Public Act 0998 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3515 Enrolled LRB096 17732 NHT 35833 b

Public Act 096-0998

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 Sections 8-16, 10-7, 10-9, 10-16.5, 10-20.6, 10-20.19, 10-22.6, 10-23.5, and 24-23 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/8-16) (from Ch. 122, par. 8-16)

Sec. 8-16. School orders; Teacher's wages. The school treasurer shall pay out funds of the school district only upon an order of the school board signed by the president and clerk or secretary or by a majority of the board, except payment of the obligations for Social Security taxes as required by the Social Security Enabling Act and payment of recurring bills, such as utility bills, may be made upon a certification by the clerk or secretary of the board of the amount of the obligation only. When an order issued for the wages of a teacher is presented to the treasurer and is not paid for want of funds, the treasurer shall endorse it over his signature, "not paid for want of funds" with the date of presentation, and shall make and keep a record of the endorsement. The order shall thereafter bear interest at the rate, not exceeding the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, established by the school board of the district, until the treasurer shall notify the clerk or secretary in writing that he has funds to pay the order. Whenever the treasurer obtains sufficient funds to pay any such order he shall set them aside for such purpose and shall not use them to pay any other order until the order previously presented and not paid is paid or otherwise discharged. The treasurer shall make and keep a record of the notices and hold the funds necessary to pay such order until it is presented. The order shall draw no interest after notice is given to the clerk or secretary.

Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the establishment of a voucher system of expenditures as provided in Section 10-23.5 of this Act.

With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after June 6, 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.

(Source: P.A. 86-4; 86-715; 86-1028; 86-1161.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-7) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-7)

Sec. 10-7. Secretary or clerk to record official acts - yeas and nays on expenditures. The secretary or clerk shall keep in a punctual, orderly and reliable manner a record of the official acts of the board which shall be signed by the president and the secretary or clerk, and submitted to the treasurer having custody of the funds of the district for his inspection and approval on the first Monday of April and October, and at such other times as the treasurer may require. On all questions involving the expenditure of money, the yeas and nays shall be taken and entered on the records of the proceedings of the board. The secretary or clerk shall keep the minutes and, if the district is not required to employ a superintendent, keep or cause to be kept the financial records of the school district.

(Source: P.A. 76-1339.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-9)

Sec. 10-9. Interest of board member in contracts.

(a) No school board member shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in his own name or in the name of any other person, association, trust or corporation, in any contract, work or business of the district or in the sale of any article, whenever the expense, price or consideration of the contract, work, business or sale is paid either from the treasury or by any assessment levied by any statute or ordinance. A school board member shall not be deemed interested if the board member is an employee of a business that is involved in the transaction of business with the school district, provided that the board member has no financial interests other than as an employee. No school board member shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in the purchase of any property which (1) belongs to the district, or (2) is sold for taxes or assessments, or (3) is sold by virtue of legal process at the suit of the district.

(b) However, any board member may provide materials, merchandise, property, services or labor, if:

A. the contract is with a person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or cooperative association in which the board member has less than a 7 1/2% share in the ownership; and

B. such interested board member publicly discloses the nature and extent of his interest prior to or during deliberations concerning the proposed award of the contract; and

C. such interested board member abstains from voting on the award of the contract, though he shall be considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum; and

D. such contract is approved by a majority vote of those board members presently holding office; and

E. the contract is awarded after sealed bids to the lowest responsible bidder if the amount of the contract exceeds $1500, or awarded without bidding if the amount of the contract is less than $1500; and

F. the award of the contract would not cause the aggregate amount of all such contracts so awarded to the same person, firm, association, partnership, corporation or cooperative association in the same fiscal year to exceed $25,000.

(c) In addition to the above exemption, any board member may provide materials, merchandise, property, services or labor if:

A. the award of the contract is approved by a majority vote of the board provided that any such interested member shall abstain from voting; and

B. the amount of the contract does not exceed $1,000; and

C. the award of the contract would not cause the aggregate amount of all such contracts so awarded to the same person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or cooperative association in the same fiscal year to exceed $2,000, except with respect to a board member of a school district in which the materials, merchandise, property, services, or labor to be provided under the contract are not available from any other person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or cooperative association in the district, in which event the award of the contract shall not cause the aggregate amount of all contracts so awarded to that same person, firm, association, partnership, or cooperative association in the same fiscal year to exceed $5,000; and

D. such interested member publicly discloses the nature and extent of his interest prior to or during deliberations concerning the proposed award of the contract; and

E. such interested member abstains from voting on the award of the contract, though he shall be considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum.

(d) In addition to exemptions otherwise authorized by this Section, any board member may purchase for use as the board member's primary place of residence a house constructed by the district's vocational education students on the same basis that any other person would be entitled to purchase the property. The sale of the house by the district must comply with the requirements set forth in Section 5-22 of The School Code.

(e) A contract for the procurement of public utility services by a district with a public utility company is not barred by this Section by one or more members of the board being an officer or employee of the public utility company or holding an ownership interest of no more than 7 1/2% in the public utility company, or holding an ownership interest of any size if the school district has a population of less than 7,500 and the public utility's rates are approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission. An elected or appointed member of the board having such an interest shall be deemed not to have a prohibited interest under this Section.

(f) Nothing contained in this Section, including the restrictions set forth in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e), shall preclude a contract of deposit of monies, loans or other financial services by a school district with a local bank or local savings and loan association, regardless of whether a member or members of the governing body of the school district are interested in such bank or savings and loan association as an officer or employee or as a holder of less than 7 1/2% of the total ownership interest. A member or members holding such an interest in such a contract shall not be deemed to be holding a prohibited interest for purposes of this Act. Such interested member or members of the governing body must publicly state the nature and extent of their interest during deliberations concerning the proposed award of such a contract, but shall not participate in any further deliberations concerning the proposed award. Such interested member or members shall not vote on such a proposed award. Any member or members abstaining from participation in deliberations and voting under this Section may be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum. Award of such a contract shall require approval by a majority vote of those members presently holding office. Consideration and award of any such contract in which a member or members are interested may only be made at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing body of the school district.

(g) Any school board member who violates this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony and in addition thereto any office held by such person so convicted shall become vacant and shall be so declared as part of the judgment of the court.

(Source: P.A. 89-244, eff. 8-4-95.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-16.5)

Sec. 10-16.5. Oath of office. Each school board member, before taking his or her seat on the board, shall take an oath of office, administered as determined by the board, in substantially the following form:

I, (name of member or successful candidate), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of member of the Board of Education (or Board of School Directors, as the case may be) of (name of school district), in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the laws of the State of Illinois, to the best of my ability.

I further swear (or affirm) that:

I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets;

I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board, while respecting the privacy of students and employees;

I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a majority vote at a public board meeting; and

I shall abide by majority decisions of the board, while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels.

(Source: P.A. 94-881, eff. 6-20-06.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-20.6)

Sec. 10-20.6. Maintain Visit and inspect schools. To visit, inspect, and maintain the public schools under their jurisdiction as the good of the schools may require and in conformance with the code authorized in Section 2-3.12.

(Source: P.A. 87-984.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.19) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-20.19)

Sec. 10-20.19. Payment of orders. Subject to the provisions of Article 1B in the case of a school district receiving emergency State financial assistance, the school board shall pay all orders in accordance with Section 10-18 of this Act, except as herein provided:

(1) It shall be lawful for the school board to submit to the treasurer a certified copy of those portions of the board minutes, properly signed by the secretary and president, or a majority of the board, showing all bills approved for payment by the board and clearly showing to whom, and for what purpose each payment is to be made by the treasurer, and to what budgetary item each payment shall be debited, and such certified copy shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make the payments as thus approved; this shall not preclude the use of a voucher system, or any other system of sound accounting and business procedure, provided that such system reflects the facts, and that the same is in accordance with the regulations prescribed by or approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(2) It shall be lawful for the school board by resolution to establish revolving funds for school cafeterias, lunch rooms, athletics, petty cash or similar purposes, provided such funds are in the custody of an employee who shall be bonded as provided in Article 8 of this Act for bonding school treasurers and who shall be responsible to the board and to the treasurer, subject to regular annual audit by licensed public accountants and other such examinations as the school board shall deem advisable and kept in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. A monthly report and an annual summary of all receipts and expenditures of the fund shall be submitted to the school board and the treasurer. All funds advanced by the treasurer to operate such revolving funds shall be carried on the treasurer's books as cash obligations due to the district and all receipts of such revolving funds shall be deposited daily in a bank or savings and loan association to be approved by the treasurer, unless there is no bank or savings and loan association in the community, in which event receipts shall be deposited intact not less than once each week in the bank or savings and loan association approved by the treasurer. All reimbursements to any such revolving funds from the district funds shall be completely itemized as to whom paid, for what purpose, and against what budgetary item the expenditure is chargeable.

No bank or savings and loan association shall receive public funds as permitted by this Section, unless it has complied with the requirements established pursuant to Section 6 of "An Act relating to certain investments of public funds by public agencies", approved July 23, 1943, as now or hereafter amended.

(3) The school board shall establish rules and regulations governing conditions under which school classes, clubs, and associations may collect or acquire funds in the name of any school; and, under such regulations as the Superintendent of Public Instruction may prescribe, provide for the safeguarding of such funds for the educational, recreational, or cultural purposes they are designed to serve.

(4) It shall be lawful for the clerk or secretary of the board to certify to the school treasurer the amount of the obligation for Social Security taxes as required by the Social Security Enabling Act and the amount of recurring bills, such as utility bills, showing the amount and to whom payment is to be made and what budgetary item or items the payment shall be debited from, and such certification shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make such payment.

(Source: P.A. 86-954.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-22.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.6)

Sec. 10-22.6. Suspension or expulsion of pupils; school searches.

(a) To expel pupils guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct, and no action shall lie against them for such expulsion. Expulsion shall take place only after the parents have been requested to appear at a meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by it, to discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be made by registered or certified mail and shall state the time, place and purpose of the meeting. The board, or a hearing officer appointed by it, at such meeting shall state the reasons for dismissal and the date on which the expulsion is to become effective. If a hearing officer is appointed by the board he shall report to the board a written summary of the evidence heard at the meeting and the board may take such action thereon as it finds appropriate.

(b) To suspend or by policy regulation to authorize the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend pupils guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct, or to suspend pupils guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct on the school bus from riding the school bus, and no action shall lie against them for such suspension. The board may by policy regulation authorize the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend pupils guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed 10 school days. If a pupil is suspended due to gross disobedience or misconduct on a school bus, the board may suspend the pupil in excess of 10 school days for safety reasons. Any suspension shall be reported immediately to the parents or guardian of such pupil along with a full statement of the reasons for such suspension and a notice of their right to a review, a copy of which shall be given to the school board. The school board must be given a summary of the notice, including the reason for the suspension and the suspension length. Upon request of the parents or guardian the school board or a hearing officer appointed by it shall review such action of the superintendent or principal, assistant principal, or dean of students. At such review the parents or guardian of the pupil may appear and discuss the suspension with the board or its hearing officer. If a hearing officer is appointed by the board he shall report to the board a written summary of the evidence heard at the meeting. After its hearing or upon receipt of the written report of its hearing officer, the board may take such action as it finds appropriate.

(c) The Department of Human Services shall be invited to send a representative to consult with the board at such meeting whenever there is evidence that mental illness may be the cause for expulsion or suspension.

(d) The board may expel a student for a definite period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case by case basis. A student who is determined to have brought one of the following objects to school, any school-sponsored activity or event, or any activity or event that bears a reasonable relationship to school shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year:

(1) A firearm. For the purposes of this Section, "firearm" means any gun, rifle, shotgun, weapon as defined by Section 921 of Title 18 of the United States Code, firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act, or firearm as defined in Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code of 1961. The expulsion period under this subdivision (1) may be modified by the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis.

(2) A knife, brass knuckles or other knuckle weapon regardless of its composition, a billy club, or any other object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily harm, including "look alikes" of any firearm as defined in subdivision (1) of this subsection (d). The expulsion requirement under this subdivision (2) may be modified by the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis. Expulsion or suspension shall be construed in a manner consistent with the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. A student who is subject to suspension or expulsion as provided in this Section may be eligible for a transfer to an alternative school program in accordance with Article 13A of the School Code. The provisions of this subsection (d) apply in all school districts, including special charter districts and districts organized under Article 34.

(e) To maintain order and security in the schools, school authorities may inspect and search places and areas such as lockers, desks, parking lots, and other school property and equipment owned or controlled by the school, as well as personal effects left in those places and areas by students, without notice to or the consent of the student, and without a search warrant. As a matter of public policy, the General Assembly finds that students have no reasonable expectation of privacy in these places and areas or in their personal effects left in these places and areas. School authorities may request the assistance of law enforcement officials for the purpose of conducting inspections and searches of lockers, desks, parking lots, and other school property and equipment owned or controlled by the school for illegal drugs, weapons, or other illegal or dangerous substances or materials, including searches conducted through the use of specially trained dogs. If a search conducted in accordance with this Section produces evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law, local ordinance, or the school's policies or rules, such evidence may be seized by school authorities, and disciplinary action may be taken. School authorities may also turn over such evidence to law enforcement authorities. The provisions of this subsection (e) apply in all school districts, including special charter districts and districts organized under Article 34.

(f) Suspension or expulsion may include suspension or expulsion from school and all school activities and a prohibition from being present on school grounds.

(g) A school district may adopt a policy providing that if a student is suspended or expelled for any reason from any public or private school in this or any other state, the student must complete the entire term of the suspension or expulsion before being admitted into the school district. This policy may allow placement of the student in an alternative school program established under Article 13A of this Code, if available, for the remainder of the suspension or expulsion. This subsection (g) applies to all school districts, including special charter districts and districts organized under Article 34 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 96-633, eff. 8-24-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-23.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-23.5)

Sec. 10-23.5. Educational support personnel employees.

(a) To employ such educational support personnel employees as it deems advisable and to define their employment duties; provided that residency within any school district shall not be considered in determining the employment or the compensation of any such employee, or whether to retain, promote, assign or transfer such employee. If an educational support personnel employee is removed or dismissed or the hours he or she works are reduced as a result of a decision of the school board (i) to decrease the number of educational support personnel employees employed by the board or (ii) to discontinue some particular type of educational support service, written notice shall be mailed to the employee and also given to the employee either by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery with receipt, at least 30 days before the employee is removed or dismissed or the hours he or she works are reduced, together with a statement of honorable dismissal and the reason therefor if applicable. However, if a reduction in hours is due to an unforeseen reduction in the student population, then the written notice must be mailed and given to the employee at least 5 days before the hours are reduced. The employee with the shorter length of continuing service with the district, within the respective category of position, shall be dismissed first unless an alternative method of determining the sequence of dismissal is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and any exclusive bargaining agent and except that this provision shall not impair the operation of any affirmative action program in the district, regardless of whether it exists by operation of law or is conducted on a voluntary basis by the board. If the board has any vacancies for the following school term or within one calendar year from the beginning of the following school term, the positions thereby becoming available within a specific category of position shall be tendered to the employees so removed or dismissed from that category or any other category of position, so far as they are qualified to hold such positions. Each board shall, in consultation with any exclusive employee representative or bargaining agent, each year establish a list, categorized by positions, showing the length of continuing service of each full time educational support personnel employee who is qualified to hold any such positions, unless an alternative method of determining a sequence of dismissal is established as provided for in this Section, in which case a list shall be made in accordance with the alternative method. Copies of the list shall be distributed to the exclusive employee representative or bargaining agent on or before February 1 of each year. Where an educational support personnel employee is dismissed by the board as a result of a decrease in the number of employees or the discontinuance of the employee's job, the employee shall be paid all earned compensation on or before the next regular pay date third business day following his or her last day of employment.

The provisions of this amendatory Act of 1986 relating to residency within any school district shall not apply to cities having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants.

(b) In the case of a new school district or districts formed in accordance with Article 11E of this Code, a school district or districts that annex all of the territory of one or more entire other school districts in accordance with Article 7 of this Code, or a school district receiving students from a deactivated school facility in accordance with Section 10-22.22b of this Code, the employment of educational support personnel in the new, annexing, or receiving school district immediately following the reorganization shall be governed by this subsection (b). Lists of the educational support personnel employed in the individual districts for the school year immediately prior to the effective date of the new district or districts, annexation, or deactivation shall be combined for the districts forming the new district or districts, for the annexed and annexing districts, or for the deactivating and receiving districts, as the case may be. The combined list shall be categorized by positions, showing the length of continuing service of each full-time educational support personnel employee who is qualified to hold any such position. If there are more full-time educational support personnel employees on the combined list than there are available positions in the new, annexing, or receiving school district, then the employing school board shall first remove or dismiss those educational support personnel employees with the shorter length of continuing service within the respective category of position, following the procedures outlined in subsection (a) of this Section. The employment and position of each educational support personnel employee on the combined list not so removed or dismissed shall be transferred to the new, annexing, or receiving school board, and the new, annexing, or receiving school board is subject to this Code with respect to any educational support personnel employee so transferred as if the educational support personnel employee had been the new, annexing, or receiving board's employee during the time the educational support personnel employee was actually employed by the school board of the district from which the employment and position were transferred.

The changes made by Public Act 95-148 shall not apply to the formation of a new district or districts in accordance with Article 11E of this Code, the annexation of one or more entire districts in accordance with Article 7 of this Code, or the deactivation of a school facility in accordance with Section 10-22.22b of this Code effective on or before July 1, 2007.

(Source: P.A. 95-148, eff. 8-14-07; 95-396, eff. 8-23-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)

(105 ILCS 5/24-23) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-23)

Sec. 24-23. Teacher transcript of credits. Each teacher shall file with the superintendent of the school in which he is teaching or, if there is no such superintendent, with the Regional County Superintendent of Schools a complete transcript of credits earned in recognized institutions of higher learning attended by him. On or before September 1 of each year thereafter, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement, every On each July 1st following the date of filing such transcript each teacher shall so file a transcript of any credits that have been so earned since the date the last transcript was filed.

Such record of credits shall be used as the base for determining the minimum salary for such teachers as provided by Section 24--8 of this Act.

(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)

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