105 ILCS 5/14A-32

(105 ILCS 5/14A-32)

Sec. 14A-32. Accelerated placement; school district responsibilities.

(a) Each school district shall have a policy that allows for accelerated placement that includes or incorporates by reference the following components:

(1) a provision that provides that participation in accelerated placement is not limited to those children who have been identified as gifted and talented, but rather is open to all children who demonstrate high ability and who may benefit from accelerated placement;

(2) a fair and equitable decision-making process that involves multiple persons and includes a student's parents or guardians;

(3) procedures for notifying parents or guardians of a child of a decision affecting that child's participation in an accelerated placement program; and

(4) an assessment process that includes multiple valid, reliable indicators.

(a-5) By no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy shall allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student meets or exceeds State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under Section 2-3.64a-5 as follows:

(1) A student who exceeds State standards in English language arts shall be automatically enrolled into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in English, social studies, humanities, or related subjects.

(2) A student who exceeds State standards in mathematics shall be automatically enrolled into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in mathematics.

(3) A student who exceeds State standards in science shall be automatically enrolled into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in science.

(a-10) By no later than the beginning of the 2027-2028 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy shall allow for automatic eligibility, in the following school term, for a student to enroll in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student meets State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under Section 2-3.64a-5 as follows:

(1) A student who meets State standards in English language arts shall be automatically eligible to enroll in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in English, social studies, humanities, or related subjects.

(2) A student who meets State standards in mathematics shall be automatically eligible to enroll in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in mathematics.

(3) A student who meets State standards in science shall be automatically eligible to enroll in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in science.

(a-15) For a student entering grade 12, the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in English language arts or mathematics shall be a dual credit course, as defined in the Dual Credit Quality Act, an Advanced Placement course, as defined in Section 10 of the College and Career Success for All Students Act, or an International Baccalaureate course; otherwise, the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework under this subsection (a-15) may include a dual credit course, as defined in the Dual Credit Quality Act, an Advanced Placement course, as defined in Section 10 of the College and Career Success for All Students Act, an International Baccalaureate course, an honors class, an enrichment opportunity, a gifted program, or another program offered by the district.

A school district may use the student's most recent State assessment results to determine whether a student meets or exceeds State standards. For a student entering grade 9, results from the State assessment taken in grades 6 through 8 may be used. For other high school grades, the results from a locally selected, nationally normed assessment may be used instead of the State assessment if those results are the most recent.

(a-20) A school district's accelerated placement policy may allow for the waiver of a course or unit of instruction completion requirement if (i) completion of the course or unit of instruction is required by this Code or rules adopted by the State Board of Education as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma and (ii) the school district has determined that the student has demonstrated mastery of or competency in the content of the course or unit of instruction. The school district shall maintain documentation of this determination of mastery or competency for each student, that shall include identification of the learning standards or competencies reviewed, the methods of measurement used, student performance, the date of the determination, and identification of the district personnel involved in the determination process.

(a-25) A school district's accelerated placement policy must include a process through which the parent or guardian of each student who meets State standards is provided notification in writing of the student's eligibility for enrollment in accelerated courses. This notification must provide details on the procedures for the parent or guardian to enroll or not enroll the student in accelerated courses, in writing, on forms the school district makes available. If no course selection is made by the parent or guardian in accordance with procedures set forth by the school district, the student shall be automatically enrolled in the next most rigorous level of coursework. A school district must provide the parent or guardian of a student eligible for enrollment under subsection (a-5) or (a-10) with the option to instead have the student enroll in alternative coursework that better aligns with the student's postsecondary education or career goals. If applicable, a school district must provide notification to a student's parent or guardian that the student will receive a waiver of a course or unit of instruction completion requirement under subsections (a-5) or (a-10).

Nothing in subsection (a-5) or (a-10) may be interpreted to preclude other students from enrolling in advanced coursework per the policy of a school district.

(a-30) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the implementation of policies that allow for automatic enrollment of students who meet standards on State assessments into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by a high school.

(b) Further, a school district's accelerated placement policy may include or incorporate by reference, but need not be limited to, the following components:

(1) procedures for annually informing the community at-large, including parents or guardians, community-based organizations, and providers of out-of-school programs, about the accelerated placement program and the methods used for the identification of children eligible for accelerated placement, including strategies to reach groups of students and families who have been historically underrepresented in accelerated placement programs and advanced coursework;

(2) a process for referral that allows for multiple referrers, including a child's parents or guardians; other referrers may include licensed education professionals, the child, with the written consent of a parent or guardian, a peer, through a licensed education professional who has knowledge of the referred child's abilities, or, in case of possible early entrance, a preschool educator, pediatrician, or psychologist who knows the child;

(3) a provision that provides that children participating in an accelerated placement program and their parents or guardians will be provided a written plan detailing the type of acceleration the child will receive and strategies to support the child;

(4) procedures to provide support and promote success for students who are newly enrolled in an accelerated placement program;

(5) a process for the school district to review and utilize disaggregated data on participation in an accelerated placement program to address gaps among demographic groups in accelerated placement opportunities; and

(6) procedures to promote equity, which may incorporate one or more of the following evidence-based practices:

(A) the use of multiple tools to assess exceptional potential and provide several pathways into advanced academic programs when assessing student need for advanced academic or accelerated programming;

(B) providing enrichment opportunities starting in the early grades to address achievement gaps that occur at school entry and provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their advanced potential;

(C) the use of universal screening combined with local school-based norms for placement in accelerated and advanced learning programs;

(D) developing a continuum of services to identify and develop talent in all learners ranging from enriched learning experiences, such as problem-based learning, performance tasks, critical thinking, and career exploration, to accelerated placement and advanced academic programming; and

(E) providing professional learning in gifted education for teachers and other appropriate school personnel to appropriately identify and challenge students from diverse cultures and backgrounds who may benefit from accelerated placement or advanced academic programming.

(c) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to determine data to be collected and disaggregated by demographic group regarding accelerated placement, including the rates of students who participate in and successfully complete advanced coursework, and a method of making the information available to the public.

(d) On or before November 1, 2022, following a review of disaggregated data on the participation and successful completion rates of students enrolled in an accelerated placement program, each school district shall develop a plan to expand access to its accelerated placement program and to ensure the teaching capacity necessary to meet the increased demand.

(Source: P.A. 102-209, eff. 11-30-21 (See Section 5 of P.A. 102-671 for effective date of P.A. 102-209); 103-263, eff. 6-30-23; 103-743, eff. 8-2-24.)