Each week when the General Assembly is in session we try
to keep you abreast of bills that are making their way through the legislative
process. It occurred to me last week when I wrote to you about the many voices
crying out in unison for increased state funding of education that there are
plenty of other issues for which many of you have said you could use more
information.
This week our staff put together the first, of what we
would like to be, a series of fact sheets, under the title: Did You Know?
We would like to offer you a one-pager that briefly details an issue in a format
that is concise enough to tuck in your date book, post on your bulletin board,
share with your school board members, or include in your school newsletter. One
issue that appears to be of great concern is Senate Bill 3001, the Governor’s
legislation that requests $2.2 billion in bonding authority to continue and
re-fund the school construction/ maintenance grant
programs.
When I first became aware of the bill, it concerned me,
not so much because it removes ISBE’s ability to fairly run the program, but
because it strips school districts of their ability to oversee the construction
of their own schools.
I know that if I was a local superintendent, investing
an awful amount of money in a new building, that I would like my general
contractor on-site, not running the program from
Last week, in
I would really appreciate your assistance in this
effort. Are there certain pieces of legislation that gravely concern you? Others
whose consequences seem too vague? Whatever the case, I would like to know.
Those are issues we can also explore.
I felt that SB 3001 was a good starting point for this
project, because upfront it looks like it means $2.2 billion for schools, but
the devil is in the details: schools must sacrifice a lot, and all for an
uncertain result.
While the General Assembly is on Spring Break over the
next few weeks, we would like to get more issues completed and posted on the web
site. We can really use your insight, and, as we did with Mr. Gordon, your
voice, too.
Please check out this new feature through the links
below:
http://www.isbe.net/didyouknow/Default.htm
One more thing --
last week we began ISAT testing. I want to take this opportunity to say thank
you to the principals and district superintendents for their oversight and
attention to detail throughout this process over the next few weeks. Because of
last year, I think it is fair to say that we are all operating with a heightened
awareness about the importance about checking and re-checking data. We really
appreciate the attention that you are paying to the details as they come in on
the front end of assessment, because all of your work ensures a quality work
product by data analysis.
Thank
you.
Robert Schiller
State Superintendent
of Education
Also in today’s message:
Legislative
Update
The third Senate Education Committee hearing concerning
Senate Bills 3000 and 3001 is anticipated to be held April 14 in
There were two key legislative committee hearings last
week, both occurring almost simultaneously.
On Thursday, April 1, the House Elementary and Secondary
Education Committee held its second and final hearing on the Governor’s proposal
to create an autonomous teacher certification board as called for in Senate Bill
1074. I appreciated the opportunity
to speak on this issue and share with the committee, which included Speaker
Michael Madigan, why this bill is bad public
policy.
I believe the concerns raised by different interest
groups regarding the teacher certification process can be resolved without the
creation of a new state agency. I
have provided my suggestions on how
The other hearing on Thursday before the Senate
Insurance and Pensions Committee concerned Senate Bill 3002, currently a shell
bill that simply calls for a technical amendment to the downstate teachers’
portion of the Illinois Pension Code.
Senate Bill 3002 will become the Governor’s proposal to create a pooled
health insurance program for all teachers and school districts outside of
A staff member from the Governor’s office briefly
explained the administration’s plan which they are negotiating with the Illinois
Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, and other groups. The administration wants to see the
Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Program extended for three more years. By Fiscal Year 2007,
According to the Governor’s office, local school
districts would have the opportunity to opt out of the state system, but would
still be required to pay approximately 7 percent (current estimates are between
6.2 and 6.8 percent) of their healthcare costs to the State of Illinois. In other words, districts that choose
not to buy into the insurance pool and keep their local control will face an
increase in healthcare costs.
Many school districts from across
Also this week, the House passed the following
education-related bills:
HB4522
(David E.
Miller), as adopted by the House, would eliminate the current provision of
the School Code that provides for any appropriation shortfall in General State
Aid to be taken against the poverty component (supplemental GSA) and not the
foundation GSA.
HB6954
(Ronald A.
Wait) provides
that, upon enactment of a federal transportation bill with a dedicated fund
available to states for safe routes for schools, the Department of
Transportation would, in cooperation with the State Board of Education and the
Department of State Police, establish and administer a Safe Routes to School
Construction Program for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety and
traffic-calming projects.
HB4167
(Brent
Hassert) would require
pupils to daily engage in courses of physical education for such periods as are
commensurate with the students' other courses of study. It also changes requirements with regard
to a physical education course of study and requires a physical education course
of study to provide students with an opportunity for an appropriate amount of
daily physical activity. The
legislation would allow a school board to excuse pupils in grades 9 through 12
from engaging in physical education courses if those pupils must utilize the
time set aside for physical education to receive special education support and
services.
HB3980
(Patricia
R. Bellock) amends
provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibiting sexual harassment in
higher education so that they also apply to sexual harassment in elementary and
secondary schools.
HB5215
(Renee
Kosel) Amends
the section of the School Code that requires a school district that provides
transportation on buses that are owned by the district and are operated by
drivers who are employed by the district to solicit sealed bids if the district
receives a request from an interested private school bus contractor, provides
that a district or special education cooperative is not required to respond to
such a request more than once every 3
years.
NCLB
Performance Reports Due
Districts that participated in the following programs
for the 2002-2003 school year must complete and submit
the NCLB Performance Report by May
30, 2004
Title I
Improving the Academic Achievement of the
Disadvantaged
Title II
Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting
Fund
Title IV
Safe and
FY 2003 Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP).
(Only districts using REAP
authority under Titles I, II, IV, or V.)
Districts will be able to submit NCLB Performance
Reports electronically via the internet using the IWAS system. If you have any
questions regarding the NCLB Performance Report, please contact the System of
Support Division by telephone at 217/524-4832 or by fax at
217/785-9031
Notification
of Services from
Public Act 093-0282 amended The School Code by changing
Section 14-8.02 to read:
“If the
child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired and he or she might
be eligible to receive services from the Illinois School for the Deaf or the
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, the school district shall notify the
parents or guardian, in writing, of the existence of these schools and the
services they provide. This
notification shall include without limitation information on school services,
school admissions criteria, and school contact
information.”
The Illinois Department of Human Services has developed
one-page fact sheets which include all of the mandated information regarding
each of these schools. Districts
are encouraged to provide this fact sheet to the parents or guardians of each
student with a primary disability label of hearing impairment or visual
impairment at the IEP meeting.
Copies of the fact sheets are attached, and may also be obtained on our
Special Education homepage at www.isbe.net/spec-ed.
Districts are reminded that all decisions regarding
placement of a student with a disability must continue to be made in accordance
with 23
http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/PDF/school_deaf.pdf
http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/PDF/school_visually_impaired.pdf
Amendment
Request #2: Averaging and
Exceptions for Participation Rates
In light of new policies
issued by the U.S. Department of Education on March
29, 2004, the Illinois
State Board of Education is requesting the following modifications to its
Accountability Workbook:
·
Using averages across 2 to 3 years to determine 95%
participation rate, for schools and for countable subgroups,
and
·
Allow schools to exempt students with serious medical
conditions from being counted in participation rate calculations (numerator and
denominator).
Illinois is among
the many states cited anecdotally by the U.S. Department of Education as having
many small rural schools where a student or two makes the difference in overall
school participation rates. For the
2003 tests, we had 310 schools with fewer than 40 students in the tested grades
(smaller than our minimum subgroup size.) Of these schools, 6 missed their 95%
participation rate due to the absence of one student to a few students. In addition, subgroups near the low end
of the minimum size of 40 are similarly affected by small numbers of
non-participating students.
The averaging
process will apply to all schools and will begin with 2004 data, averaging back
with 2003 participation rates to determine 2004 (averaged) participation
percentages. Beginning with 2005,
and in the subsequent years, a “rolling” three-year average will be
used.
The changes in this
portion of our request simply codify into the Illinois Accountability Workbook
the policy changes issued by the Department this
week.
Application
for Approval of Private Residential Placement Room and Board
Reimbursement
The ISBE Form 34-37 (Application for Approval of Private
Residential Placement Room and Board Reimbursement) is now available on the ISBE
Web site, in an on-line format. As
a result, private placement coordinators will be able to complete the 34-37 Form
on-line and then print it for mailing.
This improvement to our on-line system was a direct result of input from
the field for a more “user friendly” system. In addition, the 34-37 form was
revised slightly in December 03 to align with the language found in IDEA. Please note that the ISBE Form 34-37 is
found on the ISBE Web site at: http://www.isbe.net/Funding/pdf/34-37_residential_room_board.pdf.
Training
Available for Transition Planning: Aligning Characteristics and Developmental
Traits with Transition Service Needs
This training is the first in a series being presented
by The Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services
for staff working with transition-aged youth. “Aligning Characteristic and
Developmental Traits with Transition Service,” is fast paced, informative, and
will cover topics such as: Chronology of Laws Governing Service for Students;
Possible Transition Service Needs Based Upon
Characteristics and Developmental Traits Needs of Students; and Reasonable
Accommodations and Assistive Technology for Employment will be presented by
Illinois Assistive Technology Program.
This training is specifically designed for: High School Special Education Teachers,
Transition Specialists, Transition Counselors, RCD & BBS providers of
transition - aged youth, and DRS’ residential schools’ staff, and Transition
Planning Committee members.
Allotments Per
Zone:
30 Slots for DRS Staff
30 Slots for Other
Participants
Cost: No
Charge
Locations/Dates:
One in each zone
Zone A: June 1, 2004 - Holiday Inn Select and Convention
Center @ I-80 and Harlem Avenue, 18501 S. Harlem Avenue, Tinley Park, IL 60477.
Phone 708-444-1100
Zone B: May 18, 2004
- Radisson Hotel and
Zone C: May
25, 2004 - Four Points
Sheraton,
Advanced
Registration Required – NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION. Complete Registration Form and FAX to
Marva Campbell-Pruitt
Space is limited and seating is first come, first
served. No reimbursements of any
kind by DHS for staff outside the Division of Rehabilitation Services
Additional
E-Grants Training Workshop Scheduled
The Illinois State
Board of Education (ISBE) has scheduled an additional training date and location
for a total of nine workshops throughout the state for the new E-Grant
Management System (eGMS). The
additional workshop is scheduled in
ISBE will release
its first grant application through eGMS this spring. Districts will submit the FY05 No Child
Left Behind (NCLB) consolidated application for the
following grants:
·
Title I, Part A, Improving the Academic Achievement of
the Disadvantaged
·
Title II, Part A, Teacher
Quality
·
Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology
(formula grant)
·
Title IV, Part A, Safe and
·
Title V, Part A, Innovative
Programs
All districts will
use ISBE's Web Application Security (IWAS) to access eGMS and submit the NCLB
consolidated application via the Internet.
The system will significantly reduce grant preparation time for
districts, improve data quality and communications, standardize ISBE grant
applications, and improve efficiency of the grant review and approval
process. Questions about the
workshops can be directed via email to egrants@isbe.net.
New OTIS Feature
Another new feature on the OTIS system will be ready for use on Monday,
April 5. Individuals who wish
to apply for an Elementary (03) or Early Childhood (04) Certificate by transcript
evaluation will be able apply for that certificate through the Online Teacher
Information System (OTIS) and to pay for it by credit card. Detailed information regarding this new
opportunity can be found at the OTIS
web site www.isbe.net/OTIS
National
Food Service Management Institute’s Coaching Employees Satellite Seminar
Announced
The National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI)
has announced its next satellite seminar, Coaching Employees: Will You Make a Difference? on FONT size=2>April
28, 2004, from
NFSMI invites all food service assistants, managers,
food service directors, child care staff, and State agency staff to view the
satellite seminar. School administrators and teachers are encouraged to
participate as well. Visit NFSMI’s
website at www.nfsmi.org for further
information.
School
Breakfast Start-Up Grants Available Now
Breakfast is a bonus that helps prepare students to be
ready-to-learn. Help your students
by offering school breakfast this year! Did you know federal funding—up to $2,700
per school—is available to select schools to begin School Breakfast
Programs? In addition, state
funding of up to $3,500 is also available.
Take advantage of this funding opportunity available to select
Visit the Nutrition Programs and Support Services
website at www.isbe.net/nutrition.
Click on Breakfast Start-Up Funding. If you have any questions, please
contact us at 800/545-7892 or 217/782-2491.
10th
Annual Character Education Conference
The tenth annual Character Education Conference will be
held in
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