Public Act 0599 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2941 Enrolled LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b

Public Act 100-0599

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act is amended by changing Sections 20, 25, 45, 50, 55, and 60 as follows:

(110 ILCS 148/20)

Sec. 20. Competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program. In consultation with ICCB and IBHE, ISBE shall establish and administer a competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program with school districts selected pursuant to Section 25 of this Act. A school district participating in the pilot program may select which of the year and course graduation requirements set forth in Section 27-22 of the School Code the school district wishes to replace with a competency-based learning system. A school district may participate in the pilot program for some or all of its schools serving grades 9 through 12. The pilot program shall include the following components and requirements:

(1) The competency-based learning systems authorized through the pilot program shall include all of the following elements:

(A) Students shall demonstrate mastery of all required competencies to earn credit.

(B) Students must demonstrate mastery of Adaptive Competencies defined by the school district, in addition to academic competencies.

(C) Students shall advance once they have demonstrated mastery, and students shall receive more time and personalized instruction to demonstrate mastery, if needed.

(D) Students shall have the ability to attain advanced postsecondary education and career-related competencies beyond those needed for graduation.

(E) Students must be assessed using multiple measures to determine mastery, usually requiring application of knowledge.

(F) Students must be able to earn credit toward graduation requirements in ways other than traditional coursework, including learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom setting, such as Supervised Career Development Experiences.

(2) A school district participating in the pilot program shall demonstrate that the proposed competency-based learning system is a core strategy supporting the community's efforts to better prepare high school students for college, career, and life. The application must identify the community partners that will support the system's implementation.

(3) A school district participating in the pilot program must have a plan for educator administrator and educator professional development on the competency-based learning system and must demonstrate prior successful implementation of professional development systems for major district instructional initiatives.

(4) A school district participating in the pilot program that is replacing graduation requirements in the core academic areas of mathematics, English language arts, and science with a competency-based learning system shall demonstrate how the competencies can be mastered through Integrated Courses or career and technical education courses.

(5) A school district participating in the pilot program shall develop a plan for community engagement and communications.

(6) A school district participating in the pilot program shall develop a plan for assigning course grades based on mastery of competencies within the competency-based learning system.

(7) A school district participating in the pilot program shall establish a plan and system for collecting and assessing student progress on competency completion and attainment, including for learning opportunities outside of the traditional classroom setting.

(8) A school district participating in the pilot program shall establish a system for data collection and reporting and must provide ISBE with such reports and information as may be required for administration and evaluation of the program.

(9) A school district participating in the pilot program shall partner with a community college and a higher education institution other than a community college for consultation on the development and administration of its competency-based learning system. The plan shall address how high school graduates of a competency-based learning system will be able to provide information normally expected of postsecondary institutions for admission and financial aid.

(10) A school district participating in the pilot program shall have a plan for engaging feeder elementary schools with the participating high school or schools on the establishment and administration of the competency-based learning system.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

(110 ILCS 148/25)

Sec. 25. Competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program eligibility and application process.

(a) The pilot program established under Section 20 of this Act shall be administered by the State Superintendent of Education in 2 phases: (i) an initial application and selection process phase, and (ii) a subsequent phase for full development and implementation of a detailed plan for a competency-based learning system for high school graduation requirements.

(b) For the initial phase under clause (i) of subsection (a) of this Section, the State Superintendent of Education shall develop and issue a pilot program application that requires:

(1) demonstration of commitment from the school district superintendent; the president of the school board of the district; teachers within the school district who will be involved with the pilot program implementation; a community college partner; and a higher education institution other than a community college;

(2) an indication of which of the year and course graduation requirements set forth in Section 27-22 of the School Code the school district wishes to replace with a competency-based learning system;

(3) a general description of the school district's plan for implementing a competency-based learning system for high school graduation requirements, including how the plan addresses the requirements of Section 20 of this Act and this Section;

(4) the school district's prior professional development and stakeholder engagement efforts that will support its successful development and implementation of a competency-based learning system, including, without limitation, prior implementation of professional development systems for major district instructional initiatives; and

(5) identification of any waivers or modifications of State law or rules for implementation of the proposed plan.

The demonstration of commitment from teachers as required by paragraph (1) of this subsection (b) must include a description of how teachers have been engaged throughout the application development process. If the school district has an exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers and the president of the exclusive bargaining representative does not submit a statement of commitment for the application, the school district must submit either a statement by the president of the position of the exclusive bargaining representative on the application or a description of the school district's good faith efforts to obtain such a statement.

(c) Subject to subsection (g) of this Section, the State Superintendent of Education shall select school districts meeting the requirements set forth in this Section to participate in the pilot program based on the quality of the proposed plan, the strength of the local commitments, including, without limitation, teachers within the school district who will be involved in the program's implementation and postsecondary institution partnerships, and demonstration of prior professional development and stakeholder engagement efforts that will support the proposed system's successful implementation. The State Superintendent of Education, in selecting the participating school districts, shall also consider the diversity of school district types and sizes, the diversity of geographic representation from across the State, and the diversity of plan approaches (such as approaches that involve one subject only, multiple subjects, and the types of subjects).

(d) School districts selected to participate in the pilot program shall receive technical assistance coordinated by the State Superintendent of Education to develop a full pilot program implementation plan. The State Superintendent of Education shall have discretion to remove a school district from the pilot program during this period if the school district does not submit a full pilot program implementation plan that meets the State Superintendent of Education's specifications.

(e) School districts shall, as part of the development of their application and participation in the competency-based learning system pilot program, establish and maintain a standing planning and implementation committee that includes representation from administrators and teachers, including teachers who will be involved in the competency-based learning system's implementation. The teacher representatives shall be selected by teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers, and the number of teacher representatives shall be at least equal to administrator representatives, unless otherwise agreed to by the teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers. The standing planning and implementation committee shall develop reports that shall be included within the initial application, the full pilot program plan, and any subsequent annual submissions to the State Superintendent of Education as part of the assessment and evaluation of the program. The reports shall describe the members' assessment of the school district's plan or implementation, as applicable, of the school district's competency-based learning system and any recommendations for modifications or improvements to the system. If the committee does not reach consensus on the report, the administrator members shall submit the report and the teacher members may provide a position statement that must be included with the report submitted to the State Superintendent of Education.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the School Code or any other law of this State to the contrary, school districts participating in the pilot program may petition the State Superintendent of Education for a waiver or modification of the mandates of the School Code or of the administrative rules adopted by ISBE in order to support the implementation of the school district's proposed competency-based learning system. However, no waiver shall be granted under this subsection (f) relating to State assessments, accountability requirements, teacher tenure or seniority, teacher or principal evaluations, or learning standards or that removes legal protections or supports intended for the protection of children or a particular category of students, such as students with disabilities or English learners. Any waiver or modification of teacher educator licensure requirements to permit instruction by non-educators or educators without an appropriate license must ensure that an appropriately licensed teacher and the provider of instruction partner in order to verify the method for assessing competency of mastery and verify whether a student has demonstrated mastery. All requests must be jointly signed by the school district superintendent and the president of the school board and must describe the position of teachers within the school district that will be involved in the competency-based learning system's implementation on the application. If the school district has an exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers and the president of the exclusive bargaining representative does not submit a statement of support for the application, the school district must submit either a statement by the president that describes the position of the exclusive bargaining representative on the application or a description of the school district's good faith efforts to obtain such a statement. The State Superintendent of Education shall approve a waiver or modification request meeting the requirements of this subsection (f) if the State Superintendent of Education determines the request is reasonably necessary to support the implementation of the school district's proposed competency-based learning system, and the request shall not diminish the overall support of teachers within the school district involved with the system's implementation as demonstrated in the school district's initial application to participate in the pilot program. An approved request shall take effect in accordance with the timeline set forth in the school district's application, and an approved waiver or modification shall remain in effect for so long as the school district participates in the pilot program established by this Act. The State Superintendent of Education's approval of a school district plan for implementation of competency-based, high school graduation requirements shall serve as a waiver or modification of any conflicting requirements of Section 27-22 of the School Code. School districts participating in the pilot program may additionally pursue waivers and modifications pursuant to Section 2-3.25g of the School Code.

(g) For purposes of this subsection (g), "annual cohort" means the group of school districts selected by the State Superintendent of Education to participate in the pilot program during an annual application and selection process. The State Superintendent of Education shall limit each annual cohort of the pilot program as follows: the first 2 annual cohorts shall be limited to no more than 12 school districts, and any subsequent annual cohort shall be limited to no more than 15 school districts. A school district may submit only one application for each annual cohort of the pilot program. The application of a school district having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants may not include more than 6 schools. The expansion of a school district's competency-based learning system to a new school or new subject area identified in Section 27-22 of the School Code shall require a new application by the school district.

School districts may collaboratively apply to participate in the pilot program. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (g), the application of a collaborative of districts shall be counted as one district application in the annual cohort selection process. In the application of a collaborative of districts, each district participating in the collaborative shall comply with the requirements outlined in subsection (b) of this Section as if applying as an individual district. The districts participating in the collaborative may establish and maintain a standing planning and implementation committee individually or collaboratively. If a collaborative of districts decides at a later date to participate as individual districts in the pilot program, the districts shall submit to the State Superintendent of Education a revised implementation plan that outlines the changes to their original plan, the individual district applications from these districts shall be considered as separate district applications, and none of these districts may be counted as one of the districts that are already part of the cohort limitation.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

(110 ILCS 148/45)

Sec. 45. Statewide panel to define transitional mathematics instruction recommendations.

(a) Subject to the availability of public or private resources for its administration, ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE shall jointly establish a statewide panel to recommend competencies and other requirements for transitional mathematics instruction that lead to various postsecondary institution mathematics pathways. ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE shall consult with the IMACC on the establishment and administration of the statewide panel. The statewide panel shall include high school educators and administrators and community college and university faculty and administrators, including broad representation from general education and career and technical education. The statewide panel shall also consult with representations of private sector employers on the definition of competencies for postsecondary institution mathematics pathways and consider mathematics utilized in pre-employment screenings for entry-level careers. Following the delivery of the statewide panel's recommendations, ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE shall, in consultation with IMACC and the statewide panel, jointly adopt competencies and requirements for transitional mathematics instruction and related postsecondary institution mathematics pathways.

(b) The statewide panel shall define transitional mathematics competencies aligned to ISBE-adopted learning standards and requirements associated with, at minimum, the following postsecondary institution mathematics pathways:

(1) STEM Pathway. The STEM Pathway is for students with career goals involving occupations that require the application of calculus or advanced algebraic skills. In accordance with and subject to this Act, successful attainment of transitional mathematics competencies in the STEM Pathway guarantees student placement into a community college mathematics course in a calculus-based mathematics course sequence.

(2) Technical Pathway. The Technical Pathway is for students with career goals involving occupations in technical fields that do not require the application of calculus, advanced algebraic, or advanced statistical skills. Mathematics in the Technical Pathway emphasizes the application of mathematics within career settings. In accordance with and subject to this Act, successful attainment of transitional mathematics competencies in the Technical Pathway guarantees student placement into a credit-bearing postsecondary mathematics course required for a community college career and technical education program.

(3) Quantitative Literacy and Statistics Pathway. The Quantitative Literacy and Statistics Pathway is for students focused on attaining competency in general statistics, data analysis, quantitative literacy, and problem solving. The Quantitative Literacy and Statistics Pathway is intended for students whose career goals do not involve occupations relating to either the STEM or Technical Pathway or those who have not yet selected a career goal. In accordance with and subject to this Act, successful attainment of transitional mathematics competencies in the Quantitative Literacy and Statistics Pathway guarantees student placement into a community college GECC mathematics course not in a calculus-based course sequence.

(c) The statewide panel shall make recommendations on whether separate transitional mathematics competencies should be defined for students with career goals involving occupations that require the application of advanced statistics, such as occupations in certain social science fields. The statewide panel shall also provide recommendations for methods to incorporate transitional mathematics competencies into integrated courses.

(d) The statewide panel shall recommend statewide criteria for determining the projected readiness of 11th grade students for college-level mathematics courses in each of the postsecondary education mathematics pathways for purposes of placement into transitional mathematics instruction in 12th grade. The statewide criteria shall include standardized assessment results, grade point average, and course completions. The statewide criteria shall also define a minimal level of mathematical competency necessary for student placement into transitional mathematics instruction. Following the delivery of such recommendations, ISBE and ICCB shall jointly adopt statewide criteria for determining projected readiness for college-level mathematics courses in each of the postsecondary institution mathematics pathways for purposes of placement into transitional mathematics instruction in 12th grade.

(e) (Blank). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, in the event the statewide panel is not established due to the unavailability of public and private resources and ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE are therefore unable to jointly adopt competencies and requirements for transitional mathematics instruction and related postsecondary institution mathematics pathways, then no transitional mathematics instruction is required to be delivered by school districts or accepted for placement by community colleges in accordance with this Act.

(f) Subject to the availability of public or private resources for its administration, ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE shall, in consultation with the members of the statewide panel, establish and administer procedures for approving transitional mathematics instruction for statewide portability.

(g) In accordance with timelines and publication requirements established by IBHE, each public university must adopt and publicize transparent criteria adopted by the university for student placement into college-level mathematics courses. IBHE must publicly report on the adoption of such criteria and the extent to which public universities are utilizing strategies to minimize placements into non-credit-bearing remedial mathematics course sequences.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

(110 ILCS 148/50)

Sec. 50. Transitional mathematics instruction placement and delivery.

(a) A school district electing or required to deliver transitional mathematics instruction in accordance with Section 65 of this Act shall use the statewide criteria established pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 45 of this Act to determine each student's projected readiness for college-level mathematics courses upon high school graduation in that student's selected postsecondary institution mathematics pathway. The school district shall make a pre-determination of student readiness at the end of the first semester of 11th grade and may adjust readiness determinations at the end of 11th grade. The readiness of a student who has not selected a postsecondary institution mathematics pathway shall be determined in accordance with the criteria for the Quantitative Literacy and Statistics Pathways. Notwithstanding the readiness determinations, instructional requirements for students with disabilities shall be subject to the individualized goals set forth within the student's individualized education program required by State and federal law.

(b) Public high school graduates of school districts implementing transitional mathematics instruction in accordance with this Act may demonstrate readiness for college-level mathematics courses at applicable postsecondary institutions through any of the following methods:

(1) At the end of 11th grade, the student does not meet the statewide criteria for demonstrating projected readiness for college-level mathematics courses upon high school graduation in the student's postsecondary education mathematics pathway, but the student subsequently achieves successful completion of transitional mathematics instruction for the postsecondary education mathematics pathway. Students who achieve successful completion shall receive transcripted credit for the transitional mathematics instruction from the school district community college partner and, subject to subsections (c) and (d) of this Section, shall be placed by applicable postsecondary institutions recognizing the transcripted credit in accordance with this Act into an appropriate college-level mathematics course in the student's postsecondary institution mathematics pathway. Students who do not achieve successful completion shall be subject to generally applicable postsecondary institution mathematics placement processes. For the purposes of this paragraph (1), successful completion means the student successfully demonstrates attainment of transitional mathematics competencies either through an overall grade for the mathematics-related portion of a course or demonstrated mastery of all transitional mathematics competencies delivered through a competency-based learning system.

(2) At the end of 11th grade, the student meets the statewide criteria for demonstrating projected readiness for college-level mathematics courses upon high school graduation in the student's postsecondary education mathematics pathway, and the student subsequently successfully completes rigorous mathematics instruction in accordance with criteria jointly adopted by ISBE and ICCB.

(3) The student meets applicable postsecondary institution criteria for demonstrating readiness for college-level mathematics courses in the student's postsecondary education mathematics pathway.

(c) All postsecondary institutions that have entered into a partnership agreement pursuant to Section 55 of this Act shall recognize community college transcripted credit from transitional mathematics instruction delivered by school districts participating in the partnership agreement for student placement into appropriate college-level mathematics courses. If statewide portability approval procedures have been established pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 45 of this Act, then all community colleges shall recognize community college transcripted credit from transitional mathematics instruction that has been approved in accordance with the statewide portability procedures. A public university is not required to recognize transcripted credit from transitional mathematics instruction for placement purpose unless the public university voluntarily agrees to do so through entering into a partnership agreement in accordance with Section 55 of this Act. The placement determinations described in this Section are valid for 18 months after high school graduation, provided a postsecondary institution may require a short-term, skill-based review or a corequisite remediation course for a student who does not enroll in a college-level mathematics course in the fall semester after high school graduation.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

(110 ILCS 148/55)

Sec. 55. High school and community college partnership agreements for transitional mathematics instruction.

(a) Transitional mathematics instruction shall be delivered by high school faculty with community college collaboration as defined through a partnership agreement meeting the requirements of this Section. While transitional mathematics instruction may be delivered through stand-alone mathematics courses, school districts and community colleges may use integrated courses or competency-based learning systems for the delivery of transitional mathematics instruction.

(b) School districts serving grades 9 through 12 electing or required to deliver transitional mathematics instruction in accordance with Section 65 of this Act shall enter into a partnership agreement for transitional mathematics courses with at least one community college. All partnership agreements shall address the following:

(1) The co-development by the school district and community college of transitional mathematics courses or a defined mathematics competency set or the adaptation of the State model transitional instructional units that align to the statewide competencies for particular postsecondary institution mathematics pathways, which shall also include the design of local performance indicators and evidence associated with those indicators.

(2) The community college courses for which the successful completion of transitional mathematics instruction will guarantee placement, subject to subsection (b) of Section 50 of this Act.

(3) The availability of dual enrollment and dual credit courses for high school students demonstrating current readiness for college-level mathematics courses.

(4) Training and professional development to be provided to the high school instructors of transitional mathematics instruction.

(5) The utilization of integrated courses or competency-based learning systems for transitional mathematics instruction.

(c) A community college must enter into a partnership agreement when requested to do so by a local school district that has elected or is required to deliver transitional mathematics instruction in accordance with Section 65 of this Act, provided the community college receives an implementation grant in an amount determined by ICCB to compensate for its related instructional development and implementation activities. A community college may require standardized terms for all of its partner school districts. ISBE and ICCB shall jointly resolve any disputes between a school district and community college regarding the proposed terms of a partnership agreement.

(d) When developing partnership agreements, community colleges and school districts shall consult with a public university that has requested consultation through submission of a written request to a community college in accordance with requirements established by ICCB and IBHE. A public university may, in its sole discretion, elect to become a party to a partnership agreement.

(e) Regional offices of education may, with the consent of participating school districts, establish multi-district partnership agreements with one or more postsecondary institutions.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

(110 ILCS 148/60)

Sec. 60. Transitional mathematics instruction statewide supports.

(a) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, ICCB shall permit transitional mathematics instruction that has been approved for statewide portability transcripted by a community college in accordance with the requirements of this Act to be funded, subject to appropriation, in a manner consistent with claimed for reimbursement rates for developmental education courses offered at a community college funding purposes. Such funding must be used by a community college for costs associated with transitional mathematics or English partnerships with school districts.

(b) Subject to the availability of public or private resources, ISBE, ICCB, and IBHE, in collaboration with IMACC, shall support at least 2 collaborative efforts among school districts and postsecondary institutions to develop model transitional mathematics instructional units. All State-supported models shall include real-world application projects that can be delivered to particular students based on career interests and shall enable transitional mathematics instructional resources to be included within integrated courses or competency-based learning systems. At least one of the State-supported transitional mathematics models must be highly modularized for blended-learning delivery, with:

(1) a pre-assessment system to ensure that completion of modules are required only when the competencies have not been sufficiently mastered;

(2) the ability for students to complete coursework in areas of need at their own pace;

(3) the ability for transitional mathematics modules to be included within integrated courses or competency-based learning systems; and

(4) the ability for students to complete dual credit modules upon completion of the transitional mathematics modules.

(c) Provided that statewide portability procedures have been established pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 45 of this Act, ISBE and ICCB shall identify and publicize courses for transitional mathematics instruction that meet the statewide portability requirements and that can be delivered fully online or through blended-learning models without the requirement for in-person mathematics instruction at the high school.

(d) ISBE and ICCB shall jointly develop and provide a model partnership agreement for school districts and community colleges.

(e) ISBE and ICCB shall provide standardized reports to school districts and community colleges, including, but not limited to:

(1) reports that school districts and community colleges can use for determining students 11th grade projected readiness for college-level mathematics courses upon high school graduation; and

(2) reports that compare participating students' postsecondary outcomes with other students, particularly those in traditional developmental education course sequences.

(Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.