For Immediate Release
October 21, 2004
New State Board of Education to streamline rules and
regulations
Responds to Governor’s call to reduce bureaucracy
Springfield, Ill. –The Illinois State Board of Education
(ISBE) announced plans today to reduce bureaucracy and
streamline procedures for the state’s schools. At
today’s State Board meeting, staff outlined plans
to reduce unnecessary rules, forms and paperwork for schools.
There are more than 2,800 pages of rules and regulations
currently in place.
“Last month, the Governor put a new board and new
leadership in place with a call to stop the bureaucracy
and start helping schools,” said State Board Chairman
Jesse Ruiz. “We’ve already started to do that.
The staff has hit the ground running, responding to the
Governor’s call to get rid of the red tape that the
state’s schools have faced for years. The Board is
anxious to make things better for schools, teachers and
students in Illinois.”
Interim Superintendent Randy Dunn and State Board staff
members have already begun discussions with educators
around the state to get suggestions for improvement. In
addition, they and have set up an email address, lessredtape@isbe.net,
for educators and the public to make suggestions to reduce
the regulatory burden of existing ISBE rules.
“I’ve been talking with superintendents around
the state about how we can make it easier for them to
focus on teaching kids,” said Dunn. “They’ve
already shared great ideas with us and we’ll keep
asking them for new ways we can help them spend more time
on education and less time on paperwork. And, then, with
the Board’s support, we’ll put those ideas into
action.”
In addition to educator and public input, the review
process will include feedback from advisory groups and
committees focused on specific areas like student transportation,
health and life safety and bilingual education. Where
needed, special work groups will be formed for particular
issues. State Board staff has already begun to look at
rules related to inactive programs, which represent 20
percent of existing rules.
The timeline calls for quick action, with results in
the next three months. Chief Counsel Jonathan Furr and
the State Board’s Legal Division will oversee the
rules review process, which includes:
- Feedback from educators, advisory groups, committees
and the general public
- State Board staff rules review with public responses
and suggestions
- Draft rules amendments, including public comments
- External advisory committees and work group amendment
review and comment
- Revision based on external group feedback
- State Superintendent review and approval
- State Board formal rulemaking process
Last month, Governor Blagojevich signed the Education
Reform and Accountability Act of 2004, shifting the focus
of the Illinois State Board of Education from just regulating
school districts to improving education of students in
Illinois and being accountable to the Governor, legislators,
school districts, parents and children. The reform also
tasked the new board with reducing the 2,800 pages of
rules and regulations imposed on local school districts.
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