Advocacy

Twenty-one unfunded mandates were enacted last year and a staggering 200 have been enacted since 1992. Apparently, the Illinois General Assembly was only getting warmed up. 

Earlier this spring session, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1 into law, which raises the minimum wage to $15 an hour over six years. It increases from $8.25 to $9.25 on Jan. 1; to $10 on July 1, 2020, and $1 each Jan. 1 until 2025.

And now Senate Bill 10 - and corresponding House Bill 2078 - have passed out of committee and could be called for a vote at any time. Both bills would raise the minimum starting salary for teachers to $40,000 over four years.

As currently constructed, the bill would raise minimum TRS creditable salaries to $32,076 in 2020-2021 school year, $34,576 the year after that, and $37,076 in 2022-2023 before it hits the $40,000 mark. It doesn't stop there. 

The legislation also says the minimum salary rate for each school year thereafter shall increase by the Consumer Price Index. When put together, these two pieces of legislation could be two of the largest unfunded mandates some school districts in Illinois have seen. Your local legislators need to understand that. 

If you are in a district that will be adversely affected by these two bills, please contact your legislators and share what programs you would have to eliminate or what personnel you would have to cut to pay for this. Run the numbers, if possible, and share the overall financial impact. They need to hear it.

You can find contact information for legislators at ilga.gov. Here's the link for Senators and here is where you can find Representatives. 

We realize this can be a tough conversation to have. Teachers are critical to the success of a school district and are the people in your building that have the most direct impact on students and their learning. Stress that while you do want your teachers to be compensated, you need the resources to pay for salary increases. 

Your help really is critical in this important debate. 

As we previously said in Capitol Watch, we continue to oppose Senate Bill 10 and House Bill 2078 but are working with the bill sponsors to try to find a way to make this more manageable for school districts. However, our concern is this legislation could pass in its current form and be signed into law by the governor if we don't engage with lawmakers to amend it. 

We have suggested several compromises. One would be to attach a district's EBM regionalization factor, if less than 1.0. That would give the district a discount rate against the minimum teacher salary listed in the bill, along with exempting districts from the limitation cap that is affected by the minimum teacher salary bill. 

We have also recommended scrapping the Consumer Price Index provision. This unfunded mandate would set in law automatic salary increases for teachers after the $40,000 threshold is met without ever sun setting. 

Again, if this bill affects your district, please have this conversation with your legislators.

SB 1287, sponsored by Sue Rezin, R-Morris
On Tuesday, SB 1287, the forced "shared superintendent" bill, passed out of the Senate Education Committee.

The bill attempts to give voters the authority to force their locally-elected school boards into resource-sharing agreements with other districts for certain administrative offices and functions.

The legislation amends the school code to say that if at least 5 percent of the school district's voters in the last consolidated sign a petition to share the services of a superintendent or other administrator it triggers a referendum.

The legislation has a whole host of problems, but it appears the bill sponsor intends to try to get it out of the Senate and over to the House. 

For one, it forces districts to do something they already have the ability to do. Twenty-two districts in Illinois have gone this route because they decided it was best for their communities. 

I am appreciative of everyone who filled out witness slips in opposition, and we'll continue to lobby against it. While it passed out of committee, the degree of opposition does matter moving forward.

SB 1189, Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora
The legislation, which narrowly advanced out of committee and could be voted on by the full Senate soon, would be a significant unfunded mandate on physical education in Illinois. 

The bill requires students in kindergarten through 12th grade to engage in a physical education course. Minute requirements would be:

• 150 minutes per week for elementary schools.
• 225 minutes per week for middle, junior and high school.

The bill also limits the PE waiver to two years, and it may only be renewed two times (not to exceed a total of six years). The bill would take effect July 1, 2019.

Springfield SD #186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill and Dr. Henry Thiele, superintendent of CHSD #99 in Downers Grove, both gave tremendous testimony in opposition of the bill. 

Gill testified she would have to hire 22 additional teachers to comply with the law, costing the district over $1 million. That figure does not include construction, which would likely be necessary for many districts.

Based on how lawmakers voted after hearing that testimony, it shows you how much support there is behind this initiative, including from both health organizations and teacher unions. 

We will continue to oppose this bill because it would be a new physical education mandate and divert Evidence-Based Funding dollars away from the classroom. 

If this legislation would be harmful to your district, please have that conversation with your local legislators. 

SB 1952, sponsored by Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill
In Capitol Watch, we tend to discuss legislation that would be harmful for districts, so we want to end on good news. 

On Tuesday, SB 1952 advanced out of the Senate Education Committee. The bill does three things:

• Repeal 3 percent TRS salary cap and return it to 6 percent.
• Eliminate basic skills test requirements.
• Removes prohibition to allow student teachers to be paid.

"These are three things that I hear almost in complete unison from teachers across the state, in small rural districts to larger districts, that in different ways impact the profession," Manar told the Senate education committee.

By putting the end-of-career salary limitation with these other issues and tying it to the teacher shortage it makes it more likely to pass.

Manar has also signaled on Twitter that he's going to file legislation to "deal with" another teacher licensure requirement - a $300 test known as the EdTPA.

"I'm of the opinion that the time has come to put all of these things behind us," he wrote. 

All of this is definitely a positive step in the right direction with the teacher shortage. As you speak to legislators about these other bills, ask for them to support SB 1952 and thank them for their willingness to address the teacher shortage.

By the way, the deadline for substantive bills to pass out of either chamber is April 12. A lot will happen in the next three weeks as we continue to work our way through this slog. Stay tuned. 

Thanks for reading. 

Sincerely, 

David Wood
Governmental Relations Specialist
Illinois Association of School Business Officials

&

Diane Hendren 
Director of Governmental Relations
Illinois Association of School Administrators