        participate in a law enforcement drill. The school
14        administrator and local law enforcement agency shall
15        set, by mutual agreement, a date for the drill.
16            (A-5) The drill shall require the on-site
17        participation of the local law enforcement agency. If
18        a mutually agreeable date cannot be reached between
19        the school administrator and the appropriate local law
20        enforcement agency, then the school shall still hold
21        the drill without participation from the agency.
22            (B) Upon the participation of a local law
23        enforcement agency in a law enforcement drill, the
24        appropriate local law enforcement official shall
25        certify that the law enforcement drill was conducted
26        and notify the school in a timely manner of any

 

 

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1        deficiencies noted during the drill.
2        (2) Schools may conduct additional law enforcement
3    drills at their discretion.
4        (3) (Blank).
5    (d) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
6minimum of one severe weather and shelter-in-place drill to
7address and prepare students and school personnel for possible
8tornado incidents and may conduct additional severe weather
9and shelter-in-place drills to account for other incidents,
10including without limitation earthquakes or hazardous
11materials. All drills shall be conducted at each school
12building that houses school children.
13(Source: P.A. 100-443, eff. 8-25-17; 100-996, eff. 1-1-19.)