94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB1521

 

Introduced 02/10/05, by Rep. David E. Miller

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-17a   from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a
30 ILCS 805/8.29 new

    Amends the School Code. Provides that the school report card assessing the performance of a district's schools and students shall include a description of the total spending to educate children with disabilities for the school, district, and State. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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 10-17a as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/10-17a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
7     Sec. 10-17a. Better schools accountability.
8     (1) Policy and Purpose. It shall be the policy of the State
9 of Illinois that each school district in this State, including
10 special charter districts and districts subject to the
11 provisions of Article 34, shall submit to parents, taxpayers of
12 such district, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the
13 State Board of Education a school report card assessing the
14 performance of its schools and students. The report card shall
15 be an index of school performance measured against statewide
16 and local standards and will provide information to make prior
17 year comparisons and to set future year targets through the
18 school improvement plan.
19     (2) Reporting Requirements. Each school district shall
20 prepare a report card in accordance with the guidelines set
21 forth in this Section which describes the performance of its
22 students by school attendance centers and by district and the
23 district's financial resources and use of financial resources.
24 Such report card shall be presented at a regular school board
25 meeting subject to applicable notice requirements, posted on
26 the school district's Internet web site, if the district
27 maintains an Internet web site, made available to a newspaper
28 of general circulation serving the district, and, upon request,
29 sent home to a parent (unless the district does not maintain an
30 Internet web site, in which case the report card shall be sent
31 home to parents without request). If the district posts the
32 report card on its Internet web site, the district shall send a

 

 

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1 written notice home to parents stating (i) that the report card
2 is available on the web site, (ii) the address of the web site,
3 (iii) that a printed copy of the report card will be sent to
4 parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone number that
5 parents may call to request a printed copy of the report card.
6 In addition, each school district shall submit the completed
7 report card to the office of the district's Regional
8 Superintendent which shall make copies available to any
9 individuals requesting them.
10     The report card shall be completed and disseminated prior
11 to October 31 in each school year. The report card shall
12 contain, but not be limited to, actual local school attendance
13 center, school district and statewide data indicating the
14 present performance of the school, the State norms and the
15 areas for planned improvement for the school and school
16 district.
17     (3) (a) The report card shall include the following
18 applicable indicators of attendance center, district, and
19 statewide student performance: percent of students who exceed,
20 meet, or do not meet standards established by the State Board
21 of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25a; composite and subtest
22 means on nationally normed achievement tests for college bound
23 students; student attendance rates; chronic truancy rate;
24 dropout rate; graduation rate; and student mobility, turnover
25 shown as a percent of transfers out and a percent of transfers
26 in.
27     (b) The report card shall include the following
28 descriptions for the school, district, and State: average class
29 size; amount of time per day devoted to mathematics, science,
30 English and social science at primary, middle and junior high
31 school grade levels; number of students taking the Prairie
32 State Achievement Examination under subsection (c) of Section
33 2-3.64, the number of those students who received a score of
34 excellent, and the average score by school of students taking
35 the examination; pupil-teacher ratio; pupil-administrator
36 ratio; operating expenditure per pupil; total spending to

 

 

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1 educate children with disabilities, as that term is defined in
2 Article 14 of this Code; district expenditure by fund; average
3 administrator salary; and average teacher salary. The report
4 card shall also specify the amount of money that the district
5 receives from all sources, including without limitation
6 subcategories specifying the amount from local property taxes,
7 the amount from general State aid, the amount from other State
8 funding, and the amount from other income.
9     (c) The report card shall include applicable indicators of
10 parental involvement in each attendance center. The parental
11 involvement component of the report card shall include the
12 percentage of students whose parents or guardians have had one
13 or more personal contacts with the students' teachers during
14 the school year concerning the students' education, and such
15 other information, commentary, and suggestions as the school
16 district desires. For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal
17 contact" includes, but is not limited to, parent-teacher
18 conferences, parental visits to school, school visits to home,
19 telephone conversations, and written correspondence. The
20 parental involvement component shall not single out or identify
21 individual students, parents, or guardians by name.
22     (d) The report card form shall be prepared by the State
23 Board of Education and provided to school districts by the most
24 efficient, economic, and appropriate means.
25 (Source: P.A. 92-604, eff. 7-1-02; 92-631, eff. 7-11-02;
26 revised 7-26-02.)
 
27     Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
28 Section 8.29 as follows:
 
29     (30 ILCS 805/8.29 new)
30     Sec. 8.29. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
31 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
32 implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of
33 the 94th General Assembly.