The centers may provide training, technical assistance, coordination and
planning in other program areas such as school improvement, school
accountability, financial planning, consultation, and services, career guidance, early childhood education, alcohol/drug
education and prevention, comprehensive personal health and safety education and comprehensive sexual health education, electronic transmission
of data from school districts to the State, alternative education and regional
special education, and telecommunications systems that provide distance
learning. Such telecommunications systems may be obtained through the
Department of Central Management Services pursuant to Section 405-270 of the
Department of Central Management Services Law (20 ILCS 405/405-270). The programs and services of educational
service centers may be offered to private school teachers and private school
students within each service center area provided public schools have already
been afforded adequate access to such programs and services.
Upon the abolition of the office, removal from office, disqualification for office, resignation from office, or expiration of the current term of office of the regional superintendent of schools, whichever is earlier, the chief administrative officer of the centers serving that portion of a Class II county school unit outside of a city of 500,000 or more inhabitants shall have and exercise, in and with respect to each educational service region having a population of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants and in and with respect to each school district located in any such educational service region, all of the rights, powers, duties, and responsibilities theretofore vested by law in and exercised and performed by the regional superintendent of schools for that area under the provisions of this Code or any other laws of this State.
The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary
to implement this Section. The rules shall include detailed standards which
delineate the scope and specific content of programs to be provided by each
Educational Service Center, as well as the specific planning, implementation
and evaluation services to be provided by each Center relative to its programs.
The Board shall also provide the standards by which it will evaluate the
programs provided by each Center.
(b) Centers serving Class 1 county school units shall be governed by an
11-member board, 3 members of which shall be public school teachers
nominated by the local bargaining representatives to the appropriate regional
superintendent for appointment and no more than 3 members of which shall be
from each of the following categories, including but not limited to
superintendents, regional superintendents, school board members
and a representative of an institution of higher education. The members of
the board shall be appointed by the regional superintendents whose school
districts are served by the educational service center.
The composition of the board will reflect the revisions of this
amendatory Act of 1989 as the terms of office of current members expire.
(c) The centers shall be of sufficient size and number to assure delivery
of services to all local school districts in the State.
(d) From monies appropriated for this program the State Board of
Education shall provide grants paid from the Personal Property Tax Replacement Fund to qualifying Educational Service Centers
applying for such grants in accordance with rules and regulations
promulgated by the State Board of Education to implement this Section.
(e) The governing authority of each of the 18 regional educational service
centers shall appoint a comprehensive personal health and safety education and comprehensive sexual health education advisory board
consisting of 2 parents, 2 teachers, 2 school administrators, 2 school
board members, 2 health care professionals, one library system
representative, and the director of the regional educational service center
who shall serve as chairperson of the advisory board so appointed. Members
of the comprehensive personal health and safety education and comprehensive sexual health education advisory boards shall serve without
compensation. Each of the advisory boards appointed pursuant to this
subsection shall develop a plan for regional teacher-parent comprehensive personal health and safety education and comprehensive sexual health
education training sessions and shall file a written report of such plan
with the governing board of their regional educational service center. The
directors of each of the regional educational service
centers shall thereupon meet, review each of the reports submitted by the
advisory boards and combine those reports into a single written report which
they shall file with the Citizens Council on School Problems prior to the
end of the regular school term of the 1987-1988 school year.
(f) The 14 educational service centers serving Class I county school units
shall be disbanded on the first Monday of August, 1995, and their statutory
responsibilities and programs shall be assumed by the regional offices of
education, subject to rules and regulations developed by
the
State Board of Education. The regional superintendents of schools elected by
the voters residing in all Class I counties shall serve as the chief
administrators for these programs and services.
(Source: P.A. 102-522, eff. 8-20-21.)
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