Happy Tuesday!
We hope you are all having a fantastic summer and are preparing for another exciting school year in your districts! Although the national political landscape has been eventful this summer, it has pretty much been business as usual in Springfield with a handful of bill signings and basic regulatory functions. Below we have highlighted a few items that have emerged and been signed over the last month.Teacher Minimum Salary for 25-26 School Year
During the 2023 spring session, Public Act 103-0515 was enacted and charged the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) with determining the new minimum teacher salary every year by July 20, providing school districts with the information a year in advance for the purposes of budgeting. The new salary for the 2025-2026 school year was released this month, and based on the statutory requirements, it was increased by 2.97%, for a new minimum salary of $42,411 for FY26. You can read the full press release from COGFA here.
A Few New Public Acts
The Governor has found time to sign a few bills in between his busy political schedule, and while we still have about 35 bills outstanding that we believe should go into effect in the next month, several have been signed already. Below please find descriptions of a few new Public Acts:
Department of Early Childhood (PA 103-0594) - The new Department of Early Childhood is an initiative of the Governor’s Office. The new agency will eventually be charged with administering the existing Early Childhood Block Grant programs from ISBE, as well as other early childhood-related programming from the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The new department will be functional as of July 1, 2024, but existing programs will not be transferred to the new agency until July 1, 2026. The new agency received $13 million for FY 25, however it is unclear if the agency will request a similar amount for future fiscal years. The bill is effective immediately.
Election Timelines (PA 103-0600) - The law makes changes to the time and manner of filing for candidates running for public office, including school board candidates. Specifically, it changes the petition timeline such that they must be filed with the election authority not more than 141 (instead of 113) nor less than 134 days before the consolidated election. For this election cycle, this means that petitions may be circulated starting August 20, 2024, and shall be filed between November 12-18, 2024. The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2024.
Interfund Transfers (PA 103-0601) - The sunset extension omnibus package included language that extends the allowance for interfund transfers to cover one-time, non-recurring expenses through June of 2026. The bill was effective July 1, 2024.
Cardiac Response Plan (PA 103-0608) - The new Act requires school districts to develop and distribute a cardiac emergency response plan to all staff, and to provide information on the use of life-saving techniques such as hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of the school’s AED. The bill is effective January 1, 2025.
Performance Evaluation Advisory Committee (PA 103-0617) - The legislation addresses the upcoming sunset of the Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC), which is scheduled for June 30, 2024, and extends the sunset to December 31, 2024. PEAC has been integral in providing advisory support to ISBE for the implementation of the current teacher evaluation system, so the bill would create the Performance Evaluation Advisory Committee to begin a transition to take the place of the Council, effective July 1, 2024. The bill does not include a sunset date for the new committee. An amendment included language that clarifies that teachers in career and technical education programs are eligible for tenure under the same procedures as other licensed educators. The measure has a retroactive effective date of June 15, 2024.
Residency for Children with DCFS Involvement (PA 103-0629) - The bill intends to ensure that a child removed from their parent's care by the Department of Children and Family Services, who then resides with a foster parent or in another caregiver arrangement in a different school district, will not be charged tuition as a nonresident pupil if it's deemed in the child's best interest to continue attending their former school or the school they would have attended if not removed from parental care. The measure is effective January 1, 2025.
Public Special Education Program Tuition Reimbursement (PA 103-0644) - The new law allows for tuition reimbursement for special education students who are educated in public day schools in the same way in which districts currently receive reimbursement for students who attend private day schools.
The full list of new Public Acts is available on the Bill Tracker on the Illinois ASBO website behind the membership paywall. We will continue to update the tracker over the next month as the final bills are signed into law.
Thank you for reading and we hope you have a fantastic start to the new school year!