Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0306
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Full Text of HB0306  99th General Assembly

HB0306eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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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 Code is amended by changing Section
52-3.64a-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5)
7    Sec. 2-3.64a-5. State goals and assessment.
8    (a) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this
9Section, "students" includes those students enrolled in a
10public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school,
11or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
12board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with
13the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office
14of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public
15school administered by a local public agency or the Department
16of Human Services.
17    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish the
18academic standards that are to be applicable to students who
19are subject to State assessments under this Section. The State
20Board of Education shall not establish any such standards in
21final form without first providing opportunities for public
22participation and local input in the development of the final
23academic standards. Those opportunities shall include a

 

 

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1well-publicized period of public comment and opportunities to
2file written comments.
3    (c) Beginning no later than the 2014-2015 school year, the
4State Board of Education shall annually assess all students
5enrolled in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and
6mathematics.
7    Beginning no later than the 2017-2018 school year, the
8State Board of Education shall annually assess all students in
9science at one grade in grades 3 through 5, at one grade in
10grades 6 through 8, and at one grade in grades 9 through 12.
11    The State Board of Education shall annually assess schools
12that operate a secondary education program, as defined in
13Section 22-22 of this Code, in English language arts and
14mathematics. The State Board of Education shall administer no
15more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts
16and mathematics for students in a secondary education program.
17One of these assessments shall include a college and career
18ready determination.
19    Students who are not assessed for college and career ready
20determinations may not receive a regular high school diploma
21unless the student is excused from taking a State assessment
22under subsection (c-5) of this Section or the student is
23exempted from taking State assessments under subsection (d) of
24this Section because (i) the student's individualized
25educational program developed under Article 14 of this Code
26identifies the State assessment as inappropriate for the

 

 

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1student, (ii) the student is enrolled in a program of adult and
2continuing education, as defined in the Adult Education Act,
3(iii) the school district is not required to assess the
4individual student for purposes of accountability under
5federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements, (iv) the
6student has been determined to be an English language learner,
7referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
8proficiency, and has been enrolled in schools in the United
9States for less than 12 months, or (v) the student is otherwise
10identified by the State Board of Education, through rules, as
11being exempt from the assessment.
12    The State Board of Education shall not assess students
13under this Section in subjects not required by this Section.
14    Districts shall inform their students of the timelines and
15procedures applicable to their participation in every yearly
16administration of the State assessments. The State Board of
17Education shall establish periods of time in each school year
18during which State assessments shall occur to meet the
19objectives of this Section.
20    (c-5) A student is not required to take a particular State
21assessment under this Section if that student's parent or
22guardian requests, in writing, that the student be excused from
23taking the State assessment. The State Board of Education
24shall, by rule, (i) determine the form of the opt-out request;
25(ii) ensure that the State Board of Education, regional
26superintendents of schools, and school boards take no negative

 

 

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1action against a student, school, school district, or district
2employee, through grades or evaluations, due to a student being
3excused from taking a State assessment other than sanctions for
4encouraging or discouraging opting out of State assessments as
5otherwise prohibited under this subsection (c-5); and (iii)
6ensure that students who are excused from taking a State
7assessment are offered supervised instructional or enrichment
8opportunities during the time the State assessment is being
9administered.
10    Once each school year, before any State assessments are
11administered, a school district shall communicate with the
12parents and guardians of students to explain the right to opt
13out of a particular State assessment under this subsection
14(c-5) and shall make opt-out forms available. Neither the
15school district, nor any teacher or school in the district, may
16issue additional official correspondence to students or their
17parents or guardians about the right to opt out under this
18subsection (c-5). A school district shall accept any letter
19expressing a parent's or guardian's intent for his or her child
20to be excused from taking a particular State assessment in lieu
21of the opt-out form as long as the letter is signed by the
22parent or guardian.
23    A school district and its teachers, principals, and other
24administrators are prohibited from encouraging or discouraging
25students or their parents or guardians, either individually or
26collectively, to opt out of State assessments under this

 

 

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1subsection (c-5). The State Board of Education shall, by rule,
2determine appropriate sanctions for a violation of this
3prohibition.
4    (d) Every individualized educational program as described
5in Article 14 shall identify if the State assessment or
6components thereof are appropriate for the student. The State
7Board of Education shall develop rules governing the
8administration of an alternate assessment that may be available
9to students for whom participation in this State's regular
10assessments is not appropriate, even with accommodations as
11allowed under this Section.
12    Students receiving special education services whose
13individualized educational programs identify them as eligible
14for the alternative State assessments nevertheless shall have
15the option of taking this State's regular assessment that
16includes a college and career ready determination, which shall
17be administered in accordance with the eligible accommodations
18appropriate for meeting these students' respective needs.
19    All students determined to be an English language learner,
20referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
21proficiency, shall participate in the State assessments,
22excepting those students who have been enrolled in schools in
23the United States for less than 12 months. Such students may be
24exempted from participation in one annual administration of the
25English language arts assessment. Any student determined to be
26an English language learner, referred to in this Code as a

 

 

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1student with limited English proficiency, shall receive
2appropriate assessment accommodations, including language
3supports, which shall be established by rule. Approved
4assessment accommodations must be provided until the student's
5English language skills develop to the extent that the student
6is no longer considered to be an English language learner,
7referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
8proficiency, as demonstrated through a State-identified
9English language proficiency assessment.
10    (e) The results or scores of each assessment taken under
11this Section shall be made available to the parents of each
12student.
13    In each school year, the scores attained by a student on
14the State assessment that includes a college and career ready
15determination must be placed in the student's permanent record
16and must be entered on the student's transcript pursuant to
17rules that the State Board of Education shall adopt for that
18purpose in accordance with Section 3 of the Illinois School
19Student Records Act. In each school year, the scores attained
20by a student on the State assessments administered in grades 3
21through 8 must be placed in the student's temporary record.
22    (f) All schools shall administer an academic assessment of
23English language proficiency in oral language (listening and
24speaking) and reading and writing skills to all children
25determined to be English language learners, referred to in
26Section 14C-3 of this Code as children with limited

 

 

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1English-speaking ability.
2    (g) All schools in this State that are part of the sample
3drawn by the National Center for Education Statistics, in
4collaboration with their school districts and the State Board
5of Education, shall administer the biennial academic
6assessments under the National Assessment of Educational
7Progress carried out under Section 411(b)(2) of the federal
8National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if
9the U.S. Secretary of Education pays the costs of administering
10the assessments.
11    (h) Subject to available funds to this State for the
12purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
13shall provide additional assessments and assessment resources
14that may be used by school districts for local assessment
15purposes. The State Board of Education shall annually
16distribute a listing of these additional resources.
17    (i) For the purposes of this subsection (i), "academically
18based assessments" means assessments consisting of questions
19and answers that are measurable and quantifiable to measure the
20knowledge, skills, and ability of students in the subject
21matters covered by the assessments. All assessments
22administered pursuant to this Section must be academically
23based assessments. The scoring of academically based
24assessments shall be reliable, valid, and fair and shall meet
25the guidelines for assessment development and use prescribed by
26the American Psychological Association, the National Council

 

 

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1on Measurement in Education, and the American Educational
2Research Association.
3    The State Board of Education shall review the use of all
4assessment item types in order to ensure that they are valid
5and reliable indicators of student performance aligned to the
6learning standards being assessed and that the development,
7administration, and scoring of these item types are justifiable
8in terms of cost.
9    (j) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a
10committee of no more than 21 members, consisting of parents,
11teachers, school administrators, school board members,
12assessment experts, regional superintendents of schools, and
13citizens, to review the State assessments administered by the
14State Board of Education. The Committee shall select one of its
15members as its chairperson. The Committee shall meet on an
16ongoing basis to review the content and design of the
17assessments (including whether the requirements of subsection
18(i) of this Section have been met), the time and money expended
19at the local and State levels to prepare for and administer the
20assessments, the collective results of the assessments as
21measured against the stated purpose of assessing student
22performance, and other issues involving the assessments
23identified by the Committee. The Committee shall make periodic
24recommendations to the State Superintendent of Education and
25the General Assembly concerning the assessments.
26    (k) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to

 

 

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1implement this Section.
2(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.