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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Education Ombudsman Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Creation of office; appointment; regional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | education ombudsmen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) There is created the Office of the Education Ombudsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | within the Office of the Governor for the
purposes of providing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | information to parents, students, and others
regarding their | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | rights and responsibilities with respect to this State's
public | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | elementary and secondary education system and advocating on
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13 | behalf of elementary and secondary public school students. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | (b) The Governor shall appoint an education ombudsman, who | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | must be a person of recognized judgment, independence, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | objectivity, and integrity and must be qualified by training or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | experience or both in all of the
following areas: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | (1) Public education law and policy in this State. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | (2) Dispute resolution or problem resolution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | techniques, including
mediation and negotiation.
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21 | (3) Community outreach. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | The education ombudsman may not be an employee of any | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | school
district, the Office of the State Superintendent of |
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1 | Education, or
the State Board of Education while serving as an | ||||||
2 | education ombudsman. | ||||||
3 | Before the appointment of the education ombudsman, the | ||||||
4 | Governor shall share information regarding the appointment to a | ||||||
5 | 6-person legislative committee appointed and comprised as | ||||||
6 | follows: | ||||||
7 | (1) The committee shall consist of 3 Senators and 3 | ||||||
8 | Representatives of the General Assembly. | ||||||
9 | (2) The Senate members of the committee shall be | ||||||
10 | appointed by the President of the Senate. Two members shall | ||||||
11 | represent the majority caucus, and one member shall | ||||||
12 | represent the minority caucus. | ||||||
13 | (3) The House of Representatives members of the | ||||||
14 | committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of | ||||||
15 | Representatives. Two members shall represent the majority | ||||||
16 | caucus, and one member shall represent the minority caucus. | ||||||
17 | (c) If sufficient appropriations are provided, the | ||||||
18 | education
ombudsman shall delegate and certify regional | ||||||
19 | education ombudsmen. The education ombudsman shall ensure that | ||||||
20 | the regional ombudsmen selected are appropriate to the | ||||||
21 | community in which they serve and hold the same qualifications | ||||||
22 | as the education ombudsman under subsection (b) of this | ||||||
23 | Section. The education ombudsman may not contract with the | ||||||
24 | State Superintendent of Education or State Board of Education | ||||||
25 | or any school, school district, or current employee of a | ||||||
26 | school, a school district, the Office of the State |
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1 | Superintendent of Education, or the State Board of Education | ||||||
2 | for the provision of regional ombudsman services. | ||||||
3 | Section 10. Powers and duties. The education ombudsman | ||||||
4 | shall have all of the following powers and duties: | ||||||
5 | (1) To develop parental involvement materials, | ||||||
6 | including
instructional guides developed to inform parents | ||||||
7 | of the essential
academic learning requirements required | ||||||
8 | by the State Board of Education. The instructional guides | ||||||
9 | shall also contain actions parents may take to assist their | ||||||
10 | children in meeting the requirements and should focus on | ||||||
11 | reaching parents who have not previously been involved with | ||||||
12 | their children's education. | ||||||
13 | (2) To provide information to students, parents, and | ||||||
14 | interested members of the public regarding this State's | ||||||
15 | public elementary and secondary education system. | ||||||
16 | (3) To identify obstacles to greater parent and | ||||||
17 | community
involvement in school-shared, decision-making | ||||||
18 | processes and recommend strategies for helping parents and | ||||||
19 | community members to participate effectively in | ||||||
20 | school-shared, decision-making processes, including | ||||||
21 | understanding and respecting the roles of school building | ||||||
22 | administrators and staff. | ||||||
23 | (4) To identify and recommend strategies for improving | ||||||
24 | the success rates of ethnic and racial student groups with | ||||||
25 | disproportionate academic achievement. |
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1 | (5) To refer complainants and others to appropriate | ||||||
2 | resources, agencies, or departments. | ||||||
3 | (6) To facilitate the resolution of complaints made by | ||||||
4 | parents and students with regard to this State's public | ||||||
5 | elementary and secondary education system. | ||||||
6 | (7) To perform such other functions consistent with the | ||||||
7 | purposes of the education ombudsman. | ||||||
8 | (8) To consult with representatives of organizations | ||||||
9 | and groups regarding the work of the Office of the | ||||||
10 | Education Ombudsman, including without limitation all of | ||||||
11 | the following: | ||||||
12 | (A) A State parent-teacher association. | ||||||
13 | (B) Licensed and classified school employees. | ||||||
14 | (C) School and school district administrators. | ||||||
15 | (D) Parents of special education students. | ||||||
16 | (E) Parents of English language learners. | ||||||
17 | (F) A State organization on Hispanic affairs. | ||||||
18 | (G) A State organization on African-American | ||||||
19 | affairs. | ||||||
20 | (H) A State organization on Asian-Pacific American
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21 | affairs. | ||||||
22 | (I) A State organization on Native American | ||||||
23 | affairs. | ||||||
24 | Section 15. Immunity. | ||||||
25 | (a) Neither the education ombudsman nor any
regional |
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1 | educational ombudsmen are liable for good faith performance of
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2 | their responsibilities under this Act. | ||||||
3 | (b) No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action | ||||||
4 | may be
taken against any student or employee of any school | ||||||
5 | district, the
Office of the State Superintendent of Education, | ||||||
6 | or the State Board of
Education for any communication made or | ||||||
7 | information given or
disclosed to aid the education ombudsman | ||||||
8 | in carrying out his or her
duties and responsibilities, unless | ||||||
9 | the same was done without good
faith or maliciously. This | ||||||
10 | subsection (b) is not intended to infringe upon
the rights of a | ||||||
11 | school district to supervise, discipline, or terminate
an | ||||||
12 | employee for other reasons or to discipline a student for other
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13 | reasons. | ||||||
14 | (c) All communications by the education ombudsman or the
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15 | ombudsman's staff or a designee, if reasonably related to the | ||||||
16 | education
ombudsman's duties and responsibilities and if done | ||||||
17 | in good faith, are
privileged, and that privilege shall serve | ||||||
18 | as a defense to any action in
libel or slander. | ||||||
19 | Section 20. Confidentiality. The education ombudsman shall | ||||||
20 | treat all matters, including the identities of students, | ||||||
21 | complainants, and
individuals from whom information is | ||||||
22 | acquired, as confidential, except
as necessary to enable the | ||||||
23 | education ombudsman to perform the duties of the office. Upon | ||||||
24 | receipt of information that by law is confidential or
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25 | privileged, the ombudsman shall maintain the confidentiality |
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1 | of such
information and shall not further disclose or | ||||||
2 | disseminate the
information, except as provided by applicable | ||||||
3 | State or federal law. | ||||||
4 | Section 25. Annual report. The education ombudsman shall | ||||||
5 | report on the work and accomplishment of the Office of the | ||||||
6 | Education Ombudsman and advise and make recommendations to the | ||||||
7 | Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of | ||||||
8 | Education annually. The initial report to the Governor, the
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9 | General Assembly, and the State Board of Education shall be | ||||||
10 | made on or before September 1, 2015, and there shall be an | ||||||
11 | annual report on or before September 1st of each year | ||||||
12 | thereafter. The annual report shall provide at least all of the | ||||||
13 | following information: | ||||||
14 | (1) How the education ombudsman's services have been | ||||||
15 | used and by whom. | ||||||
16 | (2) Methods for the education ombudsman to increase and | ||||||
17 | enhance family and community involvement in public | ||||||
18 | education. | ||||||
19 | (3) Recommendations to eliminate barriers and | ||||||
20 | obstacles to
meaningful family and community involvement | ||||||
21 | in public education. | ||||||
22 | (4) Strategies to improve the educational | ||||||
23 | opportunities for all
students in this State, including | ||||||
24 | recommendations from organizations and groups under | ||||||
25 | Section 10 of this Act.
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