Full Text of SB2843 96th General Assembly
SB2843enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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 adding Sections | 5 | | 22-65 and 10-23.13 as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/22-65 new) | 7 | | Sec. 22-65. The Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual | 8 | | Abuse of Children. The Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual | 9 | | Abuse of Children is created within the Department of Children | 10 | | and Family Services. The Task Force shall consist of all of the | 11 | | following members: | 12 | | (1) One member of the General Assembly and one member | 13 | | of the public, appointed by the President of the Senate. | 14 | | (2) One member of the General Assembly and one member | 15 | | of the public, appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 16 | | Senate. | 17 | | (3) One member of the General Assembly and one member | 18 | | of the public, appointed by the Speaker of the House of | 19 | | Representatives. | 20 | | (4) One member of the General Assembly and one member | 21 | | of the public, appointed by the Minority Leader of the | 22 | | House of Representatives. | 23 | | (5) The Director of Children and Family Services or his |
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| 1 | | or her designee. | 2 | | (6) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her | 3 | | designee. | 4 | | (7) The Director of Public Health or his or her | 5 | | designee. | 6 | | (8) The Executive Director of the Illinois Violence | 7 | | Prevention Authority or his or her designee. | 8 | | (9) A representative of an agency that leads the | 9 | | collaboration of the investigation, prosecution, and | 10 | | treatment of child sexual and physical abuse cases, | 11 | | appointed by the Director of Children and Family Services. | 12 | | (10) A representative of an organization representing | 13 | | law enforcement, appointed by the Director of State Police. | 14 | | (11) A representative of a statewide professional | 15 | | teachers' organization, appointed by the head of that | 16 | | organization. | 17 | | (12) A representative of a different statewide | 18 | | professional teachers' organization, appointed by the head | 19 | | of that organization. | 20 | | (13) A representative of an organization involved in | 21 | | the prevention of child abuse in this State, appointed by | 22 | | the Director of Children and Family Services. | 23 | | (14) A representative of an organization representing | 24 | | school management in this State, appointed by the State | 25 | | Superintendent of Education. | 26 | | (15) Erin Merryn, for whom Section 10-23.13 of this |
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| 1 | | Code is named. | 2 | | Members of the Task Force must be individuals who are | 3 | | actively involved in the fields of the prevention of child | 4 | | abuse and neglect and child welfare. The appointment of members | 5 | | must reflect the geographic diversity of the State. | 6 | | The Task Force shall elect a presiding officer by a | 7 | | majority vote of the membership of the Task Force. The Task | 8 | | Force shall meet at the call of the presiding officer. | 9 | | The Task Force shall make recommendations for reducing | 10 | | child sexual abuse in Illinois. In making those | 11 | | recommendations, the Task Force shall: | 12 | | (1) gather information concerning child sexual abuse | 13 | | throughout the State; | 14 | | (2) receive reports and testimony from individuals, | 15 | | State and local agencies, community-based organizations, | 16 | | and other public and private organizations; | 17 | | (3) create goals for State policy that would prevent | 18 | | child sexual abuse; and | 19 | | (4) submit a final report with its recommendations to | 20 | | the Office of the Governor and the General Assembly by | 21 | | January 1, 2012. | 22 | | The recommendations may include proposals for specific | 23 | | statutory changes and methods to foster cooperation among State | 24 | | agencies and between the State and local government. | 25 | | The Task Force shall consult with employees of the | 26 | | Department of Children and Family Services, the Criminal |
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| 1 | | Justice Information Agency, the Department of State Police, the | 2 | | Illinois State Board of Education, and any other State agency | 3 | | or department as necessary to accomplish the Task Force's | 4 | | responsibilities under this Section. | 5 | | The members of the Task Force shall serve without | 6 | | compensation and shall not be reimbursed for their expenses. | 7 | | The Task Force shall be abolished upon submission of the | 8 | | final report to the Office of the Governor and the General | 9 | | Assembly. | 10 | | (105 ILCS 5/10-23.13 new) | 11 | | Sec. 10-23.13. Policies addressing sexual abuse. To adopt | 12 | | and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse of children that | 13 | | may include age-appropriate curriculum for students in pre-K | 14 | | through 5th grade; training for school personnel on child | 15 | | sexual abuse; educational information to parents or guardians | 16 | | provided in the school handbook on the warning signs of a child | 17 | | being abused, along with any needed assistance, referral, or | 18 | | resource information; available counseling and resources for | 19 | | students affected by sexual abuse; and emotional and | 20 | | educational support for a child of abuse to continue to be | 21 | | successful in school. | 22 | | Any policy adopted may address without limitation: | 23 | | (1) methods for increasing teacher, student, and | 24 | | parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse of | 25 | | children, including knowledge of likely warning signs |
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| 1 | | indicating that a child may be a victim of sexual abuse; | 2 | | (2) actions that a child who is a victim of sexual | 3 | | abuse should take to obtain assistance and intervention; | 4 | | and | 5 | | (3) available counseling options for students affected | 6 | | by sexual abuse. | 7 | | This Section may be referred to as Erin's Law.
| 8 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 | | becoming law.
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