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91_HB1144
LRB9105093NTdv
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
2 34-18.
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 34-18 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/34-18) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18)
8 Sec. 34-18. Powers of the board. The board shall
9 exercise general supervision and jurisdiction over the public
10 education and the public school system of the city, and,
11 except as otherwise provided by this Article, shall have the
12 following powers power:
13 1. To make suitable provision for the establishment
14 and maintenance throughout the year or for such portion
15 thereof as it may direct, not less than 9 months, of
16 schools of all grades and kinds, including normal
17 schools, high schools, night schools, schools for
18 defectives and delinquents, parental and truant schools,
19 schools for the blind, the deaf and the crippled, schools
20 or classes in manual training, constructural and
21 vocational teaching, domestic arts and physical culture,
22 vocation and extension schools and lecture courses, and
23 all other educational courses and facilities, including
24 establishing, equipping, maintaining and operating
25 playgrounds and recreational programs, when such programs
26 are conducted in, adjacent to, or connected with any
27 public school under the general supervision and
28 jurisdiction of the board; provided, however, that in
29 allocating funds from year to year for the operation of
30 all attendance centers within the district, the board
31 shall ensure that supplemental general State aid funds
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1 are allocated and applied in accordance with Section 18-8
2 or 18-8.05. To admit to such schools without charge
3 foreign exchange students who are participants in an
4 organized exchange student program which is authorized by
5 the board. The board shall permit all students to enroll
6 in apprenticeship programs in trade schools operated by
7 the board, whether those programs are union-sponsored or
8 not. No student shall be refused admission into or be
9 excluded from any course of instruction offered in the
10 common schools by reason of that student's sex. No
11 student shall be denied equal access to physical
12 education and interscholastic athletic programs supported
13 from school district funds or denied participation in
14 comparable physical education and athletic programs
15 solely by reason of the student's sex. Equal access to
16 programs supported from school district funds and
17 comparable programs will be defined in rules promulgated
18 by the State Board of Education in consultation with the
19 Illinois High School Association. Notwithstanding any
20 other provision of this Article, neither the board of
21 education nor any local school council or other school
22 official shall recommend that children with disabilities
23 be placed into regular education classrooms unless those
24 children with disabilities are provided with
25 supplementary services to assist them so that they
26 benefit from the regular classroom instruction and are
27 included on the teacher's regular education class
28 register;
29 2. To furnish lunches to pupils, to make a
30 reasonable charge therefor, and to use school funds for
31 the payment of such expenses as the board may determine
32 are necessary in conducting the school lunch program;
33 3. To co-operate with the circuit court;
34 4. To make arrangements with the public or
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1 quasi-public libraries and museums for the use of their
2 facilities by teachers and pupils of the public schools;
3 5. To employ dentists and prescribe their duties
4 for the purpose of treating the pupils in the schools,
5 but accepting such treatment shall be optional with
6 parents or guardians;
7 6. To grant the use of assembly halls and
8 classrooms when not otherwise needed, including light,
9 heat, and attendants, for free public lectures, concerts,
10 and other educational and social interests, free of
11 charge, under such provisions and control as the
12 principal of the affected attendance center may
13 prescribe;
14 7. To apportion the pupils to the several schools;
15 provided that no pupil shall be excluded from or
16 segregated in any such school on account of his color,
17 race, sex, or nationality. The board shall take into
18 consideration the prevention of segregation and the
19 elimination of separation of children in public schools
20 because of color, race, sex, or nationality. Except that
21 children may be committed to or attend parental and
22 social adjustment schools established and maintained
23 either for boys or girls only. All records pertaining to
24 the creation, alteration or revision of attendance areas
25 shall be open to the public. Nothing herein shall limit
26 the board's authority to establish multi-area attendance
27 centers or other student assignment systems for
28 desegregation purposes or otherwise, and to apportion the
29 pupils to the several schools. Furthermore, beginning in
30 school year 1994-95, pursuant to a board plan adopted by
31 October 1, 1993, the board shall offer, commencing on a
32 phased-in basis, the opportunity for families within the
33 school district to apply for enrollment of their children
34 in any attendance center within the school district which
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1 does not have selective admission requirements approved
2 by the board. The appropriate geographical area in which
3 such open enrollment may be exercised shall be determined
4 by the board of education. Such children may be admitted
5 to any such attendance center on a space available basis
6 after all children residing within such attendance
7 center's area have been accommodated. If the number of
8 applicants from outside the attendance area exceed the
9 space available, then successful applicants shall be
10 selected by lottery. The board of education's open
11 enrollment plan must include provisions that allow low
12 income students to have access to transportation needed
13 to exercise school choice. Open enrollment shall be in
14 compliance with the provisions of the Consent Decree and
15 Desegregation Plan cited in Section 34-1.01;
16 8. To approve programs and policies for providing
17 transportation services to students. Nothing herein shall
18 be construed to permit or empower the State Board of
19 Education to order, mandate, or require busing or other
20 transportation of pupils for the purpose of achieving
21 racial balance in any school;
22 9. Subject to the limitations in this Article, to
23 establish and approve system-wide curriculum objectives
24 and standards, including graduation standards, which
25 reflect the multi-cultural diversity in the city and are
26 consistent with State law, provided that for all purposes
27 of this Article courses or proficiency in American Sign
28 Language shall be deemed to constitute courses or
29 proficiency in a foreign language; and to employ
30 principals and teachers, appointed as provided in this
31 Article, and fix their compensation. The board shall
32 prepare such reports related to minimal competency
33 testing as may be requested by the State Board of
34 Education, and in addition shall monitor and approve
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1 special education and bilingual education programs and
2 policies within the district to assure that appropriate
3 services are provided in accordance with applicable State
4 and federal laws to children requiring services and
5 education in those areas;
6 10. To employ non-teaching personnel or utilize
7 volunteer personnel for: (i) non-teaching duties not
8 requiring instructional judgment or evaluation of pupils,
9 including library duties; and (ii) supervising study
10 halls, long distance teaching reception areas used
11 incident to instructional programs transmitted by
12 electronic media such as computers, video, and audio,
13 detention and discipline areas, and school-sponsored
14 extracurricular activities. The board may further utilize
15 volunteer non-certificated personnel or employ
16 non-certificated personnel to assist in the instruction
17 of pupils under the immediate supervision of a teacher
18 holding a valid certificate, directly engaged in teaching
19 subject matter or conducting activities; provided that
20 the teacher shall be continuously aware of the
21 non-certificated persons' activities and shall be able to
22 control or modify them. The general superintendent shall
23 determine qualifications of such personnel and shall
24 prescribe rules for determining the duties and activities
25 to be assigned to such personnel;
26 11. To provide television studio facilities in not
27 to exceed one school building and to provide programs for
28 educational purposes, provided, however, that the board
29 shall not construct, acquire, operate, or maintain a
30 television transmitter; to grant the use of its studio
31 facilities to a licensed television station located in
32 the school district; and to maintain and operate not to
33 exceed one school radio transmitting station and provide
34 programs for educational purposes;
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1 12. To offer, if deemed appropriate, outdoor
2 education courses, including field trips within the State
3 of Illinois, or adjacent states, and to use school
4 educational funds for the expense of the said outdoor
5 educational programs, whether within the school district
6 or not;
7 13. During that period of the calendar year not
8 embraced within the regular school term, to provide and
9 conduct courses in subject matters normally embraced in
10 the program of the schools during the regular school term
11 and to give regular school credit for satisfactory
12 completion by the student of such courses as may be
13 approved for credit by the State Board of Education;
14 14. To insure against any loss or liability of the
15 board, the former School Board Nominating Commission,
16 Local School Councils, the Chicago Schools Academic
17 Accountability Council, or the former Subdistrict
18 Councils or of any member, officer, agent or employee
19 thereof, resulting from alleged violations of civil
20 rights arising from incidents occurring on or after
21 September 5, 1967 or from the wrongful or negligent act
22 or omission of any such person whether occurring within
23 or without the school premises, provided the officer,
24 agent or employee was, at the time of the alleged
25 violation of civil rights or wrongful act or omission,
26 acting within the scope of his employment or under
27 direction of the board, the former School Board
28 Nominating Commission, the Chicago Schools Academic
29 Accountability Council, Local School Councils, or the
30 former Subdistrict Councils; and to provide for or
31 participate in insurance plans for its officers and
32 employees, including but not limited to retirement
33 annuities, medical, surgical and hospitalization benefits
34 in such types and amounts as may be determined by the
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1 board; provided, however, that the board shall contract
2 for such insurance only with an insurance company
3 authorized to do business in this State. Such insurance
4 may include provision for employees who rely on treatment
5 by prayer or spiritual means alone for healing, in
6 accordance with the tenets and practice of a recognized
7 religious denomination;
8 15. To contract with the corporate authorities of
9 any municipality or the county board of any county, as
10 the case may be, to provide for the regulation of traffic
11 in parking areas of property used for school purposes, in
12 such manner as is provided by Section 11-209 of The
13 Illinois Vehicle Code, approved September 29, 1969, as
14 amended;
15 16. To provide, on an equal basis, access to the
16 school campus to the official recruiting representatives
17 of the armed forces of Illinois and the United States for
18 the purposes of informing students of the educational and
19 career opportunities available in the military if the
20 board has provided such access to persons or groups whose
21 purpose is to acquaint students with educational or
22 occupational opportunities available to them. The board
23 is not required to give greater notice regarding the
24 right of access to recruiting representatives than is
25 given to other persons and groups;
26 17. (a) To sell or market any computer program
27 developed by an employee of the school district, provided
28 that such employee developed the computer program as a
29 direct result of his or her duties with the school
30 district or through the utilization of the school
31 district resources or facilities. The employee who
32 developed the computer program shall be entitled to share
33 in the proceeds of such sale or marketing of the computer
34 program. The distribution of such proceeds between the
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1 employee and the school district shall be as agreed upon
2 by the employee and the school district, except that
3 neither the employee nor the school district may receive
4 more than 90% of such proceeds. The negotiation for an
5 employee who is represented by an exclusive bargaining
6 representative may be conducted by such bargaining
7 representative at the employee's request.
8 (b) For the purpose of this paragraph 17:
9 (1) "Computer" means an internally programmed,
10 general purpose digital device capable of
11 automatically accepting data, processing data and
12 supplying the results of the operation.
13 (2) "Computer program" means a series of coded
14 instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a
15 computer, which causes the computer to process data
16 in order to achieve a certain result.
17 (3) "Proceeds" means profits derived from
18 marketing or sale of a product after deducting the
19 expenses of developing and marketing such product;
20 18. To delegate to the general superintendent of
21 schools, by resolution, the authority to approve
22 contracts and expenditures in amounts of $10,000 or less;
23 19. Upon the written request of an employee, to
24 withhold from the compensation of that employee any dues,
25 payments or contributions payable by such employee to any
26 labor organization as defined in the Illinois Educational
27 Labor Relations Act. Under such arrangement, an amount
28 shall be withheld from each regular payroll period which
29 is equal to the pro rata share of the annual dues plus
30 any payments or contributions, and the board shall
31 transmit such withholdings to the specified labor
32 organization within 10 working days from the time of the
33 withholding;
34 19a. Upon receipt of notice from the comptroller of
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1 a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more that
2 a debt is due and owing the municipality by an employee
3 of the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees, to
4 withhold, from the compensation of that employee, the
5 amount of the debt that is due and owing and pay the
6 amount withheld to the municipality; provided, however,
7 that the amount deducted from any one salary or wage
8 payment shall not exceed 25% of the net amount of the
9 payment. Before the Board deducts any amount from any
10 salary or wage of an employee under this paragraph, the
11 municipality shall certify that the employee has been
12 afforded an opportunity for a hearing to dispute the debt
13 that is due and owing the municipality. For purposes of
14 this paragraph, "net amount" means that part of the
15 salary or wage payment remaining after the deduction of
16 any amounts required by law to be deducted and "debt due
17 and owing" means (i) a specified sum of money owed to the
18 municipality for city services, work, or goods, after the
19 period granted for payment has expired, or (ii) a
20 specified sum of money owed to the municipality pursuant
21 to a court order or order of an administrative hearing
22 officer after the exhaustion of, or the failure to
23 exhaust, judicial review;
24 20. The board is encouraged to employ a sufficient
25 number of certified school counselors to maintain a
26 student/counselor ratio of 250 to 1 by July 1, 1990.
27 Each counselor shall spend at least 75% of his work time
28 in direct contact with students and shall maintain a
29 record of such time;
30 21. To make available to students vocational and
31 career counseling and to establish 5 special career
32 counseling days for students and parents. On these days
33 representatives of local businesses and industries shall
34 be invited to the school campus and shall inform students
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1 of career opportunities available to them in the various
2 businesses and industries. Special consideration shall
3 be given to counseling minority students as to career
4 opportunities available to them in various fields. For
5 the purposes of this paragraph, minority student means a
6 person who is:
7 (a) Black (a person having origins in any of
8 the black racial groups in Africa);
9 (b) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or
10 Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or
11 Central America, or the Caribbean islands,
12 regardless of race);
13 (c) Asian American (a person having origins in
14 any of the original peoples of the Far East,
15 Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent or the
16 Pacific Islands); or
17 (d) American Indian or Alaskan Native (a
18 person having origins in any of the original peoples
19 of North America).
20 Counseling days shall not be in lieu of regular
21 school days;
22 22. To report to the State Board of Education the
23 annual student dropout rate and number of students who
24 graduate from, transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual
25 programs;
26 23. Except as otherwise provided in the Abused and
27 Neglected Child Reporting Act or other applicable State
28 or federal law, to permit school officials to withhold,
29 from any person, information on the whereabouts of any
30 child removed from school premises when the child has
31 been taken into protective custody as a victim of
32 suspected child abuse. School officials shall direct
33 such person to the Department of Children and Family
34 Services, or to the local law enforcement agency if
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1 appropriate;
2 24. To develop a policy, based on the current state
3 of existing school facilities, projected enrollment and
4 efficient utilization of available resources, for capital
5 improvement of schools and school buildings within the
6 district, addressing in that policy both the relative
7 priority for major repairs, renovations and additions to
8 school facilities, and the advisability or necessity of
9 building new school facilities or closing existing
10 schools to meet current or projected demographic patterns
11 within the district;
12 25. To make available to the students in every high
13 school attendance center the ability to take all courses
14 necessary to comply with the Board of Higher Education's
15 college entrance criteria effective in 1993;
16 26. To encourage mid-career changes into the
17 teaching profession, whereby qualified professionals
18 become certified teachers, by allowing credit for
19 professional employment in related fields when
20 determining point of entry on teacher pay scale;
21 27. To provide or contract out training programs
22 for administrative personnel and principals with revised
23 or expanded duties pursuant to this Act in order to
24 assure they have the knowledge and skills to perform
25 their duties;
26 28. To establish a fund for the prioritized special
27 needs programs, and to allocate such funds and other lump
28 sum amounts to each attendance center in a manner
29 consistent with the provisions of part 4 of Section
30 34-2.3. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
31 require any additional appropriations of State funds for
32 this purpose;
33 29. (Blank);
34 30. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act
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1 or any other law to the contrary, to contract with third
2 parties for services otherwise performed by employees,
3 including those in a bargaining unit, and to layoff those
4 employees upon 14 days written notice to the affected
5 employees. Those contracts may be for a period not to
6 exceed 5 years and may be awarded on a system-wide basis;
7 31. To promulgate rules establishing procedures
8 governing the layoff or reduction in force of employees
9 and the recall of such employees, including, but not
10 limited to, criteria for such layoffs, reductions in
11 force or recall rights of such employees and the weight
12 to be given to any particular criterion. Such criteria
13 shall take into account factors including, but not be
14 limited to, qualifications, certifications, experience,
15 performance ratings or evaluations, and any other factors
16 relating to an employee's job performance; and
17 32. To develop a policy to prevent nepotism in the
18 hiring of personnel or the selection of contractors.
19 The specifications of the powers herein granted are not
20 to be construed as exclusive but the board shall also
21 exercise all other powers that they may be requisite or
22 proper for the maintenance and the development of a public
23 school system, not inconsistent with the other provisions of
24 this Article or provisions of this Code which apply to all
25 school districts.
26 In addition to the powers herein granted and authorized
27 to be exercised by the board, it shall be the duty of the
28 board to review or to direct independent reviews of special
29 education expenditures and services. The board shall file a
30 report of such review with the General Assembly on or before
31 May 1, 1990.
32 (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 89-397, eff. 8-20-95;
33 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; 90-22, eff. 6-20-97; 90-548, eff.
34 1-1-98.)