Full Text of SB0136 97th General Assembly
SB0136 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 SB0136 Introduced 1/27/2011, by Sen. Edward D. Maloney SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o | | 105 ILCS 5/26-1 | from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 |
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Amends the School Code. Requires the parents or legal guardians of children attending non-public schools, a defined term, or private or parochial schools to annually register their children with the State Board of Education, in conformance with procedures prescribed by the State Board of Education.
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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,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | 5 | | 2-3.25o and 26-1 as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o)
| 7 | | Sec. 2-3.25o. Registration and recognition of non-public | 8 | | elementary and
secondary schools ; student registration .
| 9 | | (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares (i) | 10 | | that the
Constitution
of the State of Illinois provides that a | 11 | | "fundamental goal of the People of the
State is the
educational | 12 | | development of all persons to the limits of their capacities" | 13 | | and
(ii) that the
educational development of every school | 14 | | student serves the public purposes of
the State.
In order to | 15 | | ensure that all Illinois students and teachers have the | 16 | | opportunity
to enroll and
work in State-approved educational | 17 | | institutions and programs, the State Board
of
Education shall | 18 | | provide for the voluntary registration and recognition of
| 19 | | non-public
elementary and secondary schools.
| 20 | | (b) Registration. All non-public elementary and secondary | 21 | | schools in the
State
of
Illinois may voluntarily register with | 22 | | the State Board of Education on an
annual basis. Registration | 23 | | shall
be completed
in conformance with procedures prescribed by |
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| 1 | | the State Board of Education.
Information
required for | 2 | | registration shall include assurances of compliance (i) with
| 3 | | federal
and State
laws regarding health examination and | 4 | | immunization, attendance, length of term,
and
| 5 | | nondiscrimination and (ii) with applicable fire and health | 6 | | safety requirements.
| 7 | | The parents or legal guardians of all children attending | 8 | | non-public elementary or secondary schools in this State must | 9 | | annually register their children with the State Board of | 10 | | Education, in conformance with procedures prescribed by the | 11 | | State Board of Education. | 12 | | (c) Recognition. All non-public elementary and secondary | 13 | | schools in the
State of
Illinois may voluntarily seek the | 14 | | status of "Non-public School Recognition"
from
the State
Board | 15 | | of Education. This status may be obtained by compliance with
| 16 | | administrative
guidelines and review procedures as prescribed | 17 | | by the State Board of Education.
The
guidelines and procedures | 18 | | must recognize that some of the aims and the
financial bases of
| 19 | | non-public schools are different from public schools and will | 20 | | not be identical
to those for
public schools, nor will they be | 21 | | more burdensome. The guidelines and procedures
must
also | 22 | | recognize the diversity of non-public schools and shall not | 23 | | impinge upon
the
noneducational relationships between those | 24 | | schools and their clientele.
| 25 | | (c-5) Prohibition against recognition. A non-public | 26 | | elementary or secondary school may not obtain "Non-public |
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| 1 | | School Recognition" status unless the school requires all | 2 | | certified and non-certified applicants for employment with the | 3 | | school, after July 1, 2007, to authorize a fingerprint-based | 4 | | criminal history records check as a condition of employment to | 5 | | determine if such applicants have been convicted of any of the | 6 | | enumerated criminal or drug offenses set forth in Section | 7 | | 21-23a of this Code or have been convicted, within 7 years of | 8 | | the application for employment, of any other felony under the | 9 | | laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in | 10 | | any other state or against the laws of the United States that, | 11 | | if committed or attempted in this State, would have been | 12 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. | 13 | | Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the | 14 | | applicant to the school, except that if the applicant is a | 15 | | substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one | 16 | | non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time | 17 | | employment positions with more than one non-public school (as a | 18 | | reading specialist, special education teacher, or otherwise), | 19 | | or an educational support personnel employee seeking | 20 | | employment positions with more than one non-public school, then | 21 | | only one of the non-public schools employing the individual | 22 | | shall request the authorization. Upon receipt of this | 23 | | authorization, the non-public school shall submit the | 24 | | applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security | 25 | | number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as | 26 | | prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department |
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| 1 | | of State Police. | 2 | | The Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of | 3 | | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based | 4 | | criminal history records check, records of convictions, | 5 | | forever and hereafter, until expunged, to the president or | 6 | | principal of the non-public school that requested the check. | 7 | | The Department of State Police shall charge that school a fee | 8 | | for conducting such check, which fee must be deposited into the | 9 | | State Police Services Fund and must not exceed the cost of the | 10 | | inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the | 11 | | State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse non-public | 12 | | schools for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks | 13 | | under this Section. | 14 | | A non-public school may not obtain recognition status | 15 | | unless the school also performs a check of the Statewide Sex | 16 | | Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community | 17 | | Notification Law, for each applicant for employment, after July | 18 | | 1, 2007, to determine whether the applicant has been | 19 | | adjudicated a sex offender. | 20 | | Any information concerning the record of convictions | 21 | | obtained by a non-public school's president or principal under | 22 | | this Section is confidential and may be disseminated only to | 23 | | the governing body of the non-public school or any other person | 24 | | necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for | 25 | | employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from | 26 | | the Department of State Police shall be provided to the |
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| 1 | | applicant for employment. Upon a check of the Statewide Sex | 2 | | Offender Database, the non-public school shall notify the | 3 | | applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been | 4 | | identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex offender. Any | 5 | | information concerning the records of conviction obtained by | 6 | | the non-public school's president or principal under this | 7 | | Section for a substitute teacher seeking employment in more | 8 | | than one non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent | 9 | | part-time employment positions with more than one non-public | 10 | | school (as a reading specialist, special education teacher, or | 11 | | otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee | 12 | | seeking employment positions with more than one non-public | 13 | | school may be shared with another non-public school's principal | 14 | | or president to which the applicant seeks employment. Any | 15 | | person who releases any criminal history record information | 16 | | concerning an applicant for employment is guilty of a Class A | 17 | | misdemeanor and may be subject to prosecution under federal | 18 | | law, unless the release of such information is authorized by | 19 | | this Section. | 20 | | No non-public school may obtain recognition status that | 21 | | knowingly employs a person, hired after July 1, 2007, for whom | 22 | | a Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of | 23 | | Investigation fingerprint-based criminal history records check | 24 | | and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been | 25 | | initiated or who has been convicted of any offense enumerated | 26 | | in Section 21-23a of this Code or any offense committed or |
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| 1 | | attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United | 2 | | States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would | 3 | | have been punishable as one or more of those offenses. No | 4 | | non-public school may obtain recognition status under this | 5 | | Section that knowingly employs a person who has been found to | 6 | | be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under | 7 | | 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the | 8 | | Juvenile Court Act of 1987. | 9 | | In order to obtain recognition status under this Section, a | 10 | | non-public school must require compliance with the provisions | 11 | | of this subsection (c-5) from all employees of persons or firms | 12 | | holding contracts with the school, including, but not limited | 13 | | to, food service workers, school bus drivers, and other | 14 | | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with | 15 | | pupils. Any information concerning the records of conviction or | 16 | | identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained | 17 | | by the non-public school principal or president must be | 18 | | promptly reported to the school's governing body.
| 19 | | (d) Public purposes. The provisions of this Section are in | 20 | | the public
interest, for
the public benefit, and serve secular | 21 | | public purposes.
| 22 | | (e) Definition. For purposes of this Section, a non-public | 23 | | school means any
non-profit, non-home-based, and non-public | 24 | | elementary or secondary school that
is
in
compliance with Title | 25 | | VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at
which
| 26 | | satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of this Code.
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 95-351, eff. 8-23-07; 96-431, eff. 8-13-09.)
| 2 | | (105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
| 3 | | Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has | 4 | | custody or control of any child between the ages of 7 and 17
| 5 | | years (unless the child has already graduated from high school)
| 6 | | shall cause such child to attend some public school in the | 7 | | district
wherein the child resides the entire time it is in | 8 | | session during the
regular school term, except as provided in | 9 | | Section 10-19.1, and during a
required summer school program | 10 | | established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
that
the | 11 | | following children shall not be required to attend the public | 12 | | schools:
| 13 | | 1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school | 14 | | where children
are taught the branches of education taught | 15 | | to children of corresponding
age and grade in the public | 16 | | schools , and where the instruction of the child
in the | 17 | | branches of education is in the English language , provided | 18 | | that the parents or legal guardians of the child annually | 19 | | register the child with the State Board of Education in | 20 | | accordance with procedures prescribed by the State Board of | 21 | | Education ;
| 22 | | 2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to | 23 | | attend school, such
disability being certified to the | 24 | | county or district truant officer by a
competent physician | 25 | | licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in |
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| 1 | | all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under | 2 | | the Medical Practice Act of 1987, an advanced practice | 3 | | nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a | 4 | | collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced | 5 | | practice nurse to perform health examinations, a physician | 6 | | assistant who has been delegated the authority to perform | 7 | | health examinations by his or her supervising physician, or | 8 | | a Christian Science practitioner residing in this
State and | 9 | | listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is excused | 10 | | for
temporary absence for cause by
the principal or teacher | 11 | | of the school which the child attends; the exemptions
in | 12 | | this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is | 13 | | pregnant or the
mother of one or more children, except | 14 | | where a female is unable to attend
school due to a | 15 | | complication arising from her pregnancy and the existence
| 16 | | of such complication is certified to the county or district | 17 | | truant officer
by a competent physician;
| 18 | | 3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed | 19 | | according to the
provisions of the law regulating child | 20 | | labor may be excused from attendance
at school by the | 21 | | county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
| 22 | | the public school which the child should be attending, on | 23 | | certification of
the facts by and the recommendation of the | 24 | | school board of the public
school district in which the | 25 | | child resides. In districts having part time
continuation | 26 | | schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at
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| 1 | | least 8 hours each week;
| 2 | | 4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in | 3 | | attendance at
confirmation classes;
| 4 | | 5. Any child absent from a public school on a | 5 | | particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for | 6 | | the reason that he is unable to attend
classes or to | 7 | | participate in any examination, study or work requirements | 8 | | on
a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, | 9 | | because the tenets
of his religion forbid secular activity | 10 | | on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day. | 11 | | Each school board shall prescribe rules and
regulations | 12 | | relative to absences for religious holidays including, but | 13 | | not
limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it | 14 | | shall be mandatory to
excuse a child; but nothing in this | 15 | | paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit
the right of any | 16 | | school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on
| 17 | | any other day by reason of the observance of a religious | 18 | | holiday. A school
board may require the parent or guardian | 19 | | of a child who is to be excused
from attending school due | 20 | | to the observance of a religious holiday to give
notice, | 21 | | not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
| 22 | | principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from | 23 | | attending
school under this paragraph 5 shall not be | 24 | | required to submit a written
excuse for such absence after | 25 | | returning to school; and | 26 | | 6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits |
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| 1 | | to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful | 2 | | employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) | 3 | | is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to | 4 | | Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning | 5 | | opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B | 6 | | of this Code.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 96-367, eff. 8-13-09.)
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