SB 456

Abstract

Amends the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the purpose of the Act. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 115 ILCS 5/1 Adds reference to: 105 ILCS 5/10-21.9 from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9 105 ILCS 5/21B-45 105 ILCS 5/21B-80 105 ILCS 5/24-14 from Ch. 122, par. 24-14 105 ILCS 5/34-18.5 from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5 105 ILCS 5/34-84b from Ch. 122, par. 34-84b Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the School Code. Provides that a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the school district or regional superintendent, as applicable, once for every 5 years an applicant remains employed by a school district. Provides that no school board shall knowingly employ a person or knowingly allow a person to student teach who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction. Requires the State Board of Education to conduct random audits of Professional Educator Licensees to verify a licensee's fulfillment of required professional development hours. With regard to the conviction of certain offenses as grounds for disqualification for licensure or suspension or revocation of a license, provides that if the holder of a license or applicant for a license has been charged with attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, soliciting, or committing certain offenses, first degree murder, or a Class X felony or any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of those offenses, the State Superintendent of Education shall immediately suspend the license or deny the application until the person's criminal charges are adjudicated through a court of competent jurisdiction. Makes other changes. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 105 ILCS 5/34-84b Adds reference to: 105 ILCS 5/10-20.69 new 105 ILCS 5/10-23.12 from Ch. 122, par. 10-23.12 105 ILCS 5/21B-75 105 ILCS 5/22-85 new 105 ILCS 5/22-86 new 105 ILCS 5/24-12 from Ch. 122, par. 24-12 105 ILCS 5/27A-5 105 ILCS 5/34-18.6 from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.6 105 ILCS 5/34-18.61 new 105 ILCS 5/34-85 from Ch. 122, par. 34-85 820 ILCS 40/8 from Ch. 48, par. 2008 820 ILCS 40/9 from Ch. 48, par. 2009 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill with the following changes. Further amends the School Code. Provides that each school district must adopt and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse investigations. Provides that, except for an educator licensed under the Educator Licensure Article of the Code, if a school board determines that any school district employee has willfully or negligently failed to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect, as required by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, then the school board may dismiss that employee immediately upon that determination. Provides that the State Superintendent of Education has the authority to initiate a suspension of or revoke the license of any educator licensed under the Educator Licensure Article of the Code if he or she negligently fails to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect. Provides that if an individual is dismissed by a school district for committing a physical or sexual act on a student, the State Superintendent of Education shall immediately suspend, pending revocation, any license issued to that individual under the Educator Licensure Article of the Code. Provides that if a mandated reporter within a school has knowledge of an alleged incident of sexual abuse, the reporter must call the Department of Children and Family Services' hotline immediately after obtaining the minimal information necessary to make a report, including the names of the affected parties and the allegations. Provides that for schools in a county with an accredited Children's Advocacy Center, every alleged incident of sexual abuse that is reported to the Department of Children and Family Services' hotline or a law enforcement agency and is subsequently accepted for investigation must be referred by the entity that received the report to the local Children's Advocacy Center pursuant to that county's multidisciplinary team's protocol under the Children's Advocacy Center Act for investigating child sexual abuse allegations. Provides for the local Children's Advocacy Center's duties and the duties of a school. Provides that if, during the course of its internal investigation and at any point during or after the multidisciplinary team's investigation, a school determines that it needs to interview an alleged victim of sexual abuse to successfully complete its investigation and the victim is under 18 years of age, a child advocate must be made available to the student and must be present during the school's interview. Provides that the Department of Children and Family Services and the appropriate law enforcement agency must notify the relevant school when an agency investigation of an alleged incident of sexual abuse is completed, which must include information on the outcome of that investigation. Creates the Make Sexual and Severe Physical Abuse Fully Extinct Task Force. Provides for the Task Force's membership, meeting requirements, and duties. With regard to employee dismissal proceedings, provides that in the case of charges involving physical or sexual contact with a student or a person under the age of 18, the hearing officer shall make alternative hearing procedures to protect a witness who is a student or who is under the age of 18 from being intimidated or traumatized. Amends the Personnel Record Review Act to provide that certain disclosure requirements under the Act do not apply to a school district responding to an inquiry from a prospective employer or to activities or associations with individuals or groups involved in the physical, sexual, or other exploitation of minors. Makes conforming and other changes. Adds an immediate effective date. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill as amended by House Amendment No. 1 with the following changes. Provides that, every 2 years, each school district must review all existing policies and procedures concerning sexual abuse investigations at schools (rather than must adopt and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse investigations at schools) to ensure consistency with policies adopted under the School Code. Provides that, as a condition of employment, each school board must consider the status of a person who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction (rather than no school board shall knowingly employ a person who has been issued those indicated findings). Changes the definition of "alleged incident of sexual abuse". Makes changes to what a school must comply with after an alleged incident of sexual abuse is accepted for investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services or a law enforcement agency and while the investigations are being conducted by the local multidisciplinary team. With regard to the Personnel Record Review Act, provides that certain disclosure requirements under the Act do not apply to a school district who is sharing information related to an incident or an attempted incident of sexual abuse or severe physical abuse (rather than a school district responding to an inquiry from a prospective employer). Makes other changes. Effective immediately.