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92_SB1983sam001 LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1983 2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 1983 by replacing 3 the title with the following: 4 "AN ACT concerning education."; and 5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the 6 following: 7 "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 8 Sections 2-3.64, 10-17a, and 14C-4 as follows: 9 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.64) 10 Sec. 2-3.64. State goals and assessment. 11 (a) Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the State 12 Board of Education shall establish standards and 13 periodically, in collaboration with local school districts, 14 conduct studies of student performance in the learning areas 15 of fine arts and physical development/health. Beginning with 16 the 1998-1999 school year, the State Board of Education shall 17 annually test: (i) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd, 5th, and 18 8th grades in English language arts (reading, writing, and 19 English grammar) and mathematics; and (ii) all pupils 20 enrolled in the 4th and 7th grades in the biological and 21 physical sciences and the social sciences (history, -2- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 geography, civics, economics, and government). The State 2 Board of Education shall establish the academic standards 3 that are to be applicable to pupils who are subject to State 4 tests under this Section beginning with the 1998-1999 school 5 year. However, the State Board of Education shall not 6 establish any such standards in final form without first 7 providing opportunities for public participation and local 8 input in the development of the final academic standards. 9 Those opportunities shall include a well-publicized period of 10 public comment, public hearings throughout the State, and 11 opportunities to file written comments. Beginning with the 12 1998-99 school year and thereafter, the State tests will 13 identify pupils in the 3rd grade or 5th grade who do not meet 14 the State standards. If, by performance on the State tests 15 or local assessments or by teacher judgment, a student's 16 performance is determined to be 2 or more grades below 17 current placement, the student shall be provided a 18 remediation program developed by the district in consultation 19 with a parent or guardian. Such remediation programs may 20 include, but shall not be limited to, increased or 21 concentrated instructional time, a remedial summer school 22 program of not less than 90 hours, improved instructional 23 approaches, tutorial sessions, retention in grade, and 24 modifications to instructional materials. Each pupil for 25 whom a remediation program is developed under this subsection 26 shall be required to enroll in and attend whatever program 27 the district determines is appropriate for the pupil. 28 Districts may combine students in remediation programs where 29 appropriate and may cooperate with other districts in the 30 design and delivery of those programs. The parent or 31 guardian of a student required to attend a remediation 32 program under this Section shall be given written notice of 33 that requirement by the school district a reasonable time 34 prior to commencement of the remediation program that the -3- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 student is to attend. The State shall be responsible for 2 providing school districts with the new and additional 3 funding, under Section 2-3.51.5 or by other or additional 4 means, that is required to enable the districts to operate 5 remediation programs for the pupils who are required to 6 enroll in and attend those programs under this Section. 7 Every individualized educational program as described in 8 Article 14 shall identify if the State test or components 9 thereof are appropriate for that student. For those pupils 10 for whom the State tests or components thereof are not 11 appropriate, the State Board of Education shall develop rules 12 and regulations governing the administration of alternative 13 tests prescribed within each student's individualized 14 educational program which are appropriate to the disability 15 of each student. All pupils who are in a State approved 16 transitional bilingual education program or transitional 17 program of instruction shall participate in the State tests. 18 Any student who has been enrolled in a State approved 19 bilingual education program less than 3 academic years shall 20 be exempted if the student's lack of English as determined by 21 an English language proficiency test would keep the student 22 from understanding the test, and that student's district 23 shall have an alternative test program in place for that 24 student. The State Board of Education shall appoint a task 25 force of concerned parents, teachers, school administrators 26 and other professionals to assist in identifying such 27 alternative tests. Reasonable accommodations as prescribed 28 by the State Board of Education shall be provided for 29 individual students in the testing procedure. All test 30 procedures prescribed by the State Board of Education shall 31 require: (i) that each test used for State and local student 32 testing under this Section identify by name the pupil taking 33 the test; (ii) that the name of the pupil taking the test be 34 placed on the test at the time the test is taken; (iii) that -4- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 the results or scores of each test taken under this Section 2 by a pupil of the school district be reported to that 3 district and identify by name the pupil who received the 4 reported results or scores; and (iv) that the results or 5 scores of each test taken under this Section be made 6 available to the parents of the pupil. In addition, 7 beginning with the 2000-2001 school year and in each school 8 year thereafter, the highest scores and performance levels 9 attained by a student on the Prairie State Achievement 10 Examination administered under subsection (c) of this Section 11 shall become part of the student's permanent record and shall 12 be entered on the student's transcript pursuant to 13 regulations that the State Board of Education shall 14 promulgate for that purpose in accordance with Section 3 and 15 subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Illinois School Student 16 Records Act. Beginning with the 1998-1999 school year and in 17 every school year thereafter, scores received by students on 18 the State assessment tests administered in grades 3 through 8 19 shall be placed into students' temporary records. The State 20 Board of Education shall establish a common month in each 21 school year for which State testing shall occur to meet the 22 objectives of this Section. However, if the schools of a 23 district are closed and classes are not scheduled during any 24 week that is established by the State Board of Education as 25 the week of the month when State testing under this Section 26 shall occur, the school district may administer the required 27 State testing at any time up to 2 weeks following the week 28 established by the State Board of Education for the testing, 29 so long as the school district gives the State Board of 30 Education written notice of its intention to deviate from the 31 established schedule by December 1 of the school year in 32 which falls the week established by the State Board of 33 Education for the testing. The maximum time allowed for all 34 actual testing required under this subsection during the -5- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 school year shall not exceed 25 hours as allocated among the 2 required tests by the State Board of Education. 3 (a-5) All tests administered pursuant to this Section 4 shall be academically based. For the purposes of this 5 Section "academically based tests" shall mean tests 6 consisting of questions and answers that are measurable and 7 quantifiable to measure the knowledge, skill, and ability of 8 students in the subject matters covered by tests. The 9 scoring of academically based tests shall be reliable, valid, 10 unbiased and shall meet the guidelines for test development 11 and use prescribed by the American Psychological Association, 12 the National Council of Measurement and Evaluation, and the 13 American Educational Research Association. Academically based 14 tests shall not include assessments or evaluations of 15 attitudes, values, or beliefs, or testing of personality, 16 self-esteem, or self-concept. Nothing in this amendatory Act 17 is intended, nor shall it be construed, to nullify, 18 supersede, or contradict the legislative intent on academic 19 testing expressed during the passage of HB 1005/P.A. 90-296. 20 Beginning in the 1998-1999 school year, the State Board 21 of Education may, on a pilot basis, include in the State 22 assessments in reading and math at each grade level tested no 23 more than 2 short answer questions, where students have to 24 respond in brief to questions or prompts or show 25 computations, rather than select from alternatives that are 26 presented. In the first year that such questions are used, 27 scores on the short answer questions shall not be reported on 28 an individual student basis but shall be aggregated for each 29 school building in which the tests are given. State-level, 30 school, and district scores shall be reported both with and 31 without the results of the short answer questions so that the 32 effect of short answer questions is clearly discernible. 33 Beginning in the second year of this pilot program, scores on 34 the short answer questions shall be reported both on an -6- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 individual student basis and on a school building basis in 2 order to monitor the effects of teacher training and 3 curriculum improvements on score results. 4 The State Board of Education shall not continue the use 5 of short answer questions in the math and reading 6 assessments, or extend the use of such questions to other 7 State assessments, unless this pilot project demonstrates 8 that the use of short answer questions results in a 9 statistically significant improvement in student achievement 10 as measured on the State assessments for math and reading and 11 is justifiable in terms of cost and student performance. 12 (b) It shall be the policy of the State to encourage 13 school districts to continuously test pupil proficiency in 14 the fundamental learning areas in order to: (i) provide 15 timely information on individual students' performance 16 relative to State standards that is adequate to guide 17 instructional strategies; (ii) improve future instruction; 18 and (iii) complement the information provided by the State 19 testing system described in this Section. Each district's 20 school improvement plan must address specific activities the 21 district intends to implement to assist pupils who by teacher 22 judgment and test results as prescribed in subsection (a) of 23 this Section demonstrate that they are not meeting State 24 standards or local objectives. Such activities may include, 25 but shall not be limited to, summer school, extended school 26 day, special homework, tutorial sessions, modified 27 instructional materials, other modifications in the 28 instructional program, reduced class size or retention in 29 grade. To assist school districts in testing pupil 30 proficiency in reading in the primary grades, the State Board 31 shall make optional reading inventories for diagnostic 32 purposes available to each school district that requests such 33 assistance. Districts that administer the reading 34 inventories may develop remediation programs for students who -7- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 perform in the bottom half of the student population. Those 2 remediation programs may be funded by moneys provided under 3 the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant 4 Program established under Section 2-3.51.5. Nothing in this 5 Section shall prevent school districts from implementing 6 testing and remediation policies for grades not required 7 under this Section. 8 (c) Beginning with the 2000-2001 school year, each 9 school district that operates a high school program for 10 students in grades 9 through 12 shall annually administer the 11 Prairie State Achievement Examination established under this 12 subsection to its students as set forth below. The Prairie 13 State Achievement Examination shall be developed by the State 14 Board of Education to measure student performance in the 15 academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and 16 social sciences. The State Board of Education shall 17 establish the academic standards that are to apply in 18 measuring student performance on the Prairie State 19 Achievement Examination including the minimum examination 20 score in each area that will qualify a student to receive a 21 Prairie State Achievement Award from the State in recognition 22 of the student's excellent performance. Each school district 23 that is subject to the requirements of this subsection (c) 24 shall afford all students 2 opportunities to take the Prairie 25 State Achievement Examination beginning as late as practical 26 during the second semester of grade 11, but in no event 27 before March 1. The State Board of Education shall annually 28 notify districts of the weeks during which these test 29 administrations shall be required to occur. Every 30 individualized educational program as described in Article 14 31 shall identify if the Prairie State Achievement Examination 32 or components thereof are appropriate for that student. Each 33 student, exclusive of a student whose individualized 34 educational program developed under Article 14 identifies the -8- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 Prairie State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for 2 the student, shall be required to take the examination in 3 grade 11. For each academic area the State Board of 4 Education shall establish the score that qualifies for the 5 Prairie State Achievement Award on that portion of the 6 examination. Any student who fails to earn a qualifying 7 score for a Prairie State Achievement Award in any one or 8 more of the academic areas on the initial test administration 9 or who wishes to improve his or her score on any portion of 10 the examination shall be permitted to retake such portion or 11 portions of the examination during grade 12. Districts shall 12 inform their students of the timelines and procedures 13 applicable to their participation in every yearly 14 administration of the Prairie State Achievement Examination. 15 Students receiving special education services whose 16 individualized educational programs identify the Prairie 17 State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for them 18 nevertheless shall have the option of taking the examination, 19 which shall be administered to those students in accordance 20 with standards adopted by the State Board of Education to 21 accommodate the respective disabilities of those students. A 22 student who successfully completes all other applicable high 23 school graduation requirements but fails to receive a score 24 on the Prairie State Achievement Examination that qualifies 25 the student for receipt of a Prairie State Achievement Award 26 shall nevertheless qualify for the receipt of a regular high 27 school diploma. 28 (d) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, all 29 schools in this State that are part of the sample drawn by 30 the National Center for Education Statistics, in 31 collaboration with their school districts and the State Board 32 of Education, shall administer the biennial State academic 33 assessments of 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics 34 under the National Assessment of Educational Progress carried -9- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 out under Section 411(b)(2) of the National Education 2 Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if the Secretary of 3 Education pays the costs of administering the assessments. 4 (Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 90-789, eff. 8-14-98; 5 91-283, eff. 7-29-99.) 6 (105 ILCS 5/10-17a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a) 7 Sec. 10-17a. Better schools accountability. 8 (1) Policy and Purpose. It shall be the policy of the 9 State of Illinois that each school district in this State, 10 including special charter districts and districts subject to 11 the provisions of Article 34, shall submit to parents, 12 taxpayers of such district, the Governor, the General 13 Assembly, and the State Board of Education a school report 14 card assessing the performance of its schools and students. 15 The report card shall be an index of school performance 16 measured against statewide and local standards and will 17 provide information to make prior year comparisons and to set 18 future year targets through the school improvement plan. 19 (2) Reporting Requirements. Each school district shall 20 prepare a report card in accordance with the guidelines set 21 forth in this Section which describes the performance of its 22 students by school attendance centers and by district and the 23 district's use of financial resources. Such report card 24 shall be presented at a regular school board meeting subject 25 to applicable notice requirements, posted on the school 26 district's Internet web site, if the district maintains an 27 Internet web site,and such report cards shall bemade 28 available to a newspaper of general circulation serving the 29 district, and, upon request,shall besent home to a parent 30 (unless the district does not maintain an Internet web site, 31 in which case the report card shall be sent home to parents 32 without request)parents. In addition, each school district 33 shall submit the completed report card to the office of the -10- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 district's Regional Superintendent which shall make copies 2 available to any individuals requesting them. 3 The report card shall be completed and disseminated prior 4 to October 31 in each school year. The report card shall 5 contain, but not be limited to, actual local school 6 attendance center, school district and statewide data 7 indicating the present performance of the school, the State 8 norms and the areas for planned improvement for the school 9 and school district. 10 (3) (a) The report card shall include the following 11 applicable indicators of attendance center, district, and 12 statewide student performance: percent of students who 13 exceed, meet, or do not meet standards established by the 14 State Board of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25a; 15 composite and subtest means on nationally normed achievement 16 tests for college bound students; student attendance rates; 17 chronic truancy rate; dropout rate; graduation rate; and 18 student mobility, turnover shown as a percent of transfers 19 out and a percent of transfers in. 20 (b) The report card shall include the following 21 descriptions for the school, district, and State: average 22 class size; amount of time per day devoted to mathematics, 23 science, English and social science at primary, middle and 24 junior high school grade levels; number of students taking 25 the Prairie State Achievement Examination under subsection 26 (c) of Section 2-3.64, the number of those students who 27 received a score of excellent, and the average score by 28 school of students taking the examination; pupil-teacher 29 ratio; pupil-administrator ratio; operating expenditure per 30 pupil; district expenditure by fund; average administrator 31 salary; and average teacher salary. 32 (c) The report card shall include applicable indicators 33 of parental involvement in each attendance center. The 34 parental involvement component of the report card shall -11- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 include the percentage of students whose parents or guardians 2 have had one or more personal contacts with the students' 3 teachers during the school year concerning the students' 4 education, and such other information, commentary, and 5 suggestions as the school district desires. For the purposes 6 of this paragraph, "personal contact" includes, but is not 7 limited to, parent-teacher conferences, parental visits to 8 school, school visits to home, telephone conversations, and 9 written correspondence. The parental involvement component 10 shall not single out or identify individual students, 11 parents, or guardians by name. 12 (d) The report card form shall be prepared by the State 13 Board of Education and provided to school districts by the 14 most efficient, economic, and appropriate means. 15 (Source: P.A. 89-610, eff. 8-6-96.) 16 (105 ILCS 5/14C-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-4) 17 Sec. 14C-4. Notice of enrollment; content; rights of 18 parents. 19 No later than 3010days after the beginning of the 20 school year or 14 days after the enrollment of any child in a 21 program in transitional bilingual education during the middle 22 of a school year, the school district in which the child 23 resides shall notify by mail the parents or legal guardian of 24 the child of the fact that their child has been enrolled in a 25 program in transitional bilingual education. The notice shall 26 contain all of the following information inasimple, 27 nontechnical language: 28 (1) The reasons why the child has been placed in 29 and needs the services of the program. 30 (2) The child's level of English proficiency, how 31 this level was assessed, and the child's current level of 32 academic achievement. 33 (3)description ofThepurposes,method of -12- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 instruction used in the program and in other available 2 offerings of the district, including how the program 3 differs from those other offerings in content, 4 instructional goals, and the use of English and native 5 language instruction. 6 (4) How the program will meet the educational 7 strengths and needs of the child. 8 (5) How the program will specifically help the 9 child to learn English and to meet academic achievement 10 standards for grade promotion and graduation. 11 (6) The specific exit requirements for the program, 12 the expected rate of transition from the program into the 13 regular curriculum, and the expected graduation rate for 14 children in the program if the program is offered at the 15 secondary level. 16 (7) How the program meets the objectives of the 17 child's individual educational program (IEP), if 18 applicable. 19 (8) The right of the parents to decline to enroll 20 the child in the program or to choose another program or 21 method of instruction, if available. 22 (9) The right of the parents to have the child 23 immediately removed from the program upon request. 24 (10)and content of the program in which the child25is enrolled and shall inform the parents that they have26 The right of the parents to visit transitional bilingual 27 education classes in which their child is enrolled and to 28 come to the school for a conference to explain the nature 29 of transitional bilingual education.Said notice shall30further inform the parents that they have the absolute31right, if they so wish, to withdraw their child from a32program in transitional bilingual education in the manner33as hereinafter provided.34 The notice shall be in writing in English and in the -13- LRB9216031NTpkam01 1 language of which the child of the parents so notified 2 possesses a primary speaking ability. 3 Any parent whose child has been enrolled in a program in 4 transitional bilingual education shall have the absolute 5 right, either at the time of the original notification of6enrollment or at the close of any semester thereafter,to 7 immediately withdraw his child from said program by providing 8 written notice of such desire to the school authorities of 9 the school in which his child is enrolled or to the school 10 district in which his child resides; provided that no11withdrawal shall be permitted unless such parent is informed12in a conference with school district officials of the nature13of the program. 14 (Source: P.A. 78-727.) 15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 16 July 1, 2002.".