Summary of Signed and Vetoed School Interest Bills

We hope you are all having a fantastic start to this new school year!

While you all have been preparing to open your school buildings this summer, the Governor has been busy signing bills. He has officially signed (or vetoed) every piece of legislation that passed both chambers in May. Below please find information about important education bills that have been vetoed or signed into law.

VETOED BILLS

The Governor issued several vetoes for a variety of measures, but one in particular did impact an education bill. HB3643 (Rashid; D-Berwyn) would have required ISBE to enter into a master contract with vendors that can supply meals that accommodate religious dietary requirements, such as Halal and Kosher. Schools would have been required to offer inclusive meal options to all students and would have been able to order those meals through the state’s master contract. The measure was also subject to appropriation and the General Assembly did not allocate funding for this program in the FY24 budget. The Governor issued a full veto on the bill on the grounds that ISBE could not enter into a master contract for food services as that is the responsibility of local school districts. If the measure returns for consideration and further negotiations take place, Illinois ASBO will remain committed to our original position. That position is that school districts across the state may be unable to locate a vendor that is able to provide these meals, and that the cost of the meals should not be a burden placed on local taxpayers.

BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW

With over 80 bills impacting education passing both chambers, it would likely be beneficial for a recap from our May alerts! Below please find a refresher of some of the important bills that passed both chambers in May and have now been signed into law.

Minimum Teacher Salary and CPI

HB0300 (Public Act 103-0515) is a measure the IASA/Illinois ASBO government relations team worked on with the intention of providing consistency and clarity to the process of applying annual CPI to the required minimum teacher salary starting with the 2024-2025 school year. The final bill directs the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability to provide the new minimum teacher salary amount annually on July 20 prior to the fiscal year in which the new minimum salary will be in place. Due to timeline constraints, the new minimum salary for the 2024-2025 school year will be published by September 30, 2023. The timeline from which the CPI will be taken will be the time period of July through June of the previous school year. The bill is effective immediately.

Teacher Evaluation and Tenure

SB1351 (Public Act 103-0085) provides that certified teachers who are scheduled to be evaluated in their final year of service prior to retirement, are not required to be evaluated. The bill is effective immediately.

SB1352 (Public Act 103-0549) makes changes to the process of when a teacher decides to leave their school district within 30 days before the start of the new school year. Specifically, it requires the school board to inform ISBE within 10 days of the board meeting if the teacher’s resignation has been denied and gives a timeline for ISBE to respond with the outcome of the hearing. The bill now extends the same 30 day requirements for non-tenured teachers, as well, which was not previously what the statute provided for. The bill is effective immediately.

SB1872 (Public Act 103-0500) removes one year in the tenure process for excellent and proficient teachers. Teachers who receive an Excellent rating in their first two years will achieve tenure at the beginning of their third year of employment and teachers who receive a Proficient rating in their second and third years will achieve tenure at the beginning of their fourth year of employment. The bill is effective for teachers who are first hired for full-time employment for the 2023-2024 school year and provides that the nonrenewal date is now April 15, rather than 45 days prior to the end of the school year. The bill is effective immediately.

Curriculum

HB1633 (Public Act 103-0422) requires a unit of instruction to study the experience of Native Americans and mandates the existing requirement for a unit of instruction in the Holocaust and genocides also include instruction on the Native American genocide in North America. The bill is effective immediately, with the new unit of instruction required for the 2024-2025 school year.

Additionally, HB3924 (Public Act 103-0365) adds specific requirements in high school health courses related to instruction on the dangers of fentanyl and HB3932 (Public Act 103-0212) adds instruction on allergen safety into high school health courses. Both bills are effective 01/01/2024.

Bullying Notification

HB3425 (Public Act 103-0047) expands the definition of bullying to cover harassment on the basis of physical appearance, socioeconomic status, academic status, pregnancy, parenting status and homelessness. Prior statute required school officials to “promptly” notify parents of students involved in bullying allegations, and the new law changed the notification requirement to within 24 hours of knowledge of the allegation. There are additional reporting requirements, including reporting to the State Board of Education on verified instances of bullying, and associated factors. The bill is effective immediately.

Mandated Training

Illinois ASBO worked with other management groups, as well as labor groups, to move HB3690 (Public Act 103-0542) which clarifies existing statute related to required mandated trainings and provides that certain trainings must only be completed once every 5 years. The bill is effective 01/01/2024.

Two additional training mandates were added to school code, including HB1561 (Public Act 103-0128), which requires training every two years on methods to respond to physical trauma (effective immediately), and HB3116 (Public Act 103-0041), which requires training every two years on homelessness (effective 08/20/2024).

ISBEs Initiatives

SB2390 (Public Act 103-0111) is an initiative of ISBE and allows school districts to adopt a policy to waive non-resident tuition for the children of employees, which would eliminate the need for a waiver approval by the General Assembly. The bill also extends the ability of educators with short-term approvals to teach early childhood students through 2028-2029, extends the allowance of short-term substitute licenses through June 2028 and makes changes to the Alternative Educator Licensure Program. The bill is effective immediately.

HB3071 (Public Act 103-0175) clarifies that the State Board is not required to collect personally identifiable information in the categories of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity unless required for federal reporting. The bill also represents the agency's annual “clean-up” legislation where various sections of the school code are addressed. The bill is effective immediately.

Individualized Education Plans

HB3224 (Public Act 103-0181) requires a school district to provide information about the district’s career and technical education opportunities to the parent/guardian of a student as part of the student’s transition planning. The bill is effective immediately. HB3680 (Public Act 103-0197) requires that student accommodations during emergencies be taken into account as part of the IEP development process. The bill is effective 01/01/2024.

Undesignated Medication

Two measures related to schools’ ability to house undesignated medications have been signed into law. HB3613 (Public Act 103-0196) adds oxygen tanks to the list of permissive undesignated medications a school may have on property and HB3428 (Public Act 103-0348), removes the permissive nature of a school’s ability to have undesignated opioid antagonists on campus and now makes it a requirement. Both bills are effective 01/01/2024.

Free Meals For All

HB2471 (Public Act 103-0532) was signed into law on 08/11/2023 and allows for the creation of the "Healthy School Meals for All" program, which would essentially create a statewide Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. Full funding for the program was estimated to be around $200M annually, but the allocation was not included in the FY24 budget. Therefore, the program will not be available for the 2023-2024 school year. Advocates plan to focus their efforts on securing an appropriation for the FY25 budget cycle.

For a comprehensive list of all bills related to education that have been signed into law, please visit the Illinois ASBO website and review the Bill Tracker, found on the Advocacy page. The list is up to date and includes all effective dates for new legislation.

Veto session is scheduled to be held October 24, 25 and 26 and November 7, 8 and 9. We will be sure to keep you updated on any important education items that may be taken up during the session!