Full Text of HB1333 95th General Assembly
HB1333 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB1333
Introduced 2/20/2007, by Rep. Mary E. Flowers SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/10-22.4 |
from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.4 |
105 ILCS 5/34-85 |
from Ch. 122, par. 34-85 |
30 ILCS 805/8.31 new |
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Amends the School Code. Requires a teacher to be dismissed if the teacher uses profanity towards a student. 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 |
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A BILL FOR
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HB1333 |
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LRB095 09682 NHT 29884 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | 5 |
| 10-22.4 and 34-85 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/10-22.4) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.4)
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| Sec. 10-22.4. Dismissal of teachers. To dismiss a teacher | 8 |
| for incompetency, cruelty, negligence, immorality
or other | 9 |
| sufficient cause, to dismiss any teacher who fails
to complete | 10 |
| a 1-year remediation plan with a "satisfactory" or
better | 11 |
| rating and to dismiss any teacher whenever, in its
opinion, he | 12 |
| is not qualified to teach, or whenever, in its opinion, the
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| interests of the schools require it, subject, however, to the | 14 |
| provisions of
Sections 24-10 to 24-15, inclusive. Temporary | 15 |
| mental or physical
incapacity to perform teaching duties, as | 16 |
| found by a medical
examination, is not a cause for dismissal.
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| Marriage is not a cause of removal. A teacher must be dismissed | 18 |
| if the teacher uses profanity towards a student.
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| (Source: P.A. 85-248.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/34-85) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-85) | 21 |
| Sec. 34-85. Removal for cause; Notice and hearing; | 22 |
| Suspension. No teacher employed by the board of education shall |
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| (after serving the probationary period specified in Section | 2 |
| 34-84) be removed except for cause. A teacher must be removed | 3 |
| if the teacher uses profanity towards a student. No principal | 4 |
| employed by the board of education shall be removed during the | 5 |
| term of his or her performance contract except for cause, which | 6 |
| may include but is not limited to the principal's repeated | 7 |
| failure to implement the school improvement plan or to comply | 8 |
| with the provisions of the Uniform Performance Contract, | 9 |
| including additional criteria established by the Council for | 10 |
| inclusion in the performance contract pursuant to Section | 11 |
| 34-2.3. | 12 |
| The general superintendent must first approve written | 13 |
| charges and specifications against the teacher or principal. A | 14 |
| local school council may direct the general superintendent to | 15 |
| approve written charges against its principal on behalf of the | 16 |
| Council upon the vote of 7 members of the Council. The general | 17 |
| superintendent must approve those charges within 45 days or | 18 |
| provide a written reason for not approving those charges. A | 19 |
| written notice of those charges shall be served upon the | 20 |
| teacher or principal within 10 days of the approval of the | 21 |
| charges. If the teacher or principal cannot be found upon | 22 |
| diligent inquiry, such charges may be served upon him by | 23 |
| mailing a copy thereof in a sealed envelope by prepaid | 24 |
| certified mail, return receipt requested, to the teacher's or | 25 |
| principal's last known address. A return receipt showing | 26 |
| delivery to such address within 20 days after the date of the |
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| approval of the charges shall constitute proof of service. | 2 |
| No hearing upon the charges is required unless the teacher | 3 |
| or principal within 10 days after receiving notice requests in | 4 |
| writing of the general superintendent that a hearing be | 5 |
| scheduled, in which case the general superintendent shall | 6 |
| schedule a hearing on those charges before a disinterested | 7 |
| hearing officer on a date no less than 15 nor more than 30 days | 8 |
| after the approval of the charges. The general superintendent | 9 |
| shall forward a copy of the notice to the State Board of | 10 |
| Education within 5 days from the date of the approval of the | 11 |
| charges. Within 10 days after receiving the notice of hearing, | 12 |
| the State Board of Education shall provide the teacher or | 13 |
| principal and the general superintendent with a list of 5 | 14 |
| prospective, impartial hearing officers. Each person on the | 15 |
| list must be accredited by a national arbitration organization | 16 |
| and have had a minimum of 5 years of experience as an | 17 |
| arbitrator in cases involving labor and employment relations | 18 |
| matters between educational employers and educational | 19 |
| employees or their exclusive bargaining representatives. | 20 |
| The general superintendent and the teacher or principal or | 21 |
| their legal representatives within 3 days from receipt of the | 22 |
| list shall alternately strike one name from the list until only | 23 |
| one name remains. Unless waived by the teacher, the teacher or | 24 |
| principal shall have the right to proceed first with the | 25 |
| striking. Within 3 days of receipt of the first list provided | 26 |
| by the State Board of Education, the general superintendent and |
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| the teacher or principal or their legal representatives shall | 2 |
| each have the right to reject all prospective hearing officers | 3 |
| named on the first list and to require the State Board of | 4 |
| Education to provide a second list of 5 prospective, impartial | 5 |
| hearing officers, none of whom were named on the first list. | 6 |
| Within 5 days after receiving this request for a second list, | 7 |
| the State Board of Education shall provide the second list of 5 | 8 |
| prospective, impartial hearing officers. The procedure for | 9 |
| selecting a hearing officer from the second list shall be the | 10 |
| same as the procedure for the first list. Each party shall | 11 |
| promptly serve written notice on the other of any name stricken | 12 |
| from the list. If the teacher or principal fails to do so, the | 13 |
| general superintendent may select the hearing officer from any | 14 |
| name remaining on the list. The teacher or principal may waive | 15 |
| the hearing at any time prior to the appointment of the hearing | 16 |
| officer. Notice of the selection of the hearing officer shall | 17 |
| be given to the State Board of Education. The hearing officer | 18 |
| shall be notified of his selection by the State Board of | 19 |
| Education. A signed acceptance shall be filed with the State | 20 |
| Board of Education within 5 days of receipt of notice of the | 21 |
| selection. The State Board of Education shall notify the | 22 |
| teacher or principal and the board of its appointment of the | 23 |
| hearing officer. In the alternative to selecting a hearing | 24 |
| officer from the first or second list received from the State | 25 |
| Board of Education, the general superintendent and the teacher | 26 |
| or principal or their legal representatives may mutually agree |
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| to select an impartial hearing officer who is not on a list | 2 |
| received from the State Board of Education, either by direct | 3 |
| appointment by the parties or by using procedures for the | 4 |
| appointment of an arbitrator established by the Federal | 5 |
| Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration | 6 |
| Association. The parties shall notify the State Board of | 7 |
| Education of their intent to select a hearing officer using an | 8 |
| alternative procedure within 3 days of receipt of a list of | 9 |
| prospective hearing officers provided by the State Board of | 10 |
| Education. Any person selected by the parties under this | 11 |
| alternative procedure for the selection of a hearing officer | 12 |
| shall have the same qualifications and authority as a hearing | 13 |
| officer selected from a list provided by the State Board of | 14 |
| Education. The teacher or principal may waive the hearing at | 15 |
| any time prior to the appointment of the hearing officer. The | 16 |
| State Board of Education shall promulgate uniform standards and | 17 |
| rules of procedure for such hearings, including reasonable | 18 |
| rules of discovery. | 19 |
| The per diem allowance for the hearing officer shall be | 20 |
| paid by the State Board of Education. The hearing officer shall | 21 |
| hold a hearing and render findings of fact and a recommendation | 22 |
| to the general superintendent. The teacher or principal has the | 23 |
| privilege of being present at the hearing with counsel and of | 24 |
| cross-examining witnesses and may offer evidence and witnesses | 25 |
| and present defenses to the charges. The hearing officer may | 26 |
| issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and, at |
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| the request of the teacher or principal against whom a charge | 2 |
| is made or the general superintendent, shall issue such | 3 |
| subpoenas, but the hearing officer may limit the number of | 4 |
| witnesses to be subpoenaed in behalf of the teacher or | 5 |
| principal or the general superintendent to not more than 10 | 6 |
| each. All testimony at the hearing shall be taken under oath | 7 |
| administered by the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall | 8 |
| cause a record of the proceedings to be kept and shall employ a | 9 |
| competent reporter to take stenographic or stenotype notes of | 10 |
| all the testimony. The costs of the reporter's attendance and | 11 |
| services at the hearing shall be paid by the State Board of | 12 |
| Education. Either party desiring a transcript of the hearing | 13 |
| shall pay for the cost thereof. | 14 |
| Pending the hearing of the charges, the person charged may | 15 |
| be suspended in accordance with rules prescribed by the board | 16 |
| but such person, if acquitted, shall not suffer any loss of | 17 |
| salary by reason of the suspension. | 18 |
| Before service of notice of charges on account of causes | 19 |
| that may be deemed to be remediable, the teacher or principal | 20 |
| shall be given reasonable warning in writing, stating | 21 |
| specifically the causes which, if not removed, may result in | 22 |
| charges; however, no such written warning shall be required if | 23 |
| the causes have been the subject of a remediation plan pursuant | 24 |
| to Article 24A. No written warning shall be required for | 25 |
| conduct on the part of a teacher or principal which is cruel, | 26 |
| immoral, negligent, or criminal or which in any way causes |
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| psychological or physical harm or injury to a student as that | 2 |
| conduct is deemed to be irremediable. No written warning shall | 3 |
| be required for a material breach of the uniform principal | 4 |
| performance contract as that conduct is deemed to be | 5 |
| irremediable; provided however, that not less than 30 days | 6 |
| before the vote of the local school council to seek the | 7 |
| dismissal of a principal for a material breach of a uniform | 8 |
| principal performance contract, the local school council shall | 9 |
| specify the nature of the alleged breach in writing and provide | 10 |
| a copy of it to the principal. | 11 |
| The hearing officer shall consider and give weight to all | 12 |
| of the teacher's evaluations written pursuant to Article 24A. | 13 |
| The hearing officer shall within 45 days from the | 14 |
| conclusion of the hearing report to the general superintendent | 15 |
| findings of fact and a recommendation as to whether or not the | 16 |
| teacher or principal shall be dismissed and shall give a copy | 17 |
| of the report to both the teacher or principal and the general | 18 |
| superintendent. The board, within 45 days of receipt of the | 19 |
| hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation, shall | 20 |
| make a decision as to whether the teacher or principal shall be | 21 |
| dismissed from its employ. The failure of the board to strictly | 22 |
| adhere to the timeliness contained herein shall not render it | 23 |
| without jurisdiction to dismiss the teacher or principal. If | 24 |
| the hearing officer fails to render a decision within 45 days, | 25 |
| the State Board of Education shall communicate with the hearing | 26 |
| officer to determine the date that the parties can reasonably |
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| expect to receive the decision. The State Board of Education | 2 |
| shall provide copies of all such communications to the parties. | 3 |
| In the event the hearing officer fails without good cause to | 4 |
| make a decision within the 45 day period, the name of such | 5 |
| hearing officer shall be struck for a period not less than 24 | 6 |
| months from the master list of hearing officers maintained by | 7 |
| the State Board of Education. The board shall not lose | 8 |
| jurisdiction to discharge the teacher or principal if the | 9 |
| hearing officer fails to render a decision within the time | 10 |
| specified in this Section. If a hearing officer fails to render | 11 |
| a decision within 3 months after the hearing is declared | 12 |
| closed, the State Board of Education shall provide the parties | 13 |
| with a new list of prospective, impartial hearing officers, | 14 |
| with the same qualifications provided herein, one of whom shall | 15 |
| be selected, as provided in this Section, to rehear the charges | 16 |
| heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a decision. | 17 |
| The parties may also select a hearing officer pursuant to the | 18 |
| alternative procedure, as provided in this Section, to rehear | 19 |
| the charges heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a | 20 |
| decision. A violation of the professional standards set forth | 21 |
| in "The Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators of | 22 |
| Labor-Management Disputes", of the National Academy of | 23 |
| Arbitrators, the American Arbitration Association, and the | 24 |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, or the failure of a | 25 |
| hearing officer to render a decision within 3 months after the | 26 |
| hearing is declared closed shall be grounds for removal of the |
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| hearing officer from the master list of hearing officers | 2 |
| maintained by the State Board of Education. The decision of the | 3 |
| board is final unless reviewed as provided in Section 34-85b of | 4 |
| this Act. | 5 |
| In the event judicial review is instituted, any costs of | 6 |
| preparing and filing the record of proceedings shall be paid by | 7 |
| the party instituting the review. If a decision of the board
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| hearing officer is adjudicated upon review or appeal in favor | 9 |
| of the teacher or principal, then the trial court shall order | 10 |
| reinstatement and shall determine the amount for which the | 11 |
| board is liable including but not limited to loss of income and | 12 |
| costs incurred therein. Nothing in this Section affects the | 13 |
| validity of removal for cause hearings commenced prior to the | 14 |
| effective date of this amendatory Act of 1978. | 15 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; revised 1-20-03.) | 16 |
| Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | 17 |
| Section 8.31 as follows: | 18 |
| (30 ILCS 805/8.31 new) | 19 |
| Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | 20 |
| of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 21 |
| implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of | 22 |
| the 95th General Assembly.
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