PE MANDATE BILL MOVES OUT OF SENATE COMMITTEE

Earlier this week, SB 1189 (Holmes, D-Aurora) which restricts the flexibility of school districts to provide physical education, was narrowly approved by the Senate Education Committee. The bill includes disallowing P.E. waivers for more than two years and no more than two renewals. SB 1189 also requires 150 weekly minutes of P.E. for elementary students and 225 weekly minutes of P.E. for middle, junior and high school students. The legislation would make school districts focus on P.E. before any other course as no other course would have a statutory minute requirement. The current three day per week requirement for P.E. was part of the larger bi-partisan agreement on the legislation that contained the Evidence Based Funding Model.  Similar language to SB 1189 (House Bill 2234) is still pending in the House Education Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee. 

BILL ACTION FROM THIS WEEK

HB 160 (Flowers, D-Chicago) provides that enhanced penalties for delivering cannabis in a school or on school property only apply to offenses committed when school is in session, children are present or when related activity occurs. The bill also exempts enrolled students from the Act. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary - Criminal Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

HB 355 (Batinick, R-Plainfield) includes for educator license renewal, as an option provided by approved providers, training on inclusive practices in the classroom that examine instructional and behavioral strategies that improve academic and social-emotional outcomes for all students. The bill was approved by the House and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

HB 822 (Halpin, D-Rock Island) allows school districts to maintain a supply of undesignated glucagon medication for treatment of diabetic symptoms and requires reporting to parents and health care provider within 24 hours when administered. The bill was approved by the House and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

HB 921 (Stuart, D-Collinsville) provides that if an educational support personnel (ESP) employee is dismissed as a result of a Reduction In Force (RIF) and the employee accepts re-employment with the same district, the employee maintains any rights accrued during the previous service with the school district.     The bill was approved by the House and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

HB 1472 (Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville) extends from June 30, 2019, to June 30, 2021, the flexibility to allow a teacher to return to teaching in subject shortage areas without impairing his or her retirement status. The bill was approved by the House and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.   

HB 1559 (Hernandez, D-Cicero) defines "media literacy" and provides that, beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, every public high school may include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy. The bill was approved by the House and will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

HB 2121 (Evans, D-Chicago) adds penalties that a person seeking a school bus driver permit must not have been convicted of committing or attempting to commit including: solicitation or solicitation of murder; permitting sexual abuse of a child; presence or loitering of a sexual predator or child sex offender near a park; aggravated battery; use of a dangerous place for the commission of a controlled substance or cannabis; and holds no conviction of misdemeanor offense under the Cannabis Control Act within the last 20 years. The bill was approved by the House Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

HB 2265 (Lilly, D-Oak Park) requires every public elementary school to include in its 6th, 7th, or 8th grade curriculum at least one semester of civics education. The bill was approved by the House Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

HB 2627 (Kifowit, D-Aurora) disallows a student to be questioned or detained at a school site in connection with criminal charges or allegations, taken into custody, or engaged with law enforcement without a parent, school social worker or mental health professional. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary - Criminal Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration

HB 3144 (Halbrook, R-Shelbyville) requires a school district to allow the parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples to choose whether the children be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms if the children are in the same grade level at the same school. The bill was approved by the Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

HB 3462 (Bristow, D-Alton) allows a school district to include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on hunting education that includes instruction on hunting safety. The bill was approved by the Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

HB 3550 (Williams, D-Chicago) requires a sex education course provided in grades 6-12 to include an age-appropriate discussion on the meaning of consent to sexual activity. The bill was approved by the House Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.

SB 30 (Bush, D-Grayslake) prohibits employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement that contains any provision that has the purpose or effect of: limiting the disclosure of sexual misconduct, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination; suppressing information relevant to an investigation into a claim of sexual misconduct, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination; impairing the ability of any person to report a claim of sexual misconduct, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination; or waiving a substantive or procedural right or remedy of any person relating to a claim of sexual misconduct, retaliation, or unlawful discrimination. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 59 (Bertino-Tarrant, D-Joliet) provides that an institution may not collect fees from high school students enrolled in dual credit courses in excess of what the institution needs to administer the program and fees may only be used in administering the program. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 185 (Lightford, D-Maywood) authorizes and provides a calculation for appropriation to Regional Offices of Education (ROE) for grants to fund alternative schools, safe schools, and alternative learning programs for FY 2019. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House for further consideration.

SB 244 (Martinez, D-Chicago) p rovides that Grow Your Own Illinois shall administer the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative as a grant competition to fund consortia that will carry out these teacher preparation programs. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House for further consideration.

SB 245 (Villivalam, D- Chicago) requires all State and local government, statutes, codes, rules, regulations, and other official documents to use the term "Asian" when referring to persons of Asian descent. The bill was approved by the Senate State government Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1212 (Lightford, D-Maywood) requires ISBE to establish a Course Equity Program in which any public or nonpublic school student in this State may enroll in a course, provided that the student has completed all applicable prerequisite course requirements.  The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1213 (Lightford, D-Maywood) provides that all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" are considered "effective" and all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "unsatisfactory" are considered "ineffective". The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1249 (Murphy, D-Des Plaines) requires a school district to report to the ISBE the knowledge of any incident of sexual assault by a student against another student. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1272 (Rezin, R-Morris)   provides that if a speech-language pathologist holds a regular State license as a speech-language pathologist, he or she does not need to meet other requirements to be issued a Professional Educator License with a school support personnel endorsement for non-teaching speech-language pathologist. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1287 (Rezin, R-Morris) requires a school board to, upon passage of a referendum after submission of a petition signed by no less than 5% of the school district's voters in the last consolidated election, enter into a joint agreement with other school boards to share the services of a superintendent or other administrator. The school board may also do the same by resolution of the board. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1569 (Rezin, R-Morris) requires each school district to include in each course in its curriculum instruction on speech communication. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1601 (Sims, D-Chicago) , with regard to the instruction on history of the United States, requires that the course must also include instruction on the history of Illinois. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1626 (Weaver, R-Peoria) provides that a qualified student may take any online course for academic credit if the course aligns with the Illinois Learning Standards, meets or exceeds the same standards as course offerings of the school district, and is taught by an instructor who holds a Professional Educator License. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1642 (Peters, D-Chicago) requires the curriculum of a driver education course to include instruction on bicycle and pedestrian safety, which must include, but is not limited to, instruction on how to safely pass a cyclist on the road. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1694 (Bush, D-Grayslake) requires each pupil entering the 9th grade to successfully complete one year of workplace preparation studies that cover legal protections in the workplace, including protection against sexual harassment and racial and other forms of discrimination and other protections for employees. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1712 (Koehler, D-Peoria) exempts from disclosure a public body's credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, and similar account information. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1757 (Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood) provides after June 30, 2024, no payments may be made by a school district for amounts in excess of $4,500 for children who have been placed in a program in which the actual per pupil costs of tuition for special education and related services based on program enrollment exceed $4,500. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1901 (Weaver, R- Peoria) changes provisions concerning the license renewal fee for an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement and when candidates must pass the teacher performance assessment. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1941 (Lightford, D-Maywood) changes the requirements for school discipline plan submissions. It establishes a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments grant program and requires ISBE and participating schools to issue yearly reports on results of the program. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 1952 (Manar, D-Bunker Hill) requires an employer to make an additional employer contribution for a participant whose earnings for any academic year used to determine the final rate of earnings exceed the amount of his or her earnings with the same employer for the previous academic year by more than 6% (instead of 3%). The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 2015 (Sandoval, D- Cicero) provides for free fares for specified elementary and high school students on days when school is in session on public transportation. The bill was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.

SB 2075 (Lightford) lowers the compulsory school age from 6 to 5 years of age beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. Requires all school districts to establish kindergarten for the instruction of children who are 5 years of age or older. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House for further consideration.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE 

Tuesday, March 26, 2:00 p.m., Room 212, State Capitol

SUBJECT MATTER HEARING: Testimony will be heard on Senate Bill 8, Senate Bill 142, Senate Bill 1737, and Senate Bill 2044. All of these bills address student sexual abuse and educator misconduct.

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS-ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 

Tuesday, March 26, 2:30 p.m., Room D-1, Stratton Building

SUBJECT MATTER HEARING: The committee will be holding subject matter hearings on various education related appropriations for the next two weeks. This hearing will cover IELRNB, National Board of Certified Teachers, Special Education, Charter Schools, District Intervention and After School Programs.

HOUSE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 

Wednesday, March 27, 8:30 a.m., Room C-1, Stratton Building

HB 422 (Scherer, D-Decatur) would require parents who object to immunizations to submit a certificate of completion of an online immunization seminar provided by the Department of Public Health (DPH).

HB 3685 (Ortiz, D-Chicago) provides certain student privacy requirements for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and disallows school district employees from making threats or acts of menace based upon perceived citizenship or immigration status toward any student.

HOUSE ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION: SCHOOL CURRICULUM & POLICIES COMMITTEE 

Wednesday, March 27, 10:00 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol

HB 247 (Carroll, D-Northbrook) would require school districts contracting with a third party for drivers education ensure the teacher's licensure under Article 21B. Additionally, a district administrator would be required to evaluate and observe the teacher with requirements that apply to non-tenured teachers.

HOUSE PERSONNEL & PENSIONS COMMITTEE 

Thursday, March 28, 10:00 a.m., Room 122B, State Capitol

SUBJECT MATTER HEARING: The committee will be hearing testimony regarding the FY 20 Pension Proposal.