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91_HB1650
LRB9103624NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections
2 34-15 and 34-18.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Sections 34-15 and 34-18 af follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/34-15) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-15)
8 Sec. 34-15. Other officers and employees. The board may
9 appoint, or provide for the appointment of, such other
10 officers and employees as it deems necessary.
11 No full time non-certified employee shall be removed,
12 after having served a probationary period of 4 years, except
13 for cause. Any full time non-certified employee who, on the
14 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General
15 Assembly, has previously been employed full time continuously
16 for a period of 4 years shall be considered to have
17 successfully served a probationary period. The board by a
18 vote of a majority of its full membership must first approve
19 a motion containing written charges and specifications
20 presented by the general superintendent of schools. Such
21 motion shall contain a request to the State Board of
22 Education to schedule a hearing on these charges before an
23 impartial hearing officer and to appoint such hearing
24 officer. A written copy of the motion shall be served upon
25 the employee not more than 10 days after the date of the
26 adoption of the motion. If the employee cannot be found upon
27 diligent inquiry, such charges may be served upon him by
28 mailing a copy thereof in a sealed envelope by prepaid
29 certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known
30 address. A return receipt showing delivery to such address
31 within 20 days after the date of the adoption of the motion
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1 constitutes proof of service.
2 The secretary of the school board shall forward a copy of
3 the motion and request to the State Board of Education within
4 30 days from the date of the adoption of the motion. Within
5 10 days after receiving the motion and request, the State
6 Board of Education shall provide the employee and the local
7 board with a list of 5 prospective, impartial hearing
8 officers. Each person on the list must be accredited by a
9 national arbitration organization.
10 The board and the employee or their legal representatives
11 within 10 days from receipt of the list shall alternately
12 strike one name from the list until only one name remains.
13 The employee shall have the right to proceed first with the
14 striking. Each party shall promptly serve written notice on
15 the other of any name stricken from the list. If the
16 employee fails to do so, the local board may select the
17 hearing officer from any name remaining on the list. The
18 employee may waive the hearing at any time prior to the
19 appointment of the hearing officer. Notice of the selection
20 of the hearing officer shall be given to the State Board of
21 Education. The hearing officer shall be notified of his
22 selection by the State Board of Education. A signed
23 acceptance shall be filed with the State Board of Education
24 within 10 days of receipt of notice of the selection. The
25 State Board of Education shall notify the employee and the
26 board of its appointment of the hearing officer who shall
27 schedule the hearing not less than 20 nor more than 45 days
28 after the date of such notification. The State Board of
29 Education shall promulgate uniform standards and rules of
30 procedure for such hearings including reasonable rules of
31 discovery.
32 The per diem allowance for the hearing officer shall be
33 paid by the State Board of Education. The hearing officer
34 shall hold a hearing and render the final decision. The
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1 hearing shall be public at the request of either the employee
2 or the board. The employee has the privilege of being
3 present at the hearing with counsel and of cross-examining
4 witnesses and may offer evidence and witnesses and present
5 defenses to the charges. The hearing officer may issue
6 subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and, at the
7 request of the employee against whom a charge is made or the
8 board, shall issue such subpoenas, but the hearing officer
9 may limit the number of witnesses to be subpoenaed on behalf
10 of the employee or the board to not more than 10 each. All
11 testimony at the hearing shall be taken under oath
12 administered by the hearing officer. The hearing officer
13 shall cause a record of the proceedings to be kept and shall
14 employ a competent reporter to take stenographic or stenotype
15 notes of all the testimony. The costs of the reporter's
16 attendance and services at the hearing shall be paid by the
17 State Board of Education. Either party desiring a transcript
18 of the hearing shall pay for the cost thereof.
19 Pending the hearing of the charges, the person charged
20 may be suspended in accordance with rules prescribed by the
21 board but such person, if acquitted, shall not suffer any
22 loss of salary by reason of the suspension.
23 The hearing officer shall within 45 days from the
24 conclusion of the hearing make a decision as to whether or
25 not the employee shall be dismissed and shall give a copy of
26 the decision to both the employee and the board. If the
27 hearing officer fails without good cause to make a decision
28 within the 45 day period the name of such hearing officer
29 shall be struck for a period not less than 6 months from the
30 master list of hearing officers maintained by the State Board
31 of Education. The decision of the hearing officer is final
32 unless reviewed as provided in Section 34-85b of this Act.
33 In the event judicial review is instituted, any costs of
34 preparing and filing the record of proceedings shall be paid
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1 by the party instituting the review. If a decision of the
2 hearing officer is adjudicated upon review or appeal in favor
3 of the employee, then the trial court shall order
4 reinstatement and shall determine the amount for which the
5 board is liable including but not limited to loss of income
6 and costs incurred therein. Nothing in this Section affects
7 the validity of removal for cause hearings commenced prior to
8 the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 91st General
9 Assembly.
10 Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the
11 board and a collective bargaining representative of any of
12 its employees from agreeing to an alternate procedure for
13 hearing and determining whether charges brought against any
14 employee under this Section have been proven.
15 Each employee who attains or has attained the age of 70
16 years, shall be compulsorily retired. This Section does not
17 apply to teachers, principals, subdistrict superintendents or
18 any district, assistant, associate or deputy superintendents.
19
20 (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95.)
21 (105 ILCS 5/34-18) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18)
22 Sec. 34-18. Powers of the board. The board shall
23 exercise general supervision and jurisdiction over the public
24 education and the public school system of the city, and,
25 except as otherwise provided by this Article, shall have
26 power:
27 1. To make suitable provision for the establishment
28 and maintenance throughout the year or for such portion
29 thereof as it may direct, not less than 9 months, of
30 schools of all grades and kinds, including normal
31 schools, high schools, night schools, schools for
32 defectives and delinquents, parental and truant schools,
33 schools for the blind, the deaf and the crippled, schools
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1 or classes in manual training, constructural and
2 vocational teaching, domestic arts and physical culture,
3 vocation and extension schools and lecture courses, and
4 all other educational courses and facilities, including
5 establishing, equipping, maintaining and operating
6 playgrounds and recreational programs, when such programs
7 are conducted in, adjacent to, or connected with any
8 public school under the general supervision and
9 jurisdiction of the board; provided, however, that in
10 allocating funds from year to year for the operation of
11 all attendance centers within the district, the board
12 shall ensure that supplemental general State aid funds
13 are allocated and applied in accordance with Section 18-8
14 or 18-8.05. To admit to such schools without charge
15 foreign exchange students who are participants in an
16 organized exchange student program which is authorized by
17 the board. The board shall permit all students to enroll
18 in apprenticeship programs in trade schools operated by
19 the board, whether those programs are union-sponsored or
20 not. No student shall be refused admission into or be
21 excluded from any course of instruction offered in the
22 common schools by reason of that student's sex. No
23 student shall be denied equal access to physical
24 education and interscholastic athletic programs supported
25 from school district funds or denied participation in
26 comparable physical education and athletic programs
27 solely by reason of the student's sex. Equal access to
28 programs supported from school district funds and
29 comparable programs will be defined in rules promulgated
30 by the State Board of Education in consultation with the
31 Illinois High School Association. Notwithstanding any
32 other provision of this Article, neither the board of
33 education nor any local school council or other school
34 official shall recommend that children with disabilities
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1 be placed into regular education classrooms unless those
2 children with disabilities are provided with
3 supplementary services to assist them so that they
4 benefit from the regular classroom instruction and are
5 included on the teacher's regular education class
6 register;
7 2. To furnish lunches to pupils, to make a
8 reasonable charge therefor, and to use school funds for
9 the payment of such expenses as the board may determine
10 are necessary in conducting the school lunch program;
11 3. To co-operate with the circuit court;
12 4. To make arrangements with the public or
13 quasi-public libraries and museums for the use of their
14 facilities by teachers and pupils of the public schools;
15 5. To employ dentists and prescribe their duties
16 for the purpose of treating the pupils in the schools,
17 but accepting such treatment shall be optional with
18 parents or guardians;
19 6. To grant the use of assembly halls and
20 classrooms when not otherwise needed, including light,
21 heat, and attendants, for free public lectures, concerts,
22 and other educational and social interests, free of
23 charge, under such provisions and control as the
24 principal of the affected attendance center may
25 prescribe;
26 7. To apportion the pupils to the several schools;
27 provided that no pupil shall be excluded from or
28 segregated in any such school on account of his color,
29 race, sex, or nationality. The board shall take into
30 consideration the prevention of segregation and the
31 elimination of separation of children in public schools
32 because of color, race, sex, or nationality. Except that
33 children may be committed to or attend parental and
34 social adjustment schools established and maintained
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1 either for boys or girls only. All records pertaining to
2 the creation, alteration or revision of attendance areas
3 shall be open to the public. Nothing herein shall limit
4 the board's authority to establish multi-area attendance
5 centers or other student assignment systems for
6 desegregation purposes or otherwise, and to apportion the
7 pupils to the several schools. Furthermore, beginning in
8 school year 1994-95, pursuant to a board plan adopted by
9 October 1, 1993, the board shall offer, commencing on a
10 phased-in basis, the opportunity for families within the
11 school district to apply for enrollment of their children
12 in any attendance center within the school district which
13 does not have selective admission requirements approved
14 by the board. The appropriate geographical area in which
15 such open enrollment may be exercised shall be determined
16 by the board of education. Such children may be admitted
17 to any such attendance center on a space available basis
18 after all children residing within such attendance
19 center's area have been accommodated. If the number of
20 applicants from outside the attendance area exceed the
21 space available, then successful applicants shall be
22 selected by lottery. The board of education's open
23 enrollment plan must include provisions that allow low
24 income students to have access to transportation needed
25 to exercise school choice. Open enrollment shall be in
26 compliance with the provisions of the Consent Decree and
27 Desegregation Plan cited in Section 34-1.01;
28 8. To approve programs and policies for providing
29 transportation services to students. Nothing herein shall
30 be construed to permit or empower the State Board of
31 Education to order, mandate, or require busing or other
32 transportation of pupils for the purpose of achieving
33 racial balance in any school;
34 9. Subject to the limitations in this Article, to
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1 establish and approve system-wide curriculum objectives
2 and standards, including graduation standards, which
3 reflect the multi-cultural diversity in the city and are
4 consistent with State law, provided that for all purposes
5 of this Article courses or proficiency in American Sign
6 Language shall be deemed to constitute courses or
7 proficiency in a foreign language; and to employ
8 principals and teachers, appointed as provided in this
9 Article, and fix their compensation. The board shall
10 prepare such reports related to minimal competency
11 testing as may be requested by the State Board of
12 Education, and in addition shall monitor and approve
13 special education and bilingual education programs and
14 policies within the district to assure that appropriate
15 services are provided in accordance with applicable State
16 and federal laws to children requiring services and
17 education in those areas;
18 10. To employ non-teaching personnel or utilize
19 volunteer personnel for: (i) non-teaching duties not
20 requiring instructional judgment or evaluation of pupils,
21 including library duties; and (ii) supervising study
22 halls, long distance teaching reception areas used
23 incident to instructional programs transmitted by
24 electronic media such as computers, video, and audio,
25 detention and discipline areas, and school-sponsored
26 extracurricular activities. The board may further utilize
27 volunteer non-certificated personnel or employ
28 non-certificated personnel to assist in the instruction
29 of pupils under the immediate supervision of a teacher
30 holding a valid certificate, directly engaged in teaching
31 subject matter or conducting activities; provided that
32 the teacher shall be continuously aware of the
33 non-certificated persons' activities and shall be able to
34 control or modify them. The general superintendent shall
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1 determine qualifications of such personnel and shall
2 prescribe rules for determining the duties and activities
3 to be assigned to such personnel;
4 11. To provide television studio facilities in not
5 to exceed one school building and to provide programs for
6 educational purposes, provided, however, that the board
7 shall not construct, acquire, operate, or maintain a
8 television transmitter; to grant the use of its studio
9 facilities to a licensed television station located in
10 the school district; and to maintain and operate not to
11 exceed one school radio transmitting station and provide
12 programs for educational purposes;
13 12. To offer, if deemed appropriate, outdoor
14 education courses, including field trips within the State
15 of Illinois, or adjacent states, and to use school
16 educational funds for the expense of the said outdoor
17 educational programs, whether within the school district
18 or not;
19 13. During that period of the calendar year not
20 embraced within the regular school term, to provide and
21 conduct courses in subject matters normally embraced in
22 the program of the schools during the regular school term
23 and to give regular school credit for satisfactory
24 completion by the student of such courses as may be
25 approved for credit by the State Board of Education;
26 14. To insure against any loss or liability of the
27 board, the former School Board Nominating Commission,
28 Local School Councils, the Chicago Schools Academic
29 Accountability Council, or the former Subdistrict
30 Councils or of any member, officer, agent or employee
31 thereof, resulting from alleged violations of civil
32 rights arising from incidents occurring on or after
33 September 5, 1967 or from the wrongful or negligent act
34 or omission of any such person whether occurring within
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1 or without the school premises, provided the officer,
2 agent or employee was, at the time of the alleged
3 violation of civil rights or wrongful act or omission,
4 acting within the scope of his employment or under
5 direction of the board, the former School Board
6 Nominating Commission, the Chicago Schools Academic
7 Accountability Council, Local School Councils, or the
8 former Subdistrict Councils; and to provide for or
9 participate in insurance plans for its officers and
10 employees, including but not limited to retirement
11 annuities, medical, surgical and hospitalization benefits
12 in such types and amounts as may be determined by the
13 board; provided, however, that the board shall contract
14 for such insurance only with an insurance company
15 authorized to do business in this State. Such insurance
16 may include provision for employees who rely on treatment
17 by prayer or spiritual means alone for healing, in
18 accordance with the tenets and practice of a recognized
19 religious denomination;
20 15. To contract with the corporate authorities of
21 any municipality or the county board of any county, as
22 the case may be, to provide for the regulation of traffic
23 in parking areas of property used for school purposes, in
24 such manner as is provided by Section 11-209 of The
25 Illinois Vehicle Code, approved September 29, 1969, as
26 amended;
27 16. To provide, on an equal basis, access to the
28 school campus to the official recruiting representatives
29 of the armed forces of Illinois and the United States for
30 the purposes of informing students of the educational and
31 career opportunities available in the military if the
32 board has provided such access to persons or groups whose
33 purpose is to acquaint students with educational or
34 occupational opportunities available to them. The board
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1 is not required to give greater notice regarding the
2 right of access to recruiting representatives than is
3 given to other persons and groups;
4 17. (a) To sell or market any computer program
5 developed by an employee of the school district, provided
6 that such employee developed the computer program as a
7 direct result of his or her duties with the school
8 district or through the utilization of the school
9 district resources or facilities. The employee who
10 developed the computer program shall be entitled to share
11 in the proceeds of such sale or marketing of the computer
12 program. The distribution of such proceeds between the
13 employee and the school district shall be as agreed upon
14 by the employee and the school district, except that
15 neither the employee nor the school district may receive
16 more than 90% of such proceeds. The negotiation for an
17 employee who is represented by an exclusive bargaining
18 representative may be conducted by such bargaining
19 representative at the employee's request.
20 (b) For the purpose of this paragraph 17:
21 (1) "Computer" means an internally programmed,
22 general purpose digital device capable of
23 automatically accepting data, processing data and
24 supplying the results of the operation.
25 (2) "Computer program" means a series of coded
26 instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a
27 computer, which causes the computer to process data
28 in order to achieve a certain result.
29 (3) "Proceeds" means profits derived from
30 marketing or sale of a product after deducting the
31 expenses of developing and marketing such product;
32 18. To delegate to the general superintendent of
33 schools, by resolution, the authority to approve
34 contracts and expenditures in amounts of $10,000 or less;
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1 19. Upon the written request of an employee, to
2 withhold from the compensation of that employee any dues,
3 payments or contributions payable by such employee to any
4 labor organization as defined in the Illinois Educational
5 Labor Relations Act. Under such arrangement, an amount
6 shall be withheld from each regular payroll period which
7 is equal to the pro rata share of the annual dues plus
8 any payments or contributions, and the board shall
9 transmit such withholdings to the specified labor
10 organization within 10 working days from the time of the
11 withholding;
12 19a. Upon receipt of notice from the comptroller of
13 a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more that
14 a debt is due and owing the municipality by an employee
15 of the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees, to
16 withhold, from the compensation of that employee, the
17 amount of the debt that is due and owing and pay the
18 amount withheld to the municipality; provided, however,
19 that the amount deducted from any one salary or wage
20 payment shall not exceed 25% of the net amount of the
21 payment. Before the Board deducts any amount from any
22 salary or wage of an employee under this paragraph, the
23 municipality shall certify that the employee has been
24 afforded an opportunity for a hearing to dispute the debt
25 that is due and owing the municipality. For purposes of
26 this paragraph, "net amount" means that part of the
27 salary or wage payment remaining after the deduction of
28 any amounts required by law to be deducted and "debt due
29 and owing" means (i) a specified sum of money owed to the
30 municipality for city services, work, or goods, after the
31 period granted for payment has expired, or (ii) a
32 specified sum of money owed to the municipality pursuant
33 to a court order or order of an administrative hearing
34 officer after the exhaustion of, or the failure to
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1 exhaust, judicial review;
2 20. The board is encouraged to employ a sufficient
3 number of certified school counselors to maintain a
4 student/counselor ratio of 250 to 1 by July 1, 1990.
5 Each counselor shall spend at least 75% of his work time
6 in direct contact with students and shall maintain a
7 record of such time;
8 21. To make available to students vocational and
9 career counseling and to establish 5 special career
10 counseling days for students and parents. On these days
11 representatives of local businesses and industries shall
12 be invited to the school campus and shall inform students
13 of career opportunities available to them in the various
14 businesses and industries. Special consideration shall
15 be given to counseling minority students as to career
16 opportunities available to them in various fields. For
17 the purposes of this paragraph, minority student means a
18 person who is:
19 (a) Black (a person having origins in any of
20 the black racial groups in Africa);
21 (b) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or
22 Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or
23 Central America, or the Caribbean islands,
24 regardless of race);
25 (c) Asian American (a person having origins in
26 any of the original peoples of the Far East,
27 Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent or the
28 Pacific Islands); or
29 (d) American Indian or Alaskan Native (a
30 person having origins in any of the original peoples
31 of North America).
32 Counseling days shall not be in lieu of regular
33 school days;
34 22. To report to the State Board of Education the
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1 annual student dropout rate and number of students who
2 graduate from, transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual
3 programs;
4 23. Except as otherwise provided in the Abused and
5 Neglected Child Reporting Act or other applicable State
6 or federal law, to permit school officials to withhold,
7 from any person, information on the whereabouts of any
8 child removed from school premises when the child has
9 been taken into protective custody as a victim of
10 suspected child abuse. School officials shall direct
11 such person to the Department of Children and Family
12 Services, or to the local law enforcement agency if
13 appropriate;
14 24. To develop a policy, based on the current state
15 of existing school facilities, projected enrollment and
16 efficient utilization of available resources, for capital
17 improvement of schools and school buildings within the
18 district, addressing in that policy both the relative
19 priority for major repairs, renovations and additions to
20 school facilities, and the advisability or necessity of
21 building new school facilities or closing existing
22 schools to meet current or projected demographic patterns
23 within the district;
24 25. To make available to the students in every high
25 school attendance center the ability to take all courses
26 necessary to comply with the Board of Higher Education's
27 college entrance criteria effective in 1993;
28 26. To encourage mid-career changes into the
29 teaching profession, whereby qualified professionals
30 become certified teachers, by allowing credit for
31 professional employment in related fields when
32 determining point of entry on teacher pay scale;
33 27. To provide or contract out training programs
34 for administrative personnel and principals with revised
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1 or expanded duties pursuant to this Act in order to
2 assure they have the knowledge and skills to perform
3 their duties;
4 28. To establish a fund for the prioritized special
5 needs programs, and to allocate such funds and other lump
6 sum amounts to each attendance center in a manner
7 consistent with the provisions of part 4 of Section
8 34-2.3. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
9 require any additional appropriations of State funds for
10 this purpose;
11 29. (Blank);
12 30. (Blank); Notwithstanding any other provision of
13 this Act or any other law to the contrary, to contract
14 with third parties for services otherwise performed by
15 employees, including those in a bargaining unit, and to
16 layoff those employees upon 14 days written notice to the
17 affected employees. Those contracts may be for a period
18 not to exceed 5 years and may be awarded on a system-wide
19 basis;
20 31. To promulgate rules, which shall not be
21 inconsistent with any collective bargaining agreement,
22 establishing procedures governing the layoff or reduction
23 in force of employees and the recall of such employees,
24 including, but not limited to, criteria for such layoffs,
25 reductions in force or recall rights of such employees
26 and the weight to be given to any particular criterion.
27 Such criteria shall take into account factors including,
28 but not be limited to, qualifications, certifications,
29 experience, performance ratings or evaluations, and any
30 other factors relating to an employee's job performance;
31 and
32 32. To develop a policy to prevent nepotism in the
33 hiring of personnel or the selection of contractors.
34 The specifications of the powers herein granted are not
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1 to be construed as exclusive but the board shall also
2 exercise all other powers that they may be requisite or
3 proper for the maintenance and the development of a public
4 school system, not inconsistent with the other provisions of
5 this Article or provisions of this Code which apply to all
6 school districts.
7 In addition to the powers herein granted and authorized
8 to be exercised by the board, it shall be the duty of the
9 board to review or to direct independent reviews of special
10 education expenditures and services. The board shall file a
11 report of such review with the General Assembly on or before
12 May 1, 1990.
13 (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 89-397, eff. 8-20-95;
14 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; 90-22, eff. 6-20-97; 90-548, eff.
15 1-1-98.)
16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17 becoming law.