Leadership Matters January 2014

Gaveling in the New Year: Thumbnail look at laws affecting public education

fund of the district to any other fund of the district by proper resolution following a public hearing set by the school board or the president of the school board, with notice, so long as the district meets the qualifications set forth in this provision at the time a given transfer is made.  HB 490: Requires those seeking Professional Educator License to pass a basic skills test after completing an educator preparation program instead of requiring the test before entering an educator preparation program.  HB 2768: Increases the interaction between a school’s principal and law enforcement agencies involving gang activities by making it the responsibility of the principal to utilize resources of the proper law enforcement agencies when the safety and welfare of students and teachers are threatened by illegal use or possession of weapons or by illegal gang activity.  HB 3190: Requires proof of meningitis vaccination for students entering 6 th and 12 th grades.  Another bill, HB 226 , does not directly affect schools, but could affect certain students. The bill allows 17-year-olds to vote in the primary if they will be 18 year of age by the following general election, meaning that 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by November 4, 2014 will be eligible to vote in the March 18, 2014 primary. The General Assembly’s first General Session day is scheduled for January 29, the day of Governor Pat Quinn’s “State of the State” address. The governor’s budget address is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.

As we ring in the New Year, I thought it might be good to give our school administrators an overview of some of the new public education laws that took effect January 1, 2014. Here are thumbnail sketches of some of the new laws that might affect schools:  SB 923: Establishes that school districts may elect to have cameras on their school buses to track drivers who pass stopped school buses that have their arms extended.

Diane Hendren Director of Governmental Relations

 HB 64: Makes it illegal for schools to ask for or demand a student’s social networking password without cause; requires parental notification for elementary and secondary school students.  HB 129: Permits school boards to designate the first Monday in October each year as “Bring Your Parents to School Day” to promote parental involvement.  HB 160: Extends the time period school districts (other than CPS) have to transfer money between specified funds from June 30, 2013 to June 30, 2016. Allows the school board of any school district that is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, that has a population of less than 500,000 inhabitants, that is levying at its maximum tax rate, whose total equalized assessed valuation has declined 25% in the prior 2 years, and in which 75% or more of its students receive free or reduced-price lunch to annually transfer money from any

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