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90_HB1098sam002
SRS90HB1098KSsaam02
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1098
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 1098, AS AMENDED,
3 by replacing the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections
5 1B-6, 1B-16, 1B-20, 1b-22, and 21-1."; and
6 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
7 following:
8 "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
9 Sections 1B-6, 1B-16, 1B-20, 1B-22, and 21-1 as follows:
10 (105 ILCS 5/1B-6) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-6)
11 Sec. 1B-6. General powers. The purpose of the Financial
12 Oversight Panel shall be to exercise financial control over
13 the board of education, and, when approved by the State Board
14 and the State Superintendent of Education, to furnish
15 financial assistance so that the board can provide public
16 education within the board's jurisdiction while permitting
17 the board to meet its obligations to its creditors and the
18 holders of its notes and bonds. Except as expressly limited
19 by this Article, the Panel shall have all powers necessary to
20 meet its responsibilities and to carry out its purposes and
21 the purposes of this Article, including, but not limited to,
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1 the following powers:
2 (a) to sue and be sued;
3 (b) to provide for its organization and internal
4 management;
5 (c) to appoint a Financial Administrator to serve as the
6 chief executive officer of the Panel. The Financial
7 Administrator may be an individual, partnership, corporation,
8 including an accounting firm, or other entity determined by
9 the Panel to be qualified to serve; and to appoint other
10 officers, agents, and employees of the Panel, define their
11 duties and qualifications and fix their compensation and
12 employee benefits;
13 (d) to approve the local board of education appointments
14 to the positions of treasurer in a Class I county school unit
15 and in each school district which forms a part of a Class II
16 county school unit but which no longer is subject to the
17 jurisdiction and authority of a township treasurer or
18 trustees of schools of a township because the district has
19 withdrawn from the jurisdiction and authority of the township
20 treasurer and the trustees of schools of the township or
21 because those offices have been abolished as provided in
22 subsection (b) or (c) of Section 5-1, and chief school
23 business official, if such official is not the superintendent
24 of the district. Either the board or the Panel may remove
25 such treasurer or chief school business official.
26 (e) to approve any and all bonds, notes, teachers
27 orders, tax anticipation warrants, and other evidences of
28 indebtedness prior to issuance or sale by the school
29 district; and notwithstanding any other provision of The
30 School Code, as now or hereafter amended, no bonds, notes,
31 teachers orders, tax anticipation warrants or other evidences
32 of indebtedness shall be issued or sold by the school
33 district or be legally binding upon or enforceable against
34 the local board of education unless and until the approval of
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1 the Panel has been received.
2 (f) to approve all property tax levies of the school
3 district and require adjustments thereto as the Panel deems
4 necessary or advisable;
5 (g) to require and approve a school district financial
6 plan;
7 (h) to approve and require revisions of the school
8 district budget;
9 (i) to approve all contracts and other obligations as
10 the Panel deems necessary and appropriate;
11 (j) to authorize emergency State financial assistance,
12 including requirements regarding the terms and conditions of
13 repayment of such assistance, and to require the board of
14 education to levy a separate local property tax, subject to
15 the limitations of Section 1B-8, sufficient to repay such
16 assistance consistent with the terms and conditions of
17 repayment and the district's approved financial plan and
18 budget;
19 (k) to request the regional superintendent to make
20 appointments to fill all vacancies on the local school board
21 as provided in subsection (d) of Section 1B-20 10-10;
22 (l) to recommend dissolution or reorganization of the
23 school district to the General Assembly if in the Panel's
24 judgment the circumstances so require;
25 (m) to direct a phased reduction in the oversight
26 responsibilities of the Financial Administrator and of the
27 Panel as the circumstances permit;
28 (n) to determine the amount of emergency State financial
29 assistance to be made available to the school district, and
30 to establish an operating budget for the Panel to be
31 supported by funds available from such assistance, with the
32 assistance and the budget required to be approved by the
33 State Superintendent;
34 (o) to procure insurance against any loss in such
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1 amounts and from such insurers as it deems necessary;
2 (p) to engage the services of consultants for rendering
3 professional and technical assistance and advice on matters
4 within the Panel's power;
5 (q) to contract for and to accept any gifts, grants or
6 loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any
7 form from the federal government, State government, unit of
8 local government, school district or any agency or
9 instrumentality thereof, or from any other private or public
10 source, and to comply with the terms and conditions thereof;
11 (r) to pay the expenses of its operations based on the
12 Panel's budget as approved by the State Superintendent from
13 emergency financial assistance funds available to the
14 district or from deductions from the district's general State
15 aid; and
16 (s) to do any and all things necessary or convenient to
17 carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given to the
18 Panel by this Article.
19 (Source: P.A. 87-473; 88-618, eff. 9-9-94.)
20 (105 ILCS 5/1B-16) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-16)
21 Sec. 1B-16. Cash accounts and bank accounts. (a) The
22 Panel shall require the board or any officer of the board,
23 including the board's treasurer or any person acting as the
24 board's official or ex officio treasurer, to establish and
25 maintain separate cash accounts and separate bank accounts in
26 accordance with such standards and procedures as the Panel
27 may prescribe.
28 (b) The Panel shall have the power to assume exclusive
29 administration of the cash accounts and bank accounts of the
30 board, to establish and maintain whatever new cash accounts
31 and bank accounts it may deem appropriate, and to withdraw
32 funds from such accounts for the lawful expenditures of the
33 board. In exercising this authority, the Panel may have its
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1 own employees perform functions that the Panel deems are
2 necessary to exercise effective financial control over the
3 board and that are otherwise performed by the board's
4 employees, including but not limited to payroll, accounts
5 payable, revenue receipt, and related accounting and data
6 processing functions.
7 (Source: P.A. 86-954.)
8 (105 ILCS 5/1B-20) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-20)
9 Sec. 1B-20. Sanctions. (a) No member, officer,
10 employee, or agent of the board shall commit the board to any
11 contract or other obligation or incur any liability on behalf
12 of the board for any purpose if the amount of such contract,
13 obligation or liability is in excess of the amount authorized
14 for that purpose then available under the financial plan and
15 budget then in effect.
16 (b) No member, officer, employee or agent of the board
17 shall commit the board to any contract or other obligation on
18 behalf of the board for the payment of money for any purpose
19 required to be approved by the Financial Oversight Panel
20 unless such contract or other obligation has been approved by
21 the Panel.
22 (c) No member, officer, employee or agent of the board
23 shall take any action in violation of any valid order of the
24 Panel or shall fail or refuse to take any action required by
25 any such order or shall prepare, present, or certify any
26 information (including any projections or estimates) or
27 report for the Panel or any of its agents that is false or
28 misleading, or, upon learning that any such information is
29 false or misleading, shall fail promptly to advise the Panel
30 or its agents.
31 (d) In addition to any penalty or liability under any
32 other law, any member, officer, employee or agent of the
33 board who violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this
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1 Section shall be subject to appropriate administrative
2 discipline, including, if warranted, suspension from duty
3 without pay, removal from office, or termination of
4 employment. Any vacancy on a board created by the Panel's
5 removal of a board member from office shall be filled by the
6 regional superintendent for the term as provided in Section
7 10-10.
8 (Source: P.A. 86-954.)
9 (105 ILCS 5/1B-22)
10 Sec. 1B-22. Additional Powers of the Panel. For Panels
11 established under Section 1B-4 for a district which had its
12 financial plan rescinded by the State Board for violating
13 that plan as provided in Section 1A-8, the Panel shall have
14 the following additional powers:
15 (a) As necessary to carry out its purposes when district
16 resources are not readily available or appropriate for use by
17 the Panel, the Panel may make and execute contracts, leases,
18 subleases and all other instruments or agreements necessary
19 or convenient for the exercise of the powers and functions
20 granted by this Article.
21 (b) As necessary to carry out its purposes when district
22 resources are not readily available or appropriate for use by
23 the Panel, the Panel may purchase personal property necessary
24 or convenient for its purposes; mortgage, pledge or otherwise
25 grant security interests in such properties; and convey to
26 the district such of its property as, in the judgment of the
27 Panel, is no longer necessary for its purposes.
28 (c) As necessary to carry out its purposes when district
29 resources are not readily available or appropriate for use by
30 the Panel, the Panel may appoint officers, agents, and
31 employees of the Panel, define their duties and
32 qualifications, and fix their compensation and employee
33 benefits.
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1 (d) In order to investigate allegations of or incidents
2 of waste, fraud, or financial mismanagement which the Board
3 is unable or unwilling to properly investigate as requested
4 by the Panel, the Panel may appoint an Inspector General who
5 shall have the authority to conduct investigations into such
6 allegations or incidents. The Inspector General shall make
7 recommendations to the Panel about its investigations. The
8 Inspector General shall be independent of the operations of
9 the Panel and the Board and perform other duties requested by
10 the Panel. The Inspector General shall have access to all
11 information and personnel necessary to perform the duties of
12 the office. If the Inspector General determines that a
13 possible criminal act has been committed or that special
14 expertise is required in the investigation, he shall
15 immediately notify the State's Attorney in the county in
16 which the district is located. All investigations conducted
17 by the Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner that
18 ensures the preservation of evidence for use in criminal
19 prosecutions. At all times the Inspector General shall be
20 granted access to any building or facility that is owned,
21 operated, or leased by the Panel or the Board. The Inspector
22 General shall have the power to subpoena witnesses and compel
23 the production of books and papers pertinent to an
24 investigation authorized by this Code. Any person who (1)
25 fails to appear in response to a subpoena; (2) fails to
26 answer any question; (3) fails to produce any books or papers
27 pertinent to an investigation under this Code; or (4)
28 knowingly gives false testimony during an investigation under
29 this Code is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. The Inspector
30 General shall provide to the Panel and the State Board of
31 Education a summary of reports and investigations made under
32 this Section for the previous fiscal year no later than
33 January 1 of each year. The summaries shall detail the final
34 disposition of those recommendations. The summaries shall
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1 not contain any confidential or identifying information
2 concerning the subjects of the reports and investigations.
3 The summaries shall also include detailed recommended
4 administrative actions and matters for consideration by the
5 State Board of Education or the General Assembly.
6 (e) No hiring or appointment of any person in any
7 position by the Board, the superintendent, or any other
8 officer or employee of the Board shall be made or entered
9 into unless it is consistent with the Financial Plan and
10 Budget in effect and the staffing plan approved by the Panel
11 under this Section. The hiring or appointment of any person
12 shall not be binding on the Board unless and until it is in
13 compliance with this Section. The Board shall submit to the
14 Panel for approval by the Panel a staffing plan for the
15 upcoming school year at the same time as the submission of
16 the Budget, except that the staffing plan for the fiscal year
17 ending in 1997 shall be submitted to the Panel within 90 days
18 after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1996. The
19 staffing plan shall be accompanied by a cost analysis and
20 such other information as the Panel may require. The Panel
21 may prescribe standards, procedures, and forms for submission
22 of the staffing plan. The Panel shall approve the staffing
23 plan if the information required to be submitted is complete
24 and the staffing plan is consistent with the Budget and
25 Financial Plan in effect. Otherwise, the Panel shall reject
26 the staffing plan. In the event of rejection, the Panel
27 shall prescribe a procedure and standards for revision of the
28 staffing plan. The Panel shall act on the staffing plan at
29 the same time as the approval of the Budget, except that the
30 staffing plan for the fiscal year ending in 1997 shall be
31 acted upon within 60 days of the submission of the staffing
32 plan by the Board. The Board shall report to the Panel, at
33 such times and in such manner as the Panel may direct,
34 concerning the Board's compliance with each staffing plan.
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1 The Panel may review the Board's operations, obtaining
2 budgetary data and financial statements, may require the
3 Board to produce reports, and shall have access to any other
4 information in the possession of the Board that it deems
5 relevant. The Panel may issue directives to the Board to
6 assure compliance with the staffing plan, including the
7 issuance of reduction in force notices, non-renewal of
8 employment contracts, or any other notices or actions
9 required by contract or law. The Board shall produce such
10 budgetary data, financial statements, reports, and other
11 information and shall comply with such directives. After
12 approval of each staffing plan, the Board shall regularly
13 reexamine the estimates on which it was based and revise them
14 as necessary. The Board shall promptly notify the Panel of
15 any material change in the estimates in the staffing plan.
16 The Board may submit to the Panel, or the Panel may require
17 the Board to submit, modifications to the staffing plan based
18 upon revised revenue or expenditure estimates or for any
19 other good reason. The Panel shall approve or reject each
20 modified staffing plan within 60 days of its submission in a
21 manner similar to the provisions of this subsection for the
22 approval or rejection of the initial staffing plan.
23 (f) The Panel shall examine the business records and
24 audit the accounts of the Board or require that the Board
25 examine its business records and audit its accounts at such
26 time and in such manner as the Panel may prescribe. The
27 Board shall appoint a certified public accountant annually,
28 approved by the Panel, to audit its financial statements.
29 The audit conducted pursuant to this paragraph shall be in
30 lieu of the audit that the Board is required to undertake
31 pursuant to Section 3-7.
32 (g) The Panel shall initiate and direct financial
33 management assessments and similar analyses of the operations
34 of the Board as may, in the judgment of the Panel, assure
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1 sound and efficient financial management of the Board. Upon
2 the completion of these assessments, the Panel shall give
3 directives to the Board regarding improvements and changes
4 that derive from these assessments, which the Board shall
5 implement. In conjunction with its budgetary submission to
6 the Panel for each fiscal year, the Board shall demonstrate
7 to the satisfaction of the Panel that the directives of the
8 Panel have been implemented in whole or in part or, in the
9 alternative, are not capable of being implemented. In
10 consideration of whether to approve or reject the budget for
11 a fiscal year, the Panel shall adjudge whether the Board has
12 fully considered and responsibly proposed implementation of
13 the Panel's directives.
14 (h) The Panel shall initiate and direct a management
15 audit of the Board at least once every 2 years. The audit
16 shall review the personnel, organization, contracts, leases,
17 and physical properties of the Board to determine whether the
18 Board is managing and utilizing its resources in an
19 economical and efficient manner. The audit shall determine
20 the causes of any inefficiencies or uneconomical practices,
21 including inadequacies in internal and administrative
22 procedures, organizational structure, uses of resources,
23 utilization of real property, allocation of personnel,
24 purchasing policies, and equipment.
25 (i) In the event that the Board refuses or fails to
26 follow a directive of the Panel to issue notices of
27 non-renewal of contracts, to issue notices of reduction in
28 force to employees, to issue requests for bids or proposals,
29 or to obtain financial or other information that the Panel
30 finds necessary for the implementation of its
31 responsibilities under this Article, the Panel may take such
32 action in the name of the district, and such action shall be
33 binding the same as if the action had been taken by the
34 Board. The powers established by this paragraph do not
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1 authorize the Panel to enter into contracts in the name of
2 the Board.
3 (j) The Panel shall meet with the Board or its designees
4 in closed session prior to the Board commencing any
5 collective bargaining negotiations to discuss the financial
6 issues relevant to the bargaining and for the purpose of the
7 Panel approving the budget limitations for the potential
8 collective bargaining agreement. The Board shall not make or
9 consider any proposal which does not comply with the
10 collective bargaining budget approved by the Panel. The
11 Board shall keep the Panel apprised as to the status of the
12 bargaining. The Board shall present any proposed change in
13 the approved collective bargaining budget to the Panel in
14 closed session for approval. Prior to the Board taking a
15 final vote on any tentative agreement approved by the
16 employee organization, the Board shall discuss the tentative
17 agreement with the Panel in closed session. Upon final
18 approval of a collective bargaining agreement by both the
19 Board and the employee organization, the Board shall submit
20 the final collective bargaining agreement to the Panel for
21 approval. At the same time that the Board submits the final
22 agreement to the Panel, the Board shall notify the employee
23 organization that the final agreement has been submitted and
24 the date of the Panel meeting at which the final agreement
25 will be considered. The employee organization shall be
26 provided an opportunity to discuss the final agreement with
27 the Panel prior to the Panel taking action on the agreement.
28 No collective bargaining agreement shall be binding upon the
29 district unless the Board has followed the requirements of
30 this paragraph and the final agreement has been approved by
31 the Panel.
32 (k) The budget of the Panel or any revisions to the
33 budget, including any costs to the Panel associated with the
34 appointment of an Inspector General, shall be approved by the
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1 State Superintendent upon request of the Panel and after
2 opportunity for response by the Board.
3 (l) The Panel shall have approval authority over the
4 hiring and termination of, and duties assigned to, the
5 district's superintendent and chief school business official.
6 The superintendent in a district that is subject to a
7 financial oversight panel for violating a financial plan is
8 not required to hold the certification otherwise required by
9 this Code for persons serving as a district superintendent.
10 (Source: P.A. 89-572, eff. 7-30-96.)
11 (105 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1)
12 Sec. 21-1. Qualification of teachers. No one may be
13 certified to teach or supervise in the public schools of this
14 State who is not of good character, good health, a citizen of
15 the United States or legally present and authorized for
16 employment, and at least 19 years of age. If the holder of a
17 certificate under this Section is not a citizen of the United
18 States 6 years after the date of the issuance of the original
19 certificate, any certificate held by such person on that date
20 shall be cancelled by the board of education and no other
21 certificate to teach shall be issued to such person until
22 such person is a citizen of the United States.
23 Citizenship is not required for the issuance of a
24 temporary part-time certificate to participants in approved
25 training programs for exchange students as described in
26 Section 21-10.2. A certificate issued under this plan shall
27 expire on June 30 following the date of issue. One renewal
28 for one year is authorized if the holder remains as an
29 official participant in an approved exchange program.
30 In determining good character under this Section, any
31 felony conviction of the applicant may be taken into
32 consideration, but such a conviction shall not operate as a
33 bar to registration.
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1 No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right
2 to be certified, to receive training for the purpose of
3 becoming a teacher or to engage in practice teaching in any
4 school because of a physical disability including but not
5 limited to visual and hearing disabilities; nor shall any
6 school district refuse to employ a teacher on such grounds,
7 provided that the person is able to carry out the duties of
8 the position for which he applies.
9 No person may be granted or continue to hold a teaching
10 certificate who has knowingly altered or misrepresented his
11 or her teaching qualifications in order to acquire the
12 certificate. Any other certificate held by such person may
13 be suspended or revoked by the State Teacher Certification
14 Board, depending upon the severity of the alteration or
15 misrepresentation.
16 No one may teach or supervise in the public schools nor
17 receive for teaching or supervising any part of any public
18 school fund, who does not hold a certificate of qualification
19 granted by the State Board of Education or by the State
20 Teacher Certification Board and a regional superintendent of
21 schools as hereinafter provided, or by the board of education
22 of a city having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants
23 except as provided in Sections 1B-22 and Section 34-6 and in
24 Section 10-22.34 or Section 10-22.34b. However, the
25 provisions of this Article do not apply to a member of the
26 armed forces who is employed as a teacher of subjects in the
27 Reserve Officer's Training Corps of any school. Sections
28 21-2 through 21-24 do not apply to cities having a population
29 exceeding 500,000 inhabitants, until July 1, 1988.
30 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
31 board of education of any school district may grant to a
32 teacher of the district a leave of absence with full pay for
33 a period of not more than one year to permit such teacher to
34 teach in a foreign state under the provisions of the Exchange
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1 Teacher Program established under Public Law 584, 79th
2 Congress, and Public Law 402, 80th Congress, as amended. The
3 school board granting such leave of absence may employ with
4 or without pay a national of the foreign state wherein the
5 teacher on leave of absence will teach, if the national is
6 qualified to teach in that foreign state, and if that
7 national will teach in a grade level similar to the one which
8 was taught in such foreign state. The State Board of
9 Education shall promulgate and enforce such reasonable rules
10 as may be necessary to effectuate this paragraph.
11 (Source: P.A. 88-189; 89-159, eff. 1-1-96; 89-397, eff.
12 8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
14 becoming law.".