Full Text of HB2221 99th General Assembly
HB2221 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB2221 Introduced , by Rep. Jim Durkin SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 105 ILCS 5/2-3.25g | from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.25g |
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Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning
waivers of School Code mandates.
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| | 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 Section | 5 | | 2-3.25g as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25g) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.25g) | 7 | | Sec. 2-3.25g. Waiver or modification of mandates within the | 8 | | School
Code and administrative rules and regulations. | 9 | | (a) In this Section: | 10 | | "Board" means a school board or the the governing board | 11 | | or administrative district, as the case may be, for a joint | 12 | | agreement. | 13 | | "Eligible applicant" means a school district, joint | 14 | | agreement made up of school districts, or regional | 15 | | superintendent of schools on behalf of schools and programs | 16 | | operated by the regional office of education.
| 17 | | "Implementation date" has the meaning set forth in | 18 | | Section 24A-2.5 of this Code. | 19 | | "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
| 20 | | (b) Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this School | 21 | | Code or any other law of this State to the
contrary, eligible | 22 | | applicants may petition the State Board of Education for the
| 23 | | waiver or modification of the mandates of this School Code or |
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| 1 | | of the
administrative rules and regulations promulgated by the | 2 | | State Board of
Education. Waivers or modifications of | 3 | | administrative rules and regulations
and modifications of | 4 | | mandates of this School Code may be requested when an eligible | 5 | | applicant demonstrates that it can address the intent of the | 6 | | rule or
mandate in a more effective, efficient, or economical | 7 | | manner or when necessary
to stimulate innovation or improve | 8 | | student performance. Waivers of
mandates of
the School Code may | 9 | | be requested when the waivers are necessary to stimulate
| 10 | | innovation or improve student performance. Waivers may not be | 11 | | requested
from laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to | 12 | | special education, teacher educator licensure, teacher tenure | 13 | | and seniority, or Section 5-2.1 of this Code or from compliance | 14 | | with the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). | 15 | | Eligible applicants may not seek a waiver or seek a | 16 | | modification of a mandate regarding the requirements for (i) | 17 | | student performance data to be a significant factor in teacher | 18 | | or principal evaluations or (ii) for teachers and principals to | 19 | | be rated using the 4 categories of "excellent", "proficient", | 20 | | "needs improvement", or "unsatisfactory". On September 1, | 21 | | 2014, any previously authorized waiver or modification from | 22 | | such requirements shall terminate. | 23 | | (c) Eligible applicants, as a matter of inherent managerial | 24 | | policy, and any
Independent Authority established under | 25 | | Section 2-3.25f may submit an
application for a waiver or | 26 | | modification authorized under this Section. Each
application |
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| 1 | | must include a written request by the eligible applicant or
| 2 | | Independent Authority and must demonstrate that the intent of | 3 | | the mandate can
be addressed in a more effective, efficient, or | 4 | | economical manner
or be based
upon a specific plan for improved | 5 | | student performance and school improvement.
Any eligible | 6 | | applicant requesting a waiver or modification for the reason | 7 | | that intent
of the mandate can be addressed in a more | 8 | | economical manner shall include in
the application a fiscal | 9 | | analysis showing current expenditures on the mandate
and | 10 | | projected savings resulting from the waiver
or modification. | 11 | | Applications
and plans developed by eligible applicants must be | 12 | | approved by the board or regional superintendent of schools | 13 | | applying on behalf of schools or programs operated by the | 14 | | regional office of education following a public hearing on the | 15 | | application and plan and the
opportunity for the board or | 16 | | regional superintendent to hear testimony from staff
directly | 17 | | involved in
its implementation, parents, and students. The time | 18 | | period for such testimony shall be separate from the time | 19 | | period established by the eligible applicant for public comment | 20 | | on other matters. If the applicant is a school district or | 21 | | joint agreement requesting a waiver or modification of Section | 22 | | 27-6 of this Code, the public hearing shall be held on a day | 23 | | other than the day on which a regular meeting of the board is | 24 | | held. | 25 | | (c-5) If the applicant is a school district, then the | 26 | | district shall post information that sets forth the time, date, |
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| 1 | | place, and general subject matter of the public hearing on its | 2 | | Internet website at least 14 days prior to the hearing. If the | 3 | | district is requesting to increase the fee charged for driver | 4 | | education authorized pursuant to Section 27-24.2 of this Code, | 5 | | the website information shall include the proposed amount of | 6 | | the fee the district will request. All school districts must | 7 | | publish a notice of the public hearing at least 7 days prior to | 8 | | the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the | 9 | | school district that sets forth the time, date, place, and | 10 | | general subject matter of the hearing. Districts requesting to | 11 | | increase the fee charged for driver education shall include in | 12 | | the published notice the proposed amount of the fee the | 13 | | district will request. If the applicant is a joint agreement or | 14 | | regional superintendent, then the joint agreement or regional | 15 | | superintendent shall post information that sets forth the time, | 16 | | date, place, and general subject matter of the public hearing | 17 | | on its Internet website at least 14 days prior to the hearing. | 18 | | If the joint agreement or regional superintendent is requesting | 19 | | to increase the fee charged for driver education authorized | 20 | | pursuant to Section 27-24.2 of this Code, the website | 21 | | information shall include the proposed amount of the fee the | 22 | | applicant will request. All joint agreements and regional | 23 | | superintendents must publish a notice of the public hearing at | 24 | | least 7 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general | 25 | | circulation in each school district that is a member of the | 26 | | joint agreement or that is served by the educational service |
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| 1 | | region that sets forth the time, date, place, and general | 2 | | subject matter of the hearing, provided that a notice appearing | 3 | | in a newspaper generally circulated in more than one school | 4 | | district shall be deemed to fulfill this requirement with | 5 | | respect to all of the affected districts. Joint agreements or | 6 | | regional superintendents requesting to increase the fee | 7 | | charged for driver education shall include in the published | 8 | | notice the proposed amount of the fee the applicant will | 9 | | request. The
eligible applicant must notify in writing the | 10 | | affected exclusive collective
bargaining agent and those State | 11 | | legislators representing the eligible applicant's territory of
| 12 | | its
intent to seek approval of a
waiver or
modification and of | 13 | | the hearing to be held to take testimony from staff.
The | 14 | | affected exclusive collective bargaining agents shall be | 15 | | notified of such
public hearing at least 7 days prior to the | 16 | | date of the hearing and shall be
allowed to attend
such public | 17 | | hearing. The eligible applicant shall attest to compliance with | 18 | | all of
the notification and procedural requirements set forth | 19 | | in this Section. | 20 | | (d) A request for a waiver or modification of | 21 | | administrative rules and
regulations or for a modification of | 22 | | mandates contained in this School Code
shall be submitted to | 23 | | the State Board of Education within 15 days after
approval by | 24 | | the board or regional superintendent of schools. The | 25 | | application as submitted to the
State Board of Education shall | 26 | | include a description of the public hearing. Except with |
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| 1 | | respect to contracting for adaptive driver education, an | 2 | | eligible applicant wishing to request a modification or waiver | 3 | | of administrative rules of the State Board of Education | 4 | | regarding contracting with a commercial driver training school | 5 | | to provide the course of study authorized under Section 27-24.2 | 6 | | of this Code must provide evidence with its application that | 7 | | the commercial driver training school with which it will | 8 | | contract holds a license issued by the Secretary of State under | 9 | | Article IV of Chapter 6 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and that | 10 | | each instructor employed by the commercial driver training | 11 | | school to provide instruction to students served by the school | 12 | | district holds a valid teaching certificate or teaching | 13 | | license, as applicable, issued under the requirements of this | 14 | | Code and rules of the State Board of Education. Such evidence | 15 | | must include, but need not be limited to, a list of each | 16 | | instructor assigned to teach students served by the school | 17 | | district, which list shall include the instructor's name, | 18 | | personal identification number as required by the State Board | 19 | | of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. If the | 20 | | modification or waiver is granted, then the eligible applicant | 21 | | shall notify the State Board of Education of any changes in the | 22 | | personnel providing instruction within 15 calendar days after | 23 | | an instructor leaves the program or a new instructor is hired. | 24 | | Such notification shall include the instructor's name, | 25 | | personal identification number as required by the State Board | 26 | | of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. If a |
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| 1 | | school district maintains an Internet website, then the | 2 | | district shall post a copy of the final contract between the | 3 | | district and the commercial driver training school on the | 4 | | district's Internet website. If no Internet website exists, | 5 | | then the district shall make available the contract upon | 6 | | request. A record of all materials in relation to the | 7 | | application for contracting must be maintained by the school | 8 | | district and made available to parents and guardians upon | 9 | | request. The instructor's date of birth and driver's license | 10 | | number and any other personally identifying information as | 11 | | deemed by the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 | 12 | | must be redacted from any public materials.
Following receipt | 13 | | of the waiver or modification request, the
State Board shall | 14 | | have 45 days to review the application and request. If the
| 15 | | State Board fails to disapprove the application within that 45 | 16 | | day period, the
waiver or modification shall be deemed granted. | 17 | | The State Board
may disapprove
any request if it is not based | 18 | | upon sound educational practices, endangers the
health or | 19 | | safety of students or staff, compromises equal opportunities | 20 | | for
learning, or fails to demonstrate that the intent of the | 21 | | rule or mandate can be
addressed in a more effective, | 22 | | efficient, or economical manner or have improved
student | 23 | | performance as a primary goal. Any request disapproved by the | 24 | | State
Board may be appealed to the General Assembly by the | 25 | | eligible applicant
as outlined in this Section. | 26 | | A request for a waiver from mandates contained in this |
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| 1 | | School Code shall be
submitted to the State Board within 15 | 2 | | days after approval by the board or regional superintendent of | 3 | | schools.
The application as submitted to the State Board of | 4 | | Education
shall include a description of the public hearing. | 5 | | The description shall
include, but need not be limited to, the | 6 | | means of notice, the number of people
in attendance, the number | 7 | | of people who spoke as proponents or opponents of the
waiver, a | 8 | | brief description of their comments, and whether there were any
| 9 | | written statements submitted.
The State Board shall review the | 10 | | applications and requests for
completeness and shall compile | 11 | | the requests in reports to be filed with the
General Assembly.
| 12 | | The State Board shall file
reports outlining the waivers
| 13 | | requested by eligible applicants
and appeals by eligible | 14 | | applicants of requests
disapproved by the State Board with the | 15 | | Senate and the House of
Representatives before each March 1 and
| 16 | | October
1. The General Assembly may disapprove the report of | 17 | | the State Board in whole
or in part within 60 calendar days | 18 | | after each house of the General Assembly
next
convenes after | 19 | | the report is filed by adoption of a resolution by a record | 20 | | vote
of the majority of members elected in each house. If the | 21 | | General Assembly
fails to disapprove any waiver request or | 22 | | appealed request within such 60
day period, the waiver or | 23 | | modification shall be deemed granted. Any resolution
adopted by | 24 | | the General Assembly disapproving a report of the State Board | 25 | | in
whole or in part shall be binding on the State Board. | 26 | | (e) An approved waiver or modification (except a waiver |
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| 1 | | from or modification to a physical education mandate) may | 2 | | remain in effect for a period not to
exceed 5 school years and | 3 | | may be renewed upon application by the
eligible applicant. | 4 | | However, such waiver or modification may be changed within that
| 5 | | 5-year period by a board or regional superintendent of schools | 6 | | applying on behalf of schools or programs operated by the | 7 | | regional office of education following the procedure as set
| 8 | | forth in this Section for the initial waiver or modification | 9 | | request. If
neither the State Board of Education nor the | 10 | | General Assembly disapproves, the
change is deemed granted. | 11 | | An approved waiver from or modification to a physical | 12 | | education mandate may remain in effect for a period not to | 13 | | exceed 2 school years and may be renewed no more than 2 times | 14 | | upon application by the eligible applicant. An approved waiver | 15 | | from or modification to a physical education mandate may be | 16 | | changed within the 2-year period by the board or regional | 17 | | superintendent of schools, whichever is applicable, following | 18 | | the procedure set forth in this Section for the initial waiver | 19 | | or modification request. If neither the State Board of | 20 | | Education nor the General Assembly disapproves, the change is | 21 | | deemed granted.
| 22 | | (f) (Blank). | 23 | | (Source: P.A. 97-1025, eff. 1-1-13; 98-513, eff. 1-1-14; | 24 | | 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; revised 12-1-14.) |
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