HB3027 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 10156 NHT 50344 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3027

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. Fred Crespo

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/10-22.31a	from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31a
105 ILCS 5/18-12	from Ch. 122, par. 18-12
105 ILCS 5/26-2a	from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a

Amends the School Code. Makes changes concerning the execution of joint agreements on forms, the certification and filing of State aid claims, and the definition of "dropout".

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 10-22.31a, 18-12, and 26-2a as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/10-22.31a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31a)

Sec. 10-22.31a. Joint educational programs. To enter into joint agreements with other school boards or public institutions of higher education to establish any type of educational program which any district may establish individually, to provide the needed educational facilities and to employ a director and other professional workers for such program. The director and other professional workers may be employed by one district which shall be reimbursed on a mutually agreed basis by other districts that are parties to the joint agreement. Such agreements may provide that one district may supply professional workers for a joint program conducted in another district. Such agreement shall be executed on forms provided by the State Board of Education and shall include, but not be limited to, provisions for administration, staff, programs, financing, housing, transportation and advisory body and provide for the withdrawal of districts from the joint agreement by petition to the regional board of school trustees. Such petitions for withdrawal shall be made to the regional board of school trustees of the region having supervision and control over the administrative district and shall be acted upon in the manner provided in Article 7 for the detachment of territory from a school district.

To designate an administrative district to act as fiscal and legal agent for the districts that are parties to such a joint agreement.

(Source: P.A. 86-198; 86-1318.)

(105 ILCS 5/18-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 18-12)

Sec. 18-12. Dates for filing State aid claims. The school board of each school district shall require teachers, principals, or superintendents to furnish from records kept by them such data as it needs in preparing and certifying to the State Superintendent of Education regional superintendent its school district report of claims provided in Sections 18-8.05 through 18-9 as required by the State Superintendent of Education. The district claim shall be based on the latest available equalized assessed valuation and tax rates, as provided in Section 18-8.05 and shall use the average daily attendance as determined by the method outlined in Section 18-8.05 and shall be certified and filed with the State Superintendent of Education regional superintendent by June 21 for districts with an official school calendar end date before June 15 or within 2 weeks following the official school calendar end date for districts with a school year end date of June 15 or later. The regional superintendent shall certify and file with the State Superintendent of Education district State aid claims by July 1 for districts with an official school calendar end date before June 15 or no later than July 15 for districts with an official school calendar end date of June 15 or later. Failure to so file by these deadlines constitutes a forfeiture of the right to receive payment by the State until such claim is filed and vouchered for payment. The regional superintendent of schools shall certify the county report of claims by July 15; and the State Superintendent of Education shall voucher for payment those claims to the State Comptroller as provided in Section 18-11.

Except as otherwise provided in this Section, if any school district fails to provide the minimum school term specified in Section 10-19, the State aid claim for that year shall be reduced by the State Superintendent of Education in an amount equivalent to 1/176 or .56818% for each day less than the number of days required by this Code.

If the State Superintendent of Education determines that the failure to provide the minimum school term was occasioned by an act or acts of God, or was occasioned by conditions beyond the control of the school district which posed a hazardous threat to the health and safety of pupils, the State aid claim need not be reduced.

If a school district is precluded from providing the minimum hours of instruction required for a full day of attendance due to an adverse weather condition or a condition beyond the control of the school district that poses a hazardous threat to the health and safety of students, then the partial day of attendance may be counted if (i) the school district has provided at least one hour of instruction prior to the closure of the school district, (ii) a school building has provided at least one hour of instruction prior to the closure of the school building, or (iii) the normal start time of the school district is delayed.

If, prior to providing any instruction, a school district must close one or more but not all school buildings after consultation with a local emergency response agency or due to a condition beyond the control of the school district, then the school district may claim attendance for up to 2 school days based on the average attendance of the 3 school days immediately preceding the closure of the affected school building. The partial or no day of attendance described in this Section and the reasons therefore shall be certified within a month of the closing or delayed start by the school district superintendent to the regional superintendent of schools for forwarding to the State Superintendent of Education for approval.

No exception to the requirement of providing a minimum school term may be approved by the State Superintendent of Education pursuant to this Section unless a school district has first used all emergency days provided for in its regular calendar.

If the State Superintendent of Education declares that an energy shortage exists during any part of the school year for the State or a designated portion of the State, a district may operate the school attendance centers within the district 4 days of the week during the time of the shortage by extending each existing school day by one clock hour of school work, and the State aid claim shall not be reduced, nor shall the employees of that district suffer any reduction in salary or benefits as a result thereof. A district may operate all attendance centers on this revised schedule, or may apply the schedule to selected attendance centers, taking into consideration such factors as pupil transportation schedules and patterns and sources of energy for individual attendance centers.

Electronically submitted State aid claims shall be submitted by duly authorized district or regional individuals over a secure network that is password protected. The electronic submission of a State aid claim must be accompanied with an affirmation that all of the provisions of Sections 18-8.05 through 18-9, 10-22.5, and 24-4 of this Code are met in all respects.

(Source: P.A. 95-152, eff. 8-14-07; 95-811, eff. 8-13-08; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-2a) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a)

Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for a school day or portion thereof.

"Valid cause" for absence shall be illness, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, family emergency, and shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student as determined by the board of education in each district, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the safety or health of the student.

"Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for 10% or more of the previous 180 regular attendance days.

"Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom supportive services, including prevention, diagnostic, intervention and remedial services, alternative programs and other school and community resources have been provided and have failed to result in the cessation of chronic truancy, or have been offered and refused.

A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades one 9 through 12 whose name has been removed from the district enrollment roster for any reason other than the student's death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance, expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a program of studies and who has not transferred to another public or private school or moved out of the United States and is not known to be home-schooled by his or her parents or guardians or continuing school in another country.

"Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.

(Source: P.A. 96-1423, eff. 8-3-10.)