Public Act 104-0109
 
SB1555 EnrolledLRB104 10971 LNS 21053 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 
14-3.01 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14-3.01)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-3.01)
    Sec. 14-3.01. Advisory Council. This amendatory Act of 
1998, in compliance with the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997, 
makes changes in the membership and responsibilities of the 
Advisory Council on the Education of Children with 
Disabilities. The Council shall provide advice and policy 
guidance to the Governor, General Assembly, and the State 
Board of Education with respect to special education and 
related services for children with disabilities. The State 
Board of Education shall seek the advice of the Advisory 
Council regarding all rules and regulations related to the 
education of children with disabilities that are to be 
promulgated by the State Board of Education. The State Board 
of Education shall seek the advice of the Advisory Council on 
modifications or additions to comprehensive plans submitted 
under Section 14-4.01. The Council shall consider any rule or 
regulation or plan submitted to it by the State Board of 
Education within 60 days after its receipt by the chairperson 
of the Council.
    Additionally, the Advisory Council shall: (1) advise the 
General Assembly, the Governor, and the State Board of 
Education on unmet needs in the education of children with 
disabilities; (2) assist the State Board of Education in 
developing evaluations and reporting on data to the United 
States Secretary of Education; (3) advise the State Board of 
Education relative to qualifications for hearing officers and 
the rules and procedures for hearings conducted under Section 
14-8.02 or 14-8.02a; (4) comment publicly on any rules or 
regulations proposed by the State regarding the education of 
children with disabilities and the procedures for distribution 
of funds under this Act; (5) advise the State Board of 
Education in developing corrective action plans to address 
findings identified in federal monitoring reports pursuant to 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; (6) advise 
State and local education agencies regarding educational 
programs and materials that may be provided to children with 
disabilities to enable them to fully exercise their 
constitutional and legal rights and entitlements as citizens, 
including those afforded under the Federal Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973, as amended, and the Illinois Human Rights Act; and (7) 
advise the State Board of Education in developing and 
implementing policies relating to the coordination of services 
for children with disabilities.
    The Council shall be composed of 28 27 members, including 
23 voting members appointed by the Governor and 5 4 ex-officio 
voting members. Members shall be broadly representative of the 
State's population in regard to developmental, physical, and 
mental disabilities, race, ethnic background, gender, and 
geographic location. Nine members shall be parents of children 
with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years currently 
receiving special education services at public expense. Five 
members shall be individuals with disabilities, including one 
student or former student who is at least 18 years of age and 
no older than 21 years of age at the time of his or her 
appointment to the Council and who is receiving special 
education services at public expense or received those 
services at the time his or her high school program 
terminated. Within 30 days after the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of 1998, the Governor or his designee shall 
invite statewide organizations, being as inclusive as possible 
and based upon a reasonable inquiry, and Parent Training and 
Information Centers representing parents of children with 
disabilities, individuals with disabilities or both, to 
convene for the purpose of recommending to the Governor twice 
the number of individuals required to be appointed as members 
from each of the categories described in this paragraph, from 
which the Governor may appoint the 14 members of the Council 
who are parents of children with disabilities and individuals 
with disabilities. The 9 members who are parents of children 
with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years receiving 
special education services at public expense and the 5 members 
who are individuals with disabilities shall not be current 
full or part-time employees of school districts, special 
education cooperatives, regional service areas or centers, or 
any agency under the jurisdiction of any elected State 
official.
    In addition, the Governor shall appoint one regional 
superintendent of schools, one representative of an 
institution of higher education that prepares special 
education and related services personnel, one teacher of 
students with disabilities, one superintendent of a public 
school district, one director of a special education 
cooperative or special education administrator from a school 
district of less than 500,000 population, one representative 
of a public charter school, one representative of a private 
school serving children with disabilities, one representative 
of a vocational, community, or business organization that 
provides transition services to children with disabilities, 
and one at-large member from the general public. In addition, 
the Secretary of Human Services or his or her designee, the 
Director of Children and Family Services or his or her 
designee, the Director of Corrections or his or her designee, 
the Secretary of Early Childhood or his or her designee, and 
the Director of Special Education for the City of Chicago 
School District #299 or his or her designee shall serve as 
ex-officio voting members of the Council.
    All Council members shall be legal residents of the State 
of Illinois and shall be selected, as far as practicable, on 
the basis of their knowledge of, or experience in, the 
education of children with disabilities.
    The initial members to be appointed to the Council by the 
Governor under the provisions of this amendatory Act of 1998 
shall be appointed within 60 days after the effective date of 
that amendatory Act; provided that those persons who are 
serving as Council members on that effective date and who, as 
determined by the Governor after consultation with the State 
Board of Education, meet the requirements established by this 
amendatory Act for appointment to membership on the Council 
shall continue to serve as Council members until the 
completion of the remainder of their current terms. The 
initial members of the Council who are not Council members on 
the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998 and who are 
appointed by the Governor under this amendatory Act of 1998 
shall by lot determine one-third of their number to serve for a 
term of 2 years (provided that person appointed as the student 
or former student member shall be included among those members 
who are to serve a term of 2 years), one-third of their number 
to serve for a term of 3 years, and one-third of their number 
to serve for a term of 4 years; provided, that if the total 
number of initial members so appointed by the Governor is not 
divisible into 3 whole numbers, all of the initial members so 
appointed shall by lot be assigned to 3 groups as follows: (i) 
the members assigned to the first group, who shall include the 
student or former student member and who shall be equal in 
number to the number of members who are assigned to the second 
group, shall serve for a term of 2 years; (ii) the members 
assigned to the second group, who shall be equal in number to 
the number of members who are assigned to the first group, 
shall serve for a term of 3 years; and (iii) the members 
assigned to the third group, who shall comprise the remainder 
of the initial members so appointed by the Governor and whose 
number shall be either one more or one less than the number of 
members assigned to either the first group or second group, 
shall serve for a term of 4 years. Upon expiration of the term 
of office of a member of the Council who is not an ex-officio 
member, his or her successor shall be appointed by the 
Governor to serve for a term of 4 years, except that a 
successor appointed as the student or former student member 
shall be appointed to serve for a term of 2 years. Each member 
of the Council who is not an ex-officio member and whose term 
of office expires shall nevertheless continue to serve as a 
Council member until his or her successor is appointed. Each 
of the 4 ex-officio members of the Council shall continue to 
serve as a Council member during the period in which he or she 
continues to hold the office by reason of which he or she 
became an ex-officio member of the Council. The initial 
members of the Council who are not ex-officio members shall 
not, upon completion of their respective initial terms, be 
appointed to serve more than one additional consecutive term 
of 4 years, nor shall any successor member of the Council be 
appointed to serve more than 2 full consecutive 4-year terms; 
provided, that a person appointed as the student or former 
student member shall serve only one two-year term and shall 
not be reappointed to serve for an additional term. Vacancies 
in Council memberships held by parents of children with 
disabilities or individuals with disabilities may be filled 
from the original list of such parents and individuals 
recommended to the Governor. The Governor shall reconvene the 
group of organizations that provided the original list of 
parents of children with disabilities and individuals with 
disabilities when additional recommendations for those Council 
memberships are needed, but at a minimum the group shall be 
convened every 2 years for the purpose of updating the list of 
recommended parents or individuals. A vacancy in an appointed 
membership on the Council shall be filled for the unexpired 
balance of the term of that membership in the same manner that 
the original appointment for that membership was made.
    The terms of all persons serving as Advisory Council 
members on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998 
who are not determined by the Governor, after consultation 
with the State Board of Education, to meet the requirements 
established by this amendatory Act for appointment to initial 
membership on the Council shall terminate on the date that the 
Governor completes his appointments of the initial members of 
the Council under this amendatory Act, and the members of the 
Council as constituted under this amendatory Act shall take 
office and assume their powers and duties on that date.
    The Council as constituted under this amendatory Act of 
1998 shall organize with a chairperson selected by the Council 
members and shall meet at the call of the chairperson upon 10 
days written notice but not less than 4 times a year. The 
Council shall establish such committees and procedures as it 
deems appropriate to carry out its responsibilities under this 
Act and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act.
    The State Board of Education shall designate an employee 
to act as executive secretary of the Council and shall furnish 
all professional and clerical assistance necessary for the 
performance of its duties.
    Members of the Council shall serve without compensation 
but shall be reimbursed for the necessary expenses incurred in 
the performance of their duties in accordance with the State 
Board of Education's Travel Control Policy.
(Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 
90-644, eff. 7-24-98.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.