Education

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In a provision regarding endorsements on Professional Educator Licenses, provides for a special education endorsement in the area of deaf-hard of hearing with sign proficiency.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Allows the State Superintendent of Education to issue a short-term approval for a paraprofessional educator to an individual who does not meet the requirements necessary for issuance of an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement. Provides that the short-term approval authorizes an individual to serve as a paraprofessional educator in a school district, including a charter school, or a State-operated program, with the short-term approval expiring on June 30 immediately following the third full fiscal year after the approval was issued without renewal. Provides that upon expiration of the short-term approval, the State Superintendent of Education shall issue an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement to the individual if the individual meets specified requirements.

Condemns President Donald Trump's effort to freeze funds for affordable childcare. Calls for the immediate release of all congressionally appropriated childcare funds.

Amends the Local Government Debt Reform Act. Provides that, in the case of bonds authorized to be issued under the School Code and approved by voters of Iroquois County Community Unit School District Number 9 in an April 2021 referendum, the bond approval, once obtained, remains for 10 years after the date of the referendum. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each public institution of higher education with student health services shall provide enrolled students with access to health care professionals authorized under State law to prescribe contraception. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, if the public institution of higher education's student health services includes a pharmacy, the pharmacy on campus shall dispense contraception to enrolled students who wish to fill their prescriptions at the university pharmacy. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each public institution of higher education with student health services shall provide enrolled students with access to health care professionals authorized under State law to prescribe medication abortion. Provides that a public institution of higher education that dispenses medication abortion from the university pharmacy shall enter into a referral agreement with a tertiary care facility with obstetrics and gynecological services in the event of complication from medication abortion or suspected complicated pregnancy prior to dispensing medication abortion. Requires each public institution of higher education to report annually to the Board of Higher Education that policies under the provisions have been adopted. Requires the Board to post to its website annually each public institution of higher education's compliance with the policies under the provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Provides that the school board of each school district maintaining a high school shall require the high school to prioritize granting school parking passes to students with disabilities who have a disability license plate or parking decal or device by ensuring that these students are able to park an accessible distance from the high school's entrance and are given first consideration (i) before assigning students school parking passes and (ii) after assigning students school parking passes for those students with disabilities who receive a disability license plate or parking decal or device after students have been assigned school parking passes. Amends the Public Higher Education Act. Requires the governing board of each public institution of higher education to prioritize granting parking passes to students with disabilities who have a disability license plate or parking decal or device by ensuring that these students are able to park an accessible distance from a building's entrance and are given first consideration (i) before assigning students parking passes and (ii) after assigning students parking passes for those students with disabilities who receive a disability license plate or parking decal or device after students have been assigned parking passes.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Adds 5 administrative or faculty members of community colleges to the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. For a Professional Educator License: provides that the requirements to successfully complete specified coursework are only required until July 1, 2027 or the date that the revised test for a particular content area is implemented, whichever is later; and exempts persons seeking a school support personnel or chief school business official endorsement from the requirement that a person must successfully complete specified coursework. Requires, by July 1, 2027, the State Superintendent of Education to begin incorporating specified topics into revised examinations for individuals seeking a Professional Educator License endorsed in teaching or administration, excluding a chief school business official endorsement. Exempts, for educator licenses, applicants seeking a school support personnel endorsement who hold an active and valid professional license in the same subject matter as the endorsement sought from being required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. Creates the Teacher Performance Assessment Advisory Committee to aid in operationalizing and creating a pilot, State-developed, teacher performance assessment. Establishes the Paraprofessional to Teacher Pathway Program to provide an expedited pathway for paraprofessionals to earn a Professional Educator License in a specific content area. Sets forth the Program criteria, the requirements for individuals for entry into the Program, and the adoption of rules by the State Board of Education. Provides that an institution of higher education approved to offer educator preparation programs may enter into a partnership agreement with a community college to offer an approved educator preparation program leading to educator licensure for individuals who already hold a bachelor's degree. Makes other changes.

Amends the Charter Schools Article of the School Code. Provides that that for charter schools authorized by a local school district, administrative fees withheld from a charter school for the purpose of conducting administrative duties related to the administration of charter school contracts, oversight, and authorizing services shall be capped at 3% or less of the total annual public dollars allocated to the charter school. Provides that the 3% total administrative fee collected from a charter school shall include a 2% or less administrative fee collected by a local school district for the purpose of conducting administrative duties related to the administration of charter school contracts, oversight, and authorizing services and 1% to a statewide charter school membership association for the purpose of administering state mandated board governance training. Allows the State Board of Education to withhold up to a 3% administrative fee as the sole statewide charter school authorizer for the purpose of conducting administrative duties related to the administration of charter school contracts, oversight, and authorizing services. Requires that principal metric a district shall consider for a charter school renewal to be academic achievement. Provides that a local school district authorizer shall grant renewal terms of no fewer than 5 years upon renewal of a charter agreement if the charter's average annual summative designation over the term of the contract is in the top 3 summative designations on the State Report Card.

Amends the School Code. Allows, if an assessment is determined to be non-uniform, a provisional in-state educator endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations to be issued to a candidate who has completed an Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois institution of higher education and who has not successfully completed an applicable content area test but who: holds at least a bachelor's degree; has completed an approved educator preparation program at an Illinois institution; has passed an evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness; and has attempted an applicable content area test that has been determined to be non-uniform and has not attempted any uniform content area tests. Provides that the process by which the State Board of Education evaluates content area tests shall be public information and shall be made available on the website of the State Board. Requires the State Board to evaluate each content area test after it has been administered for at least 10 months, but not more than 12 months, and shall determine that a content test is non-uniform. Provides that if a content test is determined to be non-uniform, the State Board shall: convene one or more committees to review the content, bias, and passing score requirements of that content test and recommend changes to improve uniformity; offer the most recent uniform content area test for the same license or endorsement as an option until the new assessment is determined to be uniform; provide an opportunity to attempt the most recent uniform content area test for the same license or endorsement to candidates who attempted but did not pass the most recent version of the content area test; and implement a process by which candidates who attempted but did not pass the content test may apply for provisional licensure. Provides that if the State Board finds that the content area test forms available as of January 1, 2025 are not uniform in the level of difficulty as compared to previous forms of those exams, any candidate for licensure who attempted any content area test in the form that was available as of January 1, 2025, and whose best scores in each subsection of the same content area exam, taken across multiple attempts on the same form of the exam, equal or exceed the passing score for that content area exam as of January 1, 2025, shall be determined to have passed that content area exam.

Amends the School Code. Provides that a child who is excused for a temporary absence because of a physical illness for up to 5 days does not need to provide a medical note.