Bill Text: IL HB3277 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Provides that prior to entering into an early employment contract termination agreement with a district superintendent or chief executive officer, a school board shall make the reasoning for the early termination available to the public. Provides that the termination agreement shall not include a confidentiality or non-disclosure clause. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-29 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3277 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB3277-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 HB3277 Introduced , by Rep. Allen Skillicorn SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/10-21.4 from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4
105 ILCS 5/10-23.8 from Ch. 122, par. 10-23.8
Amends the School Code. Provides that prior to entering into an early employment contract termination agreement with a district superintendent or chief executive officer, a school board shall make the reasoning for the early termination available to the public. Provides that the termination agreement shall not include a confidentiality or non-disclosure clause. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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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 Sections
10-21.4 and 10-23.8 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/10-21.4) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4)
Sec. 10-21.4. Superintendent; duties; contract
Superintendent - Duties.
(a) Except in districts in which there is only one school
with fewer than 4 teachers, to employ a superintendent, who
shall have charge of the administration of the schools under
the direction of the board of education. However, in any school
district that has boundaries that lie in 3 counties, one county
of which has a population exceeding 1,000,000 inhabitants, that
has an enrollment of more than 35,000 students, and that has on
staff properly licensed assistant superintendents or directors
in the areas of instruction, finance, special education,
assessments, and career and technology education, the school
board may instead, by a vote of a majority of its full
membership, appoint a chief executive officer to serve as its
superintendent, who shall be a person of recognized
administrative ability and management experience, hold a
master's degree, have been employed with the school district

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for a minimum of 5 years in an administrative capacity, be
responsible for the management of the district, and have all
other powers and duties of a superintendent as set forth in
this Code, but who shall be exempt from the provisions and
requirements of Section 21B-15 of this Code for a period of 5
years.
(b) In addition to the administrative duties, the
superintendent shall make recommendations to the board
concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites,
the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all
other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional
material and courses of study. However, in districts under a
Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of
the superintendent in relation to the financial and business
operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In
the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or
comply with an information request of the Panel, the
performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction
of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State
Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative
official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the
school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person
who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent
contact with children in the school has been named as a
perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused

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and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26, 1975, as
amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be kept the
records and accounts as directed and required by the board, aid
in making reports required by the board, and perform such other
duties as the board may delegate to him.
In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report
to the State Board of Education the number of high school
students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses
(for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful
completion of the courses) at any community college, together
with the name and number of the course or courses which each
such student is taking.
(c) The provisions of this Section shall also apply to
board of director districts.
(d) Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given
in writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of
the contract year unless the contract specifically provides
otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the
contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt
of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent
may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the
hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting
evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district
under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for

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violating a financial plan.
(e) Prior to entering into an early employment contract
termination agreement with a superintendent or chief executive
officer, a school board shall make the reasoning for the early
termination available to the public. The termination agreement
shall not include a confidentiality or non-disclosure clause.
(Source: P.A. 99-846, eff. 6-1-17.)
(105 ILCS 5/10-23.8) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-23.8)
Sec. 10-23.8. Superintendent contracts. After the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and the
expiration of contracts in effect on the effective date of this
amendatory Act, school districts may only employ a
superintendent or, if authorized by law, a chief executive
officer under either a contract for a period not exceeding one
year or a performance-based contract for a period not exceeding
5 years.
Performance-based contracts shall be linked to student
performance and academic improvement within the schools of the
districts. No performance-based contract shall be extended or
rolled-over prior to its scheduled expiration unless all the
performance and improvement goals contained in the contract
have been met. Each performance-based contract shall include
the goals and indicators of student performance and academic
improvement determined and used by the local school board to
measure the performance and effectiveness of the

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superintendent and such other information as the local school
board may determine.
By accepting the terms of a multi-year contract, the
superintendent or chief executive officer waives all rights
granted him or her under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 of this
Act only for the term of the multi-year contract. Upon
acceptance of a multi-year contract, the superintendent or
chief executive officer shall not lose any previously acquired
tenure credit with the district.
A school board may, subject to the requirements under
subsection (e) of Section 10-21.4 of this Code, enter into an
early employment contract termination agreement with a
superintendent or chief executive officer who has a contract
with a school district under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 99-846, eff. 6-1-17.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.