State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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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  be  made
28    available  to  a newspaper of general circulation serving the
29    district, and, upon request, shall be sent 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  30  10  days  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  in  a  simple,
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   of   The   purposes,   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 child
25        is enrolled and shall inform the parents that  they  have
26        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  shall
30        further  inform  the  parents that they have the absolute
31        right, if they so wish, to withdraw their  child  from  a
32        program in transitional bilingual education in the manner
33        as 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 of
 6    enrollment 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  no
11    withdrawal  shall be permitted unless such parent is informed
12    in a conference with school district officials of the  nature
13    of the program.
14    (Source: P.A. 78-727.)

15        Section  99.  Effective  date.   This Act takes effect on
16    July 1, 2002.".

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