Public Act 102-0516

HB3950 Enrolled LRB102 12547 CMG 17885 b

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 changing Section

14-8.03 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/14-8.03) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.03)

Sec. 14-8.03. Transition services.

(a) For purposes of this Section: ,

"Independent living skills" may include, without

limitation, personal hygiene, health care, fitness, food

preparation and nutrition, home management and safety,

dressing and clothing care, financial management and wellness,

self-esteem, self-advocacy, self-determination, community

living, housing options, public safety, leisure and

recreation, and transportation.

"Transition transition services" means a coordinated set

of activities for a child with a disability that (i) is

designed to be within a results-oriented process that is

focused on improving the academic and functional achievement

of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's

movement from school to post-school activities, including

post-secondary education, which may include for-credit

courses, career and technical education, and non-credit

courses and instruction, vocational education, integrated

employment (including supported employment), continuing and

adult education, adult services, independent living, or

community participation; (ii) is based on the individual

child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths,

preferences, and interests; and (iii) includes instruction,

related services, community experiences, the development of

employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and,

if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills, benefits

counseling and planning, work incentives education, and the

provision of a functional vocational evaluation. Transition

services for a child with a disability may be special

education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a

related service if required to assist a child with a

disability to benefit from special education.

(a-5) Beginning no later than the first individualized

education plan (IEP) in effect when the student turns age 14

1/2 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team) and

updated annually thereafter, the IEP must include (i)

measurable post-secondary goals based upon age-appropriate

transition assessments and other information available

regarding the student that are related to training, education,

employment, and independent living skills and (ii) the

transition services needed to assist the student in reaching

those goals, including courses of study.

As a component of transition planning, the school district

shall provide the student with information about the school

district's career and technical education (CTE) opportunities

and postsecondary CTE opportunities. The CTE information shall

include a list of programming options, the scope and sequence

of study for pursuing those options, and the locations of

those options. A student in high school with an IEP may enroll

in the school district's CTE program at any time if

participation in a CTE program is consistent with the

student's transition goals.

(b) Transition planning must be conducted as part of the

IEP process and must be governed by the procedures applicable

to the development, review, and revision of the IEP, including

notices to the parents and student, parent and student

participation, and annual review. To appropriately assess and

develop IEP transition goals and transition services for a

child with a disability, additional participants may be

necessary and may be invited by the school district, parent,

or student to participate in the transition planning process.

Additional participants may include without limitation a

representative from the Department of Human Services or

another State agency, a case coordinator, or persons

representing other public or community agencies or services,

such as adult service providers, disability services

coordinators of or public community colleges, and a CTE

coordinator. The IEP shall identify each person responsible

for coordinating and delivering transition services. If the

IEP team determines that the student requires transition

services from a public or private entity outside of the school

district, the IEP team shall identify potential outside

resources, assign one or more IEP team members to contact the

appropriate outside entities, make the necessary referrals,

provide any information and documents necessary to complete

the referral, follow up with the entity to ensure that the

student has been successfully linked to the entity, and

monitor the student's progress to determine if the student's

IEP transition goals and benchmarks are being met. The

student's IEP shall indicate one or more specific time periods

during the school year when the IEP team shall review the

services provided by the outside entity and the student's

progress in such activities. The public school's

responsibility for delivering educational services does not

extend beyond the time the student leaves school or when the

student's eligibility ends due to age under this Article.

(c) A school district shall submit annually a summary of

each eligible student's IEP transition goals and transition

services resulting from the IEP Team meeting to the

appropriate local Transition Planning Committee. If students

with disabilities who are ineligible for special education

services request transition services, local public school

districts shall assist those students by identifying

post-secondary school goals, delivering appropriate education

services, and coordinating with other agencies and services

for assistance.

(Source: P.A. 98-517, eff. 8-22-13.)

Section 10. The Dual Credit Quality Act is amended by

changing Section 16 and by adding Section 40 as follows:

(110 ILCS 27/16)

Sec. 16. High school and community college partnership

agreements; dual credit. A community college district shall,

upon the request of a school district within the jurisdiction

of the community college district, enter into a partnership

agreement with the school district to offer dual credit

coursework.

A school district may offer any course identified in the

Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core

Curriculum package under the Illinois Articulation Initiative

Act as a dual credit course on the campus of a high school of

the school district and may use a high school instructor who

has met the academic credential requirements under this Act to

teach the dual credit course.

The partnership agreement shall include all of the

following:

(1) The establishment of the school district's and the

community college district's respective roles and

responsibilities in providing the program and ensuring the

quality and instructional rigor of the program. This must

include an assurance that the community college district

has appropriate academic control of the curriculum,

consistent with any State or federal law and as required

or negotiated with the Higher Learning Commission or other

applicable accrediting agency.

(2) The dual credit courses that the school district

will offer its students and whether those courses will be

offered on the high school or community college campus or

through an online platform established by the Illinois

Community College Board.

(3) The establishment of academic criteria for

granting eligibility for high school students to enroll in

dual credit coursework. The academic criteria shall be

evidence-based and shall include multiple appropriate

measures to determine whether a student is prepared for

any dual credit coursework in which the student enrolls.

(4) The establishment of any limitations that the

school district or community college district may put on

course offerings due to availability of instructors, the

availability of students for specific course offerings, or

local board policy.

(5) The requirement that the dual credit instructor

meet the academic credential requirements to teach a dual

credit course, consistent with paragraphs (1), (2), and

(3) of Section 20 of this Act, but shall not be required to

exceed those credentials.

(6) The collaborative process and criteria by which

the school district shall identify and recommend and the

community college district shall review and approve high

school instructors of dual credit courses taught on the

campus of a high school. This provision shall require that

the school district be responsible for hiring and

compensating the instructor.

(7) The requirement that a community college district

take the appropriate steps to ensure that dual credit

courses are equivalent to those courses offered at the

community college in quality and rigor to qualify for

college credit. The dual credit programs shall encompass

the following characteristics:

(A) Student learning outcomes expected for dual

credit courses in General Education Core Curriculum

courses and the professional and career and technical

disciplines shall be the same as the student learning

outcomes expected for the same courses taught on the

postsecondary campus.

(B) Course content, course delivery, and course

rigor shall be evaluated by the community college

chief academic officer or his or her designee, in

consultation with the school district's superintendent

or his or her designee. The evaluation shall be

conducted in a manner that is consistent with the

community college district's review and evaluation

policy and procedures for on-campus adjunct faculty,

including visits to the secondary class. This

evaluation shall be limited to the course and the

ability of the instructor to deliver quality, rigorous

college credit coursework. This evaluation shall not

impact the instructor's performance evaluation under

Article 24A of the School Code.

(C) The academic supports and, if applicable,

guidance that will be provided to students

participating in the program by the high school and

the community college district.

(8) Identify all fees and costs to be assessed by the

community college district for dual credit courses. This

provision shall require that any fees and costs assessed

for dual credit courses shall be reasonable and promote

student access to those courses, and may take into account

regional considerations and differences.

(8.5) The collaborative process and criteria by which

a school district and a community college district shall

work to ensure that individual students with disabilities

have access to dual credit courses, provided that those

students are able to meet the criteria for entry into a

dual credit course. Through this process and criteria, the

student shall have access to the supplementary aids and

accommodations included in the student's individualized

education program under Article 14 of the School Code or

Section 504 plan under the federal Rehabilitation Act of

1973 while the student is accessing a dual credit course

on a high school campus, in accordance with established

practices at the high school for providing these services.

A student who accesses a dual credit course on a community

college campus shall have access to supplementary aids and

accommodations provided in the partnership agreement,

including access to the community college's disability

services. A school district and community college district

shall work together to provide seamless communication

about the student's progress.

(9) The community college district shall establish a

mechanism for evaluating and documenting on a regular

basis the performance of students who complete dual credit

courses, consistent with paragraph (9) of Section 20 and

Section 30 of this Act, and for sharing that data in a

meaningful and timely manner with the school district.

This evaluation shall be limited to the course and the

coursework. This evaluation shall not impact the

instructor's performance evaluation under Article 24A of

the School Code.

If, within 180 calendar days of the school district's

initial request to enter into a partnership agreement with the

community college district, the school district and the

community college district do not reach agreement on the

partnership agreement, then the school district and community

college district shall jointly implement the provisions of the

Model Partnership Agreement established under Section 19 of

this Act for which local agreement could not be reached. A

community college district may combine its negotiations with

multiple school districts to establish one multi-district

partnership agreement or may negotiate individual partnership

agreements at its discretion.

(Source: P.A. 100-1049, eff. 1-1-19.)

(110 ILCS 27/40 new)

Sec. 40. Students with disabilities. Within one year after

the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General

Assembly, each community college district in this State, in

partnership with the appropriate high schools, shall modify

its dual credit plan to ensure access to dual credit courses by

students with disabilities consistent with Section 16 of this

Act. The partnership agreement shall address how a high school

and community college district will ensure the incorporation

of an individualized education program or supplementary aids

and accommodations pursuant to a Section 504 plan under the

federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for students with

disabilities who enroll in dual credit courses.

Section 15. The Public Community College Act is amended by

adding Section 3-29.14 as follows:

(110 ILCS 805/3-29.14 new)

Sec. 3-29.14. Students with disabilities.

(a) Each community college district shall provide access

to higher education for students with disabilities, including,

but not limited to, students with intellectual or

developmental disabilities. Each community college is

encouraged to offer for-credit and non-credit courses as

deemed appropriate for the individual student based on the

student's abilities, interests, and postsecondary transition

goals, with the appropriate individualized supplementary aids

and accommodations, including general education courses,

career and technical education, vocational training,

continuing education certificates, individualized learning

paths, and life skills courses for students with disabilities.

(b) Each community college is strongly encouraged to have

its disability services coordinator or the coordinator's

representative participate either in person or remotely in

meetings held by high schools within the community college

district to provide information to the student's

individualized education program team, including the student

and the student's parent or guardian, about the community

college and the availability of courses and programs at the

community college.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

becoming law.