State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ Legislation ]   [ Bill Summary ]
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]


[ Introduced ][ Engrossed ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]

90_SB0559enr

      105 ILCS 5/24-12          from Ch. 122, par. 24-12
          Amends the School Code.  Provides that a person must have
      a minimum of 5 years of experience in cases  involving  labor
      and  employment  relations  between educational employers and
      educational  employees   or   their   collective   bargaining
      representatives  in  order  to  be included on State Board of
      Education lists for service as a prospective hearing  officer
      in  proceedings  for  the  removal  or dismissal for cause of
      downstate  teachers.   Revises  the  procedure  under   which
      hearing   officers  may  be  selected  in  such  proceedings,
      providing for a second list and for an alternative  selection
      procedure.    Eliminates  the  $300  maximum  per  diem for a
      hearing officer and also eliminates a  requirement  that  the
      hearing  be  public  if  either  the  teacher or school board
      request.  Requires a  hearing  officer  to  make  a  decision
      within  30  days from the conclusion of the hearing, and adds
      provisions relative to removal of a hearing officer from  the
      master  list  of hearing officers and for rehearing of a case
      if a hearing officer  fails  to  render  a  timely  decision.
      Effective immediately.
                                                     SRS90S0029KSsa
SB559 Enrolled                                 SRS90S0029KSsa
 1        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  School  Code by changing Section
 2    24-12.
 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section  5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by changing
 6    Section 24-12 as follows:
 7        (105 ILCS 5/24-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-12)
 8        Sec.  24-12.   Removal  or  dismissal  of   teachers   in
 9    contractual  continued  service.  If a teacher in contractual
10    continued service is removed or dismissed as a  result  of  a
11    decision  of  the  board  to  decrease the number of teachers
12    employed by the board or to discontinue some particular  type
13    of  teaching  service,  written notice shall be mailed to the
14    teacher and also given the teacher either by certified  mail,
15    return receipt requested or personal delivery with receipt at
16    least  60  days  before  the end of the school term, together
17    with a  statement  of  honorable  dismissal  and  the  reason
18    therefor,  and in all such cases the board shall first remove
19    or dismiss all teachers who have not entered upon contractual
20    continued service before removing or dismissing  any  teacher
21    who has entered upon contractual continued service and who is
22    legally  qualified  to  hold  a  position currently held by a
23    teacher  who  has  not  entered  upon  contractual  continued
24    service.  As  between  teachers   who   have   entered   upon
25    contractual  continued  service, the teacher or teachers with
26    the shorter length of continuing service  with  the  district
27    shall  be  dismissed  first  unless  an alternative method of
28    determining the sequence of dismissal  is  established  in  a
29    collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board
30    and  a  professional faculty members' organization and except
31    that this provision shall not impair  the  operation  of  any
SB559 Enrolled              -2-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    affirmative  action  program  in  the district, regardless of
 2    whether it exists by operation of law or is  conducted  on  a
 3    voluntary  basis  by  the  board.  Any teacher dismissed as a
 4    result of such decrease or discontinuance shall be  paid  all
 5    earned  compensation  on  or  before  the  third business day
 6    following the last day of pupil  attendance  in  the  regular
 7    school  term.   If  the  board  has  any  vacancies  for  the
 8    following  school  term  or within one calendar year from the
 9    beginning of the following school term, the positions thereby
10    becoming available shall  be  tendered  to  the  teachers  so
11    removed  or dismissed so far as they are legally qualified to
12    hold such positions; provided, however, that if the number of
13    honorable  dismissal  notices  based  on  economic  necessity
14    exceeds 15% of the number of full time  equivalent  positions
15    filled  by  certified  employees  (excluding  principals  and
16    administrative  personnel)  during the preceding school year,
17    then if the board has any vacancies for the following  school
18    term  or  within  2  calendar years from the beginning of the
19    following school term, the positions  so  becoming  available
20    shall  be  tendered  to the teachers who were so notified and
21    removed or dismissed whenever they are legally  qualified  to
22    hold  such  positions. Each board shall, in consultation with
23    any exclusive employee representatives, each year establish a
24    list,  categorized  by  positions,  showing  the  length   of
25    continuing  service  of each teacher who is qualified to hold
26    any  such  positions,  unless  an   alternative   method   of
27    determining   a  sequence  of  dismissal  is  established  as
28    provided for in this Section, in which case a list  shall  be
29    made  in  accordance  with the alternative method.  Copies of
30    the list shall  be  distributed  to  the  exclusive  employee
31    representative   on  or  before  February  1  of  each  year.
32    Whenever the number of honorable dismissal notices based upon
33    economic necessity exceeds 5, or 150% of the  average  number
34    of  teachers  honorably  dismissed  in the preceding 3 years,
SB559 Enrolled              -3-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    whichever is more, then the board also shall  hold  a  public
 2    hearing  on  the  question  of the dismissals.  Following the
 3    hearing and board review  the  action  to  approve  any  such
 4    reduction shall require a majority vote of the board members.
 5        If  a dismissal or removal is sought for any other reason
 6    or cause, including those under Section  10-22.4,  the  board
 7    must  first approve a motion containing specific charges by a
 8    majority vote of all its members.   Written  notice  of  such
 9    charges shall be served upon the teacher within 5 days of the
10    adoption  of the motion.  Such notice shall contain a bill of
11    particulars.  No hearing upon the charges is required  unless
12    the teacher within 10 days after receiving notice requests in
13    writing  of  the  board that a hearing be scheduled, in which
14    case the board shall schedule  a  hearing  on  those  charges
15    before a disinterested hearing officer on a date no less than
16    15  nor  more than 30 days after the enactment of the motion.
17    The secretary of the school board shall forward a copy of the
18    notice to the State Board of Education.  Within 5 days  after
19    receiving   this  notice  of  hearing,  the  State  Board  of
20    Education shall provide a list of  5  prospective,  impartial
21    hearing officers.  Each person on the list must be accredited
22    by a national arbitration organization and have had a minimum
23    of  5  years  of  experience  directly  related  to labor and
24    employment relations matters  between  educational  employers
25    and  educational  employees  or  their  exclusive  bargaining
26    representatives.  No one on the list may be a resident of the
27    school  district.   The  Board and the teacher or their legal
28    representatives within 3 days shall  alternately  strike  one
29    name  from  the  list  until  only  one name remains.  Unless
30    waived by the teacher, the teacher shall have  the  right  to
31    proceed  first with the striking. Within 3 days of receipt of
32    the first list provided by the State Board of Education,  the
33    board  and  the  teacher or their legal representatives shall
34    each  have  the  right  to  reject  all  prospective  hearing
SB559 Enrolled              -4-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    officers named on the first list and  to  require  the  State
 2    Board of Education to provide a second list of 5 prospective,
 3    impartial  hearing  officers,  none of whom were named on the
 4    first list.  Within 5 days after receiving this request for a
 5    second list, the State Board of Education shall  provide  the
 6    second  list  of  5  prospective, impartial hearing officers.
 7    The procedure for selecting a hearing officer from the second
 8    list shall be the same as the procedure for the  first  list.
 9    In  the  alternative  to selecting a hearing officer from the
10    first or  second  list  received  from  the  State  Board  of
11    Education,   the   board  and  the  teacher  or  their  legal
12    representatives may mutually agree  to  select  an  impartial
13    hearing  officer who is not on a list received from the State
14    Board of  Education  either  by  direct  appointment  by  the
15    parties  or  by  using  procedures  for the appointment of an
16    arbitrator  established  by   the   Federal   Mediation   and
17    Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association.
18    The  parties  shall  notify  the  State Board of Education of
19    their intent to select a hearing officer using an alternative
20    procedure within 3 days of receipt of a list  of  prospective
21    hearing  officers  provided  by the State Board of Education.
22    Any person selected by the  parties  under  this  alternative
23    procedure for the selection of a hearing officer shall not be
24    a  resident  of  the  school district and shall have the same
25    qualifications and authority as a  hearing  officer  selected
26    from  a  list  provided  by the State Board of Education. The
27    State Board of Education shall promulgate  uniform  standards
28    and  rules  of procedure for such hearings.  As to prehearing
29    discovery, such rules and regulations shall,  at  a  minimum,
30    allow  for:  (1)  discovery of names and addresses of persons
31    who may be called as expert witnesses  at  the  hearing,  the
32    omission  of  any  such name to result in a preclusion of the
33    testimony of such witness in the absence of a showing of good
34    cause and the express permission of the hearing officer;  (2)
SB559 Enrolled              -5-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    bills  of  particulars;  (3) written interrogatories; and (4)
 2    production of relevant documents.  The per diem allowance for
 3    the hearing officer shall be determined and paid by the State
 4    Board of Education and may  not  exceed  $300.   The  hearing
 5    officer  shall  hold  a  hearing and render a final decision.
 6    The hearing shall be public at  the  request  of  either  the
 7    teacher or the board.  The teacher has the privilege of being
 8    present  at  the  hearing with counsel and of cross-examining
 9    witnesses and may offer evidence and  witnesses  and  present
10    defenses  to  the  charges.   The  hearing  officer may issue
11    subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum requiring the  attendance
12    of  witnesses and, at the request of the teacher against whom
13    a charge is made or the board, shall  issue  such  subpoenas,
14    but  the hearing officer may limit the number of witnesses to
15    be subpoenaed in behalf of the teacher or the  board  to  not
16    more  than  10.  All  testimony at the hearing shall be taken
17    under oath administered by the hearing officer.  The  hearing
18    officer  shall  cause  a record of the proceedings to be kept
19    and shall employ a competent reporter to take stenographic or
20    stenotype notes of all  the  testimony.   The  costs  of  the
21    reporter's  attendance  and  services at the hearing shall be
22    paid by the State Board of Education. Either party desiring a
23    transcript of the hearing shall pay for the cost thereof.  If
24    in the opinion of the  board  the  interests  of  the  school
25    require  it,  the  board  may suspend the teacher pending the
26    hearing, but if acquitted the teacher shall  not  suffer  the
27    loss of any salary by reason of the suspension.
28        Before  setting a hearing on charges stemming from causes
29    that are considered remediable, a board must give the teacher
30    reasonable  warning  in  writing,  stating  specifically  the
31    causes which, if not removed, may result in charges; however,
32    no such written warning shall be required if the causes  have
33    been  the  subject  of a remediation plan pursuant to Article
34    24A.  The hearing officer shall consider and give  weight  to
SB559 Enrolled              -6-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    all  of the teacher's evaluations written pursuant to Article
 2    24A. The hearing officer  shall,  within  30  days  from  the
 3    conclusion of the hearing or closure of the record, whichever
 4    is  later  with  reasonable  dispatch,  make a decision as to
 5    whether or not the teacher shall be dismissed and shall  give
 6    a  copy  of  the  decision to both the teacher and the school
 7    board. If the hearing officer  fails  to  render  a  decision
 8    within   30   days,   the  State  Board  of  Education  shall
 9    communicate with the hearing officer to  determine  the  date
10    that  the  parties  can  reasonably  expect  to  receive  the
11    decision.   The State Board of Education shall provide copies
12    of all such communications to the parties.  In the event  the
13    hearing  officer  fails without good cause to make a decision
14    within the 30 day period, the name of  such  hearing  officer
15    shall  be struck for a period of not more than 24 months from
16    the master list of hearing officers maintained by  the  State
17    Board  of  Education. If a hearing officer fails without good
18    cause to render a decision within 3 months after the  hearing
19    is concluded or the record is closed, whichever is later, the
20    State Board of Education shall provide the parties with a new
21    list  of  prospective,  impartial  hearing officers, with the
22    same qualifications provided herein, one  of  whom  shall  be
23    selected,  as  provided in this Section, to review the record
24    and render a decision.  The parties  may  mutually  agree  to
25    select   a   hearing  officer  pursuant  to  the  alternative
26    procedure, as provided in this Section, to rehear the charges
27    heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a decision.
28    If the hearing officer fails without good cause to  render  a
29    decision  within  3  months after the hearing is concluded or
30    the record is closed, whichever is later, the hearing officer
31    shall be removed from the master  list  of  hearing  officers
32    maintained  by  the State Board of Education. The board shall
33    not lose jurisdiction to discharge a teacher if  the  hearing
34    officer  fails to render a decision within the time specified
SB559 Enrolled              -7-                SRS90S0029KSsa
 1    in this Section. The decision  of  the   hearing  officer  is
 2    final  unless  reviewed  as provided in Section 24-16 of this
 3    Act.  In the event such review is instituted,  any  costs  of
 4    preparing  and filing the record of proceedings shall be paid
 5    by the board.
 6        If a decision of the hearing officer is adjudicated  upon
 7    review  or  appeal  in  favor  of the teacher, then the trial
 8    court shall  order  reinstatement  and  shall  determine  the
 9    amount  for  which  the  board  is  liable  including but not
10    limited to loss of income and costs incurred therein.
11        Any  teacher  who  is  reinstated  by  any   hearing   or
12    adjudication  brought under this Section shall be assigned by
13    the board to a position  substantially  similar  to  the  one
14    which that teacher held prior to that teacher's suspension or
15    dismissal.
16        If,  by  reason of any change in the boundaries of school
17    districts, or by reason of  the  creation  of  a  new  school
18    district,   the   position  held  by  any  teacher  having  a
19    contractual continued service status is transferred from  one
20    board  to  the  control  of  a  new  or  different board, the
21    contractual continued service status of such teacher  is  not
22    thereby  lost,  and such new or different board is subject to
23    this Act with respect to such teacher in the same  manner  as
24    if  such  teacher were its employee and had been its employee
25    during the time such teacher was  actually  employed  by  the
26    board from whose control the position was transferred.
27    (Source: P.A. 89-618, eff. 8-9-96.)
28        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
29    becoming a law and shall apply to hearings  requested  on  or
30    after such effective date.

[ Top ]