Public Act 102-0584
 
HB0004 EnrolledLRB102 02610 CMG 12613 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by changing Section 
10-20.56 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.56)
    Sec. 10-20.56. E-learning days.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall establish and 
maintain, for implementation in school districts, a program 
for use of electronic-learning (e-learning) days, as described 
in this
Section. School districts may utilize a program 
approved under this Section for use during remote learning 
days and blended remote learning days under Section 10-30 or 
34-18.66. 
    (b) The school board of a school district may, by 
resolution, adopt a research-based program or
research-based 
programs for e-learning days district-wide that shall permit 
student instruction to be received electronically while 
students are not physically present in lieu of the district's 
scheduled emergency days as required by Section 10-19 of this 
Code or because a school was selected to be a polling place 
under Section 11-4.1 of the Election Code. The research-based 
program or programs may not exceed the minimum number of 
emergency days in the approved school calendar and must be 
verified by the regional office of education or intermediate 
service center for the school district on or before September 
1st annually to ensure access for all students. The regional 
office of education or intermediate service center shall 
ensure that the specific needs of all students are met, 
including special education students and English learners, and 
that all mandates are still met using the proposed 
research-based program. The e-learning program may utilize the 
Internet, telephones, texts, chat rooms, or other similar 
means of electronic communication for instruction and 
interaction between teachers and students that meet the needs 
of all
learners. The e-learning program shall address the 
school district's responsibility to ensure that all teachers 
and staff who may be involved in the provision of e-learning 
have access to any and all hardware and software that may be 
required for the program.  If a proposed program does not 
address this responsibility, the school district must propose 
an alternate program. 
    (c) Before its adoption by a school board, the school 
board must hold a public hearing on a school district's 
initial proposal for an e-learning program or for renewal of 
such a program, at a regular or special meeting of the school 
board, in which the terms of the proposal must be 
substantially presented and an opportunity for allowing public 
comments must be provided.  Notice of such public hearing must 
be provided at least 10 days prior to the hearing by:
        (1) publication in a newspaper of general circulation 
    in the school district;
        (2) written or electronic notice designed to reach the 
    parents or guardians of all students enrolled in the 
    school district; and
        (3) written or electronic notice designed to reach any 
    exclusive collective bargaining representatives of school 
    district employees and all those employees not in a 
    collective bargaining unit.
    (d) The regional office of education or intermediate 
service center for the school district must timely verify that 
a proposal for an e-learning program has met the requirements 
specified in this Section and that the proposal contains 
provisions designed to reasonably and practicably accomplish 
the following:
        (1) to ensure and verify at least 5 clock hours of 
    instruction or school work, as required under Section 
    10-19.05, for each student participating in an e-learning 
    day;
        (2) to ensure access from home or other appropriate 
    remote facility for all students participating, including 
    computers, the Internet, and other forms of electronic 
    communication that must be utilized in the proposed 
    program;
        (2.5) to ensure that non-electronic materials are made 
    available to students participating in the program who do 
    not have access to the required technology or to 
    participating teachers or students who are prevented from 
    accessing the required technology; 
        (3) to ensure appropriate learning opportunities for 
    students with special needs;
        (4) to monitor and verify each student's electronic 
    participation;
        (5) to address the extent to which student 
    participation is within the student's control as to the 
    time, pace, and means of learning;
        (6) to provide effective notice to students and their 
    parents or guardians of the use of particular days for 
    e-learning;
        (7) to provide staff and students with adequate 
    training for e-learning days' participation;
        (8) to ensure an opportunity for any collective 
    bargaining negotiations with representatives of the school 
    district's employees that would be legally required, 
    including all classifications of school district employees 
    who are represented by collective bargaining agreements 
    and who would be affected in the event of an e-learning 
    day;
        (9) to review and revise the program as implemented to 
    address difficulties confronted; and
        (10) to ensure that the protocol regarding general 
    expectations and responsibilities of the program is 
    communicated to teachers, staff, and students at least 30 
    days prior to utilizing an e-learning day. 
    The school board's approval of a school district's initial 
e-learning program and renewal of the e-learning program shall 
be for a term of 3 years.
    (d-5) A school district shall pay to its contractors who 
provide educational support services to the district, 
including, but not limited to, custodial, transportation, or 
food service providers, their daily, regular rate of pay or 
billings rendered for any e-learning day that is used because 
a school was selected to be a polling place under Section 
11-4.1 of the Election Code, except that this requirement does 
not apply to contractors who are paid under contracts that are 
entered into, amended, or renewed on or after March 15, 2022 or 
to contracts that otherwise address compensation for such 
e-learning days. 
    (e) The State Board of Education may adopt rules 
consistent with the provision of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 100-760, eff. 8-10-18; 101-12, eff. 7-1-19; 
101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)