Bill Text: IL HB0788 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall have the necessary powers to promote sound management of Illinois public schools. Allows the State Board to certify that a school district, other than the Chicago school district, is in management difficulty if the school district has been engaged in a continuing and repeated pattern of documented and substantiated mismanagement. Under certain circumstances, allows the State Board to require the development of a school district management improvement plan, advise a school district on recommended or suggested methods of improving managerial success, and appoint a Management Oversight Panel for the school district. Sets forth provisions concerning the composition and duties of a Management Oversight Panel and allows for a combined Management Oversight Panel and Financial Oversight Panel in certain circumstances. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-13 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0788 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB0788-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 HB0788 Introduced 2/9/2009, by Rep. Robert Rita SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/1A-12 new
30 ILCS 805/8.33 new
Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall have the necessary powers to promote sound management of Illinois public schools. Allows the State Board to certify that a school district, other than the Chicago school district, is in management difficulty if the school district has been engaged in a continuing and repeated pattern of documented and substantiated mismanagement. Under certain circumstances, allows the State Board to require the development of a school district management improvement plan, advise a school district on recommended or suggested methods of improving managerial success, and appoint a Management Oversight Panel for the school district. Sets forth provisions concerning the composition and duties of a Management Oversight Panel and allows for a combined Management Oversight Panel and Financial Oversight Panel in certain circumstances. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
1A-12 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/1A-12 new)
Sec. 1A-12. Powers of the State Board in assisting schools
and districts deemed in management difficulties.
(a) In this Section:
"Board" means a local board of education.
"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Panel
appointed pursuant to this Section.
"District" does not include a school district
organized under Article 34 of this Code.
"Management Oversight Panel" or "Panel" means a
Management Oversight Panel created under this Section.
"State Board" means the State Board of Education.
"State Superintendent" means the State Superintendent
of Education.
(b) To promote the managerial integrity of school
districts, the State Board shall have the necessary powers to
promote sound management of Illinois public schools. The State
Board, after the State Board's proper investigation of a school

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district's condition, may certify that a district is in
management difficulty if the district has been engaged in a
continuing and repeated pattern of documented and
substantiated mismanagement, which includes any instance where
the school or district has been engaged in documented and
substantiated acts of mismanagement in regard to hiring
practices, including without limitation the hiring of persons
who do not meet minimal certification requirements for the
positions being filled whether due to the submission of
falsified credentials or simply a lack of credentials, that has
placed the academic integrity of the school or district in
question or has placed students in physical danger and that is
determined to be in need of intervention by the State Board,
but does not include the hiring of persons without the specific
qualifications for a position due to the unavailability of
persons possessing those specific qualifications, such as in
areas of teacher shortages.
(c) A district must not be certified to be in management
difficulty if the sole basis for mismanagement is the failure
of the county to make a distribution of property tax money due
to the district at the time the distribution is due.
(d) When a district is first certified to be in management
difficulty, the State Board may do each of the following:
(1) Require the school district to develop, adopt, and
submit a district management improvement plan within 45
days after certification. The plan must be developed to

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address the acts of mismanagement that caused the district
to be certified in management difficulty. Within 14 days
after certifying a district to be in management difficulty,
the State Superintendent shall provide the board a summary
of management issues to be addressed in the plan. The plan
must be approved by the State Superintendent.
(2) Advise the district on recommended or suggested
methods of improving managerial success consistent with
the district's management improvement plan approved by the
State Board.
A district certified to be in management difficulty shall
report to the State Board, at such times and in such manner as
the State Superintendent may direct, concerning the district's
compliance with its approved management plan. The State Board
may review the district's operations and may obtain or require
the district to produce reports or any other information in the
possession of the district that it deems relevant. A district
shall remain certified in management difficulty until the
district clearly demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State
Board that the circumstances leading to the certification no
longer exist; or, if the State Board determines that a district
has failed to comply with its management plan, the State Board
may rescind approval of the plan and appoint a Management
Oversight Panel for the district. This action shall be taken
only after the district has been given notice and an
opportunity to appear before the State Board to discuss its

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failure to comply with its management plan.
(e) Within 10 days after the State Board has placed a
district under a Management Oversight Panel, the State
Superintendent shall approve the appointment of 5 members to
serve at the State Superintendent's pleasure. One member shall
be appointed by the union representing a plurality of the
district's employees; in the absence of a plurality, the union
appointment shall be filled by the State Superintendent. Two
members shall be appointed by the State Superintendent, one of
whom must be an attorney. Two members shall be appointed by the
Regional Superintendent of Schools with jurisdiction over the
district, both of whom must live in the school district. The
State Superintendent shall designate one of the members of the
Panel to serve as its Chairperson. In the event of vacancy or
resignation, the State Superintendent shall appoint a
successor within 10 days after receiving notice of the vacancy
or resignation.
Members of the Panel shall be selected on the basis of
their experience and education in areas identified as needed. A
member of the Panel may not have a direct financial interest in
the district for which the Panel is constituted, nor may a
member be a board member or employee of that district, except
that a member who is appointed by or as a representative of a
union representing district employees may be an employee of the
district.
Panel members shall serve without compensation, but may be

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reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in
the performance of their official duties by the State Board.
The amount reimbursed to Panel members for their expenses shall
be charged to the school district.
The first meeting of the Panel shall be held at the call of
the Chairperson. The Panel may elect such other officers as it
deems appropriate. The Panel shall prescribe the times and
places for its meetings and the manner in which regular and
special meetings may be called and shall comply with the Open
Meetings Act. Three members of the Panel shall constitute a
quorum, and the affirmative vote of 3 members shall be
necessary for any decision or action to be taken by the Panel.
The Panel and the State Superintendent shall cooperate with
each other in the exercise of their respective powers. The
Panel shall report not later than September 1 annually to the
State Superintendent with respect to its activities and the
condition of the school district for the previous school year.
The Panel may exercise veto power over board decisions
concerning the district, in an effort to ensure that the
district management improvement plan is implemented as needed.
The purposes of the Panel shall be to exercise control over
the district and to furnish management assistance so that the
district can provide public education within the district's
jurisdiction while permitting the district to meet its
obligations for sound management practice. Except as expressly
limited by this Section, the Panel shall have those powers

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necessary to meet its responsibilities and to carry out its
purposes and the purposes of this Section, including without
limitation all of the following powers, provided that the Panel
shall have no power to violate any statutory provision, to
impair any contract or obligation of the district, including
collective bargaining agreements, or to terminate any employee
without following the statutory procedures for such
terminations set forth in this Code, the relevant rules of the
State Board, and the procedures of the collective bargaining
agreement covering the employee:
(1) To sue and to be sued.
(2) To make and execute contracts, leases, subleases,
and all other instruments or agreements necessary or
convenient for the exercise of the powers and functions
granted by this Section.
(3) To purchase real or personal property necessary or
convenient for its purposes; to execute and deliver deeds
for real property held in its own name; and to sell, lease,
or otherwise dispose of such of its property as, in the
judgment of the Panel, is no longer necessary for its
purposes.
(4) To appoint officers, agents, and employees of the
Panel, including all of the following, to administer and
manage, under the direction of the Panel, the operations
and educational programs of the district, in accordance
with this Section and all other provisions of this Code; to

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define their duties and qualifications; and to fix their
compensation and employee benefits.
(A) Chief executive officer. The Panel may appoint
a chief executive officer who, under the direction of
the Panel, shall supervise the Panel's staff,
including the chief educational officer and the chief
fiscal officer, and shall have ultimate responsibility
for implementing the policies, procedures, directives,
and decisions of the Panel.
(B) Chief educational officer. The Panel may at a
regular or special meeting find that cause exists to
cancel the contract of the school district's
superintendent who is serving at the time the Panel is
established. If there is no superintendent, then the
Panel shall, following consultation with the district,
employ a chief educational officer for the district,
who shall have all of the powers and duties of a school
district superintendent under this Code and such other
duties as may be assigned by the Panel in accordance
with this Code. The chief educational officer shall
report to the Panel or the chief executive officer
appointed by the Panel. The district shall not employ a
superintendent during the period that a chief
educational officer is serving in the district. The
chief educational officer shall hold a certificate
with a superintendent's endorsement issued pursuant to

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Article 21 of this Code.
(C) Chief fiscal officer. The Panel may appoint a
chief fiscal officer who, under the direction of the
Panel, shall have all of the powers and duties of the
district's chief school business official and any
other duties regarding budgeting, accounting, and
other financial matters that are assigned by the Panel,
in accordance with this Code. The district may not
employ a chief school business official during the
period that the chief fiscal officer is serving in the
district. The chief fiscal officer may, but is not
required to, hold a certificate with a chief school
business official's endorsement issued under Article
21 of this Code.
(5) To transfer to the district such sums of money as
are not required for other purposes.
(6) To procure all necessary goods and services for the
Panel in compliance with the purchasing laws and
requirements applicable to the district.
(7) To take action on behalf of the district, as the
Panel deems necessary and in accordance with this Section
and all other provisions of this Code, based on the
recommendation of, if applicable, the chief executive
officer, chief educational officer, or chief fiscal
officer; the district shall be bound by such action in all
respects as if the action had been approved by the district

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itself.
(8) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to
carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given to it
by this Section.
(9) To provide for its organization and internal
management.
(10) To require and approve a school district financial
plan and academic plan, if the Panel deems it necessary,
and to monitor the school district's compliance with these
plans.
(11) To approve and require revisions of the school
district budget.
(12) To approve all contracts and other obligations, as
the Panel deems necessary and appropriate.
(13) To request that the Regional Superintendent of
Schools make appointments to fill all vacancies on the
board, as provided in Section 10-10 of this Code.
(14) To engage the services of consultants for
rendering professional and technical assistance and advice
on matters within the Panel's power.
(15) To contract for and to accept any gifts, grants,
or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in
any form from the federal government, State government, a
unit of local government, a school district, or any agency
or instrumentality thereof or from any other private or
public source and to comply with the terms and conditions

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thereof.
(16) To pay the expenses of its operations based on the
Panel's budget as approved by the State Superintendent from
the district's general State aid.
(17) To require a board member training plan, in
conjunction with one or more statewide school management
organizations.
(18) To require the development of a district
management improvement plan or revision of an existing
district management improvement plan if the Panel deems it
necessary and to monitor the district's compliance with the
management improvement plan.
(19) To provide assistance to the district with
developing a staffing needs analysis and plan, in
cooperation with the board, that can address (i)
performance of an analysis of critical staffing needs
within the district to support any district improvement
plans, (ii) development of a strategy for attracting
candidates and posting positions to meet the district's
critical staffing needs, and (iii) approving and
monitoring of the school district's policies and
procedures for conducting hiring.
(20) To develop a plan for maintenance, repair, and
improvement of district facilities (including, but not
limited to, buildings used for instructional and
administrative functions, indoor and outdoor recreational

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facilities, landscaping, parking, and infrastructure
related to traffic circulation) and the correction of any
violations of the Health/Life Safety Code for existing
facilities.
(f) If the State Board has appointed a Financial Oversight
Panel to a school district and subsequently places the same
district under a Management Oversight Panel or if the State
Board has appointed a Management Oversight Panel for a district
and subsequently places the same district under a Financial
Oversight Panel, the State Superintendent shall create a new
Panel and appoint 5 members to serve at the State
Superintendent's pleasure. The Panel shall accrue all the
necessary powers and duties of a Financial Oversight Panel and
a Management Oversight Panel. The State Superintendent shall
designate one of the members of the Panel to serve as its
chairperson. In the event of vacancy or resignation, the State
Superintendent shall appoint a successor within 10 days after
receiving notice of the vacancy or resignation. Members of the
Panel shall be selected on the basis of their experience and
education in areas identified as needed. A member of the Panel
may not have a direct financial interest in the district for
which the Panel is constituted, nor may a member be a board
member or employee of that district, except that a member who
is appointed as a representative of a union representing
district employees may be an employee of the district.

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Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.33 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.33 new)
Sec. 8.33. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8
of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of