Public Act 100-0364
HB2461 EnrolledLRB100 08502 MLM 18623 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
10-17a as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/10-17a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
Sec. 10-17a. State, school district, and school report
cards.
(1) By October 31, 2013 and October 31 of each subsequent
school year, the State Board of Education, through the State
Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a State report card,
school district report cards, and school report cards, and
shall by the most economic means provide to each school
district in this State, including special charter districts and
districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, the report
cards for the school district and each of its schools.
(2) In addition to any information required by federal law,
the State Superintendent shall determine the indicators and
presentation of the school report card, which must include, at
a minimum, the most current data collected and maintained
possessed by the State Board of Education related to the
following:
(A) school characteristics and student demographics,
including average class size, average teaching experience,
student racial/ethnic breakdown, and the percentage of
students classified as low-income; the percentage of
students classified as English learners; the percentage of
students who have individualized education plans or 504
plans that provide for special education services; the
number and percentage of all students who have been
assessed for placement in a gifted education or advanced
academic program and, of those students: (i) the racial and
ethnic breakdown, (ii) the percentage who are classified as
low-income, and (iii) the number and percentage of students
who received direct instruction from a teacher who holds a
gifted education endorsement and, of those students, the
percentage who are classified as low-income; the
percentage of students scoring at the "exceeds
expectations" level on the assessments required under
Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code; the percentage of students
who annually transferred in or out of the school district;
the per-pupil operating expenditure of the school
district; and the per-pupil State average operating
expenditure for the district type (elementary, high
school, or unit);
(B) curriculum information, including, where
applicable, Advanced Placement, International
Baccalaureate or equivalent courses, dual enrollment
courses, foreign language classes, school personnel
resources (including Career Technical Education teachers),
before and after school programs, extracurricular
activities, subjects in which elective classes are
offered, health and wellness initiatives (including the
average number of days of Physical Education per week per
student), approved programs of study, awards received,
community partnerships, and special programs such as
programming for the gifted and talented, students with
disabilities, and work-study students;
(C) student outcomes, including, where applicable, the
percentage of students deemed proficient on assessments of
State standards, the percentage of students in the eighth
grade who pass Algebra, the percentage of students enrolled
in post-secondary institutions (including colleges,
universities, community colleges, trade/vocational
schools, and training programs leading to career
certification within 2 semesters of high school
graduation), the percentage of students graduating from
high school who are college and career ready, and the
percentage of graduates enrolled in community colleges,
colleges, and universities who are in one or more courses
that the community college, college, or university
identifies as a developmental course;
(D) student progress, including, where applicable, the
percentage of students in the ninth grade who have earned 5
credits or more without failing more than one core class, a
measure of students entering kindergarten ready to learn, a
measure of growth, and the percentage of students who enter
high school on track for college and career readiness;
(E) the school environment, including, where
applicable, the percentage of students with less than 10
absences in a school year, the percentage of teachers with
less than 10 absences in a school year for reasons other
than professional development, leaves taken pursuant to
the federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, long-term
disability, or parental leaves, the 3-year average of the
percentage of teachers returning to the school from the
previous year, the number of different principals at the
school in the last 6 years, the number of teachers who hold
a gifted education endorsement, the process and criteria
used by the district to determine whether a student is
eligible for participation in a gifted education program or
advanced academic program and the manner in which parents
and guardians are made aware of the process and criteria, 2
or more indicators from any school climate survey selected
or approved by the State and administered pursuant to
Section 2-3.153 of this Code, with the same or similar
indicators included on school report cards for all surveys
selected or approved by the State pursuant to Section
2-3.153 of this Code, and the combined percentage of
teachers rated as proficient or excellent in their most
recent evaluation; and
(F) a school district's and its individual schools'
balanced accountability measure, in accordance with
Section 2-3.25a of this Code.
The school report card shall also provide information that
allows for comparing the current outcome, progress, and
environment data to the State average, to the school data from
the past 5 years, and to the outcomes, progress, and
environment of similar schools based on the type of school and
enrollment of low-income students, special education students,
and English learners.
As used in this paragraph (2):
"Advanced academic program" means a course of study to
which students are assigned based on advanced cognitive ability
or advanced academic achievement compared to local age peers
and in which the curriculum is substantially differentiated
from the general curriculum to provide appropriate challenge
and pace.
"Gifted education" means educational services, including
differentiated curricula and instructional methods, designed
to meet the needs of gifted children as defined in Article 14A
of this Code.
(3) At the discretion of the State Superintendent, the
school district report card shall include a subset of the
information identified in paragraphs (A) through (E) of
subsection (2) of this Section, as well as information relating
to the operating expense per pupil and other finances of the
school district, and the State report card shall include a
subset of the information identified in paragraphs (A) through
(E) of subsection (2) of this Section.
(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Section, in consultation with key education stakeholders, the
State Superintendent shall at any time have the discretion to
amend or update any and all metrics on the school, district, or
State report card.
(5) Annually, no more than 30 calendar days after receipt
of the school district and school report cards from the State
Superintendent of Education, each school district, including
special charter districts and districts subject to the
provisions of Article 34, shall present such report cards at a
regular school board meeting subject to applicable notice
requirements, post the report cards on the school district's
Internet web site, if the district maintains an Internet web
site, make the report cards available to a newspaper of general
circulation serving the district, and, upon request, send the
report cards home to a parent (unless the district does not
maintain an Internet web site, in which case the report card
shall be sent home to parents without request). If the district
posts the report card on its Internet web site, the district
shall send a written notice home to parents stating (i) that
the report card is available on the web site, (ii) the address
of the web site, (iii) that a printed copy of the report card
will be sent to parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone
number that parents may call to request a printed copy of the
report card.
(6) Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th
General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or
nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in
Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act
97-8.
(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 98-648, eff. 7-1-14; 99-30,
eff. 7-10-15; 99-193, eff. 7-30-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)