2022 Spring Legislative

Session Update

Illinois State Board of Education

1

Budget

HB 900 FY23 State Budget (Welch/Sims)

Includes appropriations for:

Teacher Licensure

Evidence-Based Funding

Early Childhood

Agricultural Education

Significant Loss Grants

2

ISBE Initiatives

All legislative proposals passed both chambers with either unanimous or near unanimous support:

​

Teacher Licensure

EBF Calculation change due to Local Tax Revenue

School Code Clean Up

HB 4246 (Scherer/Cappel)

HB 4728 (Davis/Pacione Zayas)

SB 4056 (Belt/Mussman)

3

Education Mandates

Bills Advanced

19 New Educational Mandates

Curricular Mandates

4

Teacher Shortage

• SB 3893 (Joyce/DeLuca) – Increases the number of days a substitute teacher may teach for one licensed teacher under contract during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.
• HB 5472 (Yang Rohr/Martwick) – Increases the limits on a retired teacher's return to service without impairing their retirement status.
• SB 3907 (Turner/Loughran Cappel) – Changes the number of consecutive days an individual holding a Short-Term Substitute Teaching License can teach.
• SB 3988 (Pacione Zayas/Avelar) – Lowers the age to serve as a paraprofessional for the elementary level.
• HB 4246 (Scherer/Loughran Cappel) – Among other things, reduces the reinstatement fees for a lapsed license.
• HB 4798 (Stava Murray/Loughran Cappel) – Allows individuals enrolled in a teacher preparation program to be eligible to apply for a Substitute Teacher License once they’ve earned certain credit hours.

​

​

5

Residential Placements

HB 4365 (Didech/Fine)

Among other changes, allows a school district to place a student in a non-approved nonpublic special education facility if the Illinois State Board of Education has provided an emergency and student-specific approval for placement.

​

6

Mental Health

• SB 3889 (Cappel/Manley) - Updates the Children’s Mental Health Partnership Act of 2003 to have it provide recommendations in the areas of: funding for children’s mental health prevention, early intervention, and treatment; and coordinating programs across child-serving agencies to foster innovation and increase efficiency to for example meet the emergency and residential placement needs for all children. Makes other changes.
• SB 3914 (Loughran Cappel/Hernandez) – Allows teachers to take sick leave for mental health reasons.

​

7

Sexual Abuse

HB 4316 (Mussman/Connor)

Requires ISBE to develop a template for districts to use to verify employment history, have certain applicant information disclosed, and provide a written statement if an applicant has among other things, ever been the subject of a sexual assault misconduct allegation, discharged from employment, or disciplined by an employer. Makes additional changes.

HB 4690 (Mussman/Belt)

Ensures pre-hearing and hearing procedures for educator misconduct, which were paused under the pandemic, resume.

8

School Construction

HB 3637 (Bennett/Connor)

Implements the recommendations of the School Construction Task Force, with changes that apply the equity principles embedded in Evidence-Based Funding to the school construction program.

​

9

Career and Technical Education

HB 3296 (Ness/Bush)

Requires school districts that teach grades 6th through 12th to adopt and implement career development activities in accordance with a postsecondary and career expectations framework adopted by the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act.

SB 3990 (Pacione Zayas/Andrade)

Changes the list of school counselor services to add an activity related to the promotion of Career and Technical Education by assisting each student to determine an appropriate postsecondary plan.

10

Civic Engagement

HB 5488 (Harper/Hunter)

Requires that a middle school or high school student be permitted at least one excused absence per school year to engage in a civic event.

​

11

New Policies

HB 1167 (Yang Rohr/Harmon)

• Requires school districts to provide pay and benefits to school district employees and contractors who provide educational support services for a school closure or e-learning days, as well-paid administrative leave for school district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

HB 4089 (Nichols/Koehler)

• Requires school districts to provide a plant-based school lunch option to those students who request it.

HB 4813 (Gordon-Booth/Villivalam)

• Requires school districts to make a good faith effort to give preference to contracts that promote among other things, the health and well-being of students, source local food products, animal welfare, etc.

HB 5214 (Hernandez/Villa)

• Requires interpreter services be provided to any parent or guardian who is deaf or does not typically communicate using spoken English and participates in a 504 meeting, due process or mediation hearing, or multidisciplinary conference.

HB 4256 (McCombie/Morrison)

• Allows schools during a disaster declaration for the 2022-2023 school year only, to waive evaluations for teachers in contractual continued services whose performance ratings were either “excellent” or “proficient” during the last school year in which they were evaluated.

12

Task Forces and Groups

ISBE will be required to serve as a member of one new group, and support three existing groups in fulfilling new reporting tasks.

Indian American Council

Professional Review Panel

Gender Equity Advisory Committee

Performance Evaluation Advisory Council

13

Next Steps

Begin reviewing all new public acts to prepare for their successful implementation, as well as ensure compliance with any new requirements on ISBE.

Begin developing the agency’s 2023 legislative agenda. 

14