Bill Text: IL HB5188 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Repeals provisions concerning the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, audit adjustments to State aid claims for alternative education programs, the Giant Steps Autism Center for Excellence pilot program, job training programs, posting of entrepreneurial skills teaching resources, posting of high-skilled manufacturing teaching resources, fast growth grants, the Alternative Route to Administrative Certification for National Board Certified Teachers, and the board of examiners. Makes conforming changes in the School Code and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-01-10 - Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Terry Hall [HB5188 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB5188-Engrossed.html

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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 changing Sections
1B-8, 1F-25, 1F-90, 2-3.146, 10-21.9, and 34-18.5 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/1B-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8)
Sec. 1B-8. There is created in the State Treasury a
special fund to be known as the School District Emergency
Financial Assistance Fund (the "Fund"). The School District
Emergency Financial Assistance Fund shall consist of
appropriations, loan repayments, grants from the federal
government, and donations from any public or private source.
Moneys in the Fund may be appropriated only to the Illinois
Finance Authority and the State Board for those purposes
authorized under this Article and Articles 1F and 1H of this
Code. The appropriation may be allocated and expended by the
State Board for contractual services to provide technical
assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their
financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that
petition for emergency financial assistance grants. The
Illinois Finance Authority may provide loans to school
districts which are the subject of an approved petition for
emergency financial assistance under Section 1B-4, 1F-62, or

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1H-65 of this Code. Neither the State Board of Education nor
the Illinois Finance Authority may collect any fees for
providing these services.
From the amount allocated to each such school district
under this Article the State Board shall identify a sum
sufficient to cover all approved costs of the Financial
Oversight Panel established for the respective school
district. If the State Board and State Superintendent of
Education have not approved emergency financial assistance in
conjunction with the appointment of a Financial Oversight
Panel, the Panel's approved costs shall be paid from
deductions from the district's general State aid or
evidence-based funding.
The Financial Oversight Panel may prepare and file with
the State Superintendent a proposal for emergency financial
assistance for the school district and for its operations
budget. No expenditures from the Fund shall be authorized by
the State Superintendent until he or she has approved the
request of the Panel, either as submitted or in such lesser
amount determined by the State Superintendent.
The maximum amount of an emergency financial assistance
loan which may be allocated to any school district under this
Article, including moneys necessary for the operations of the
Panel, shall not exceed $4,000 times the number of pupils
enrolled in the school district during the school year ending
June 30 prior to the date of approval by the State Board of the

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petition for emergency financial assistance, as certified to
the local board and the Panel by the State Superintendent. An
emergency financial assistance grant shall not exceed $1,000
times the number of such pupils. A district may receive both a
loan and a grant.
The payment of an emergency State financial assistance
grant or loan shall be subject to appropriation by the General
Assembly. Payment of the emergency State financial assistance
loan is subject to the applicable provisions of the Illinois
Finance Authority Act. Emergency State financial assistance
allocated and paid to a school district under this Article may
be applied to any fund or funds from which the local board of
education of that district is authorized to make expenditures
by law.
Any emergency financial assistance grant proposed by the
Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the State
Superintendent may be paid in its entirety during the initial
year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or declining
amounts over a period of years not to exceed the period of the
Panel's existence. An emergency financial assistance loan
proposed by the Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the
Illinois Finance Authority may be paid in its entirety during
the initial year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or
declining amounts over a period of years not to exceed the
period of the Panel's existence. All loans made by the
Illinois Finance Authority for a school district shall be

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required to be repaid, with simple interest over the term of
the loan at a rate equal to 50% of the one-year Constant
Maturity Treasury (CMT) yield as last published by the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System before the date on
which the district's loan is approved by the Illinois Finance
Authority, not later than the date the Financial Oversight
Panel ceases to exist. The Panel shall establish and the
Illinois Finance Authority shall approve the terms and
conditions, including the schedule, of repayments. The
schedule shall provide for repayments commencing July 1 of
each year or upon each fiscal year's receipt of moneys from a
tax levy for emergency financial assistance. Repayment shall
be incorporated into the annual budget of the school district
and may be made from any fund or funds of the district in which
there are moneys available. An emergency financial assistance
loan to the Panel or district shall not be considered part of
the calculation of a district's debt for purposes of the
limitation specified in Section 19-1 of this Code. Default on
repayment is subject to the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act.
When moneys are repaid as provided herein they shall not be
made available to the local board for further use as emergency
financial assistance under this Article at any time
thereafter. All repayments required to be made by a school
district shall be received by the State Board and deposited in
the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund.
In establishing the terms and conditions for the repayment

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obligation of the school district the Panel shall annually
determine whether a separate local property tax levy is
required. The board of any school district with a tax rate for
educational purposes for the prior year of less than 120% of
the maximum rate for educational purposes authorized by
Section 17-2 shall provide for a separate tax levy for
emergency financial assistance repayment purposes. Such tax
levy shall not be subject to referendum approval. The amount
of the levy shall be equal to the amount necessary to meet the
annual repayment obligations of the district as established by
the Panel, or 20% of the amount levied for educational
purposes for the prior year, whichever is less. However, no
district shall be required to levy the tax if the district's
operating tax rate as determined under Section 18-8, 18-8.05,
or 18-8.15 exceeds 200% of the district's tax rate for
educational purposes for the prior year.
(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
(105 ILCS 5/1F-25)
(This Section scheduled to be repealed in accordance with 105
ILCS 5/1F-165)
Sec. 1F-25. General powers. The purposes of the Authority
shall be to exercise financial control over the district and
to furnish financial assistance so that the district can
provide public education within the district's jurisdiction
while permitting the district to meet its obligations to its

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creditors and the holders of its debt. Except as expressly
limited by this Article, the Authority shall have all powers
granted to a voluntary or involuntary Financial Oversight
Panel and to a Financial Administrator under Article 1B of
this Code and all other powers necessary to meet its
responsibilities and to carry out its purposes and the
purposes of this Article, including without limitation all of
the following powers, provided that the Authority shall have
no power to terminate any employee without following the
statutory procedures for such terminations set forth in this
Code:
(1) To sue and to be sued.
(2) To make, cancel, modify, 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 Article, subject to Section
1F-45 of this Code. The Authority may at a regular or
special meeting find that the district has insufficient or
inadequate funds with respect to any contract, other than
collective bargaining agreements.
(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 Authority, is no longer necessary for its
purposes.

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(4) To appoint officers, agents, and employees of the
Authority, including a chief executive officer, a chief
fiscal officer, and a chief educational officer; to define
their duties and qualifications; and to fix their
compensation and employee benefits.
(5) To transfer to the district such sums of money as
are not required for other purposes.
(6) To borrow money, including without limitation
accepting State loans, and to issue obligations pursuant
to this Article; to fund, refund, or advance refund the
same; to provide for the rights of the holders of its
obligations; and to repay any advances.
(6.5) To levy all property tax levies that otherwise
could be levied by the district, and to make levies
pursuant to Section 1F-62 of this Code. This levy or
levies shall be exempt from the Truth in Taxation Law and
the Cook County Truth in Taxation Law.
(7) Subject to the provisions of any contract with or
for the benefit of the holders of its obligations, to
purchase or redeem its obligations.
(8) To procure all necessary goods and services for
the Authority in compliance with the purchasing laws and
requirements applicable to the district.
(9) To do any and all things necessary or convenient
to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given to
it by this Article.

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(10) To recommend annexation, consolidation,
dissolution, or reorganization of the district, in whole
or in part, to the State Board if in the Authority's
judgment the circumstances so require. No such proposal
for annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or
reorganization shall occur unless the Authority and the
school boards of all other districts directly affected by
the annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or
reorganization have each approved by majority vote the
annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or
reorganization. Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, upon approval of the proposal by the State
Board, the State Board and all other affected entities
shall forthwith implement the proposal. When a dissolution
and annexation becomes effective for purposes of
administration and attendance, the positions of teachers
in contractual continued service in the district being
dissolved shall be transferred to the annexing district or
districts, pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-12 of
this Code. In the event that the territory is added to 2 or
more districts, the decision on which positions shall be
transferred to which annexing districts shall be made by
giving consideration to the proportionate percentage of
pupils transferred and the annexing districts' staffing
needs, and the transfer of teachers in contractual
continued service into positions shall be based upon the

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request of those teachers in contractual continued service
in order of seniority in the dissolving district. The
status of all teachers in contractual continued service
transferred to an annexing district shall not be lost, and
the board of the annexing district is subject to this Code
with respect to teachers in contractual continued service
who are transferred in the same manner as if the person
were the annexing district's employee and had been its
employee during the time the person was actually employed
by the board of the dissolving district from which the
position was transferred.
(Source: P.A. 92-855, eff. 12-6-02.)
(105 ILCS 5/1F-90)
(This Section scheduled to be repealed in accordance with 105
ILCS 5/1F-165)
Sec. 1F-90. Tax anticipation warrants. An Authority shall
have the same power to issue tax anticipation warrants as a
school board under Section 17-16 of this Code. Tax
anticipation warrants are considered borrowing from sources
other than the State and are subject to Section 1F-62 of this
Code.
(Source: P.A. 92-855, eff. 12-6-02.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.146)
Sec. 2-3.146. Severely overcrowded schools grant program.

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There is created a grant program, subject to appropriation,
for severely overcrowded schools. The State Board of Education
shall administer the program. Grant funds may be used for
purposes of relieving overcrowding. In order for a school
district to be eligible for a grant under this Section, (i) the
main administrative office of the district must be located in
a city of 85,000 or more in population, according to the 2000
U.S. Census, and (ii) the school district must have a
district-wide percentage of low-income students of 70% or
more, as identified by the 2005-2006 School Report Cards
published by the State Board of Education, and (iii) the
school district must not be eligible for a fast growth grant
under Section 18-8.10 of this Code. The State Board of
Education shall distribute the funds on a proportional basis
with no single district receiving more than 75% of the funds in
any given year. The State Board of Education may adopt rules as
needed for the implementation and distribution of grants under
this Section.
(Source: P.A. 95-707, eff. 1-11-08.)
(105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks
of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
(a) Licensed and nonlicensed applicants for employment
with a school district, except school bus driver applicants,

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are required as a condition of employment to authorize a
fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine
if such applicants have been convicted of any disqualifying,
enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this
Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for employment with the school district, of any
other felony under the laws of this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of
this State. Authorization for the check shall be furnished by
the applicant to the school district, except that if the
applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more
than one school district, a teacher seeking concurrent
part-time employment positions with more than one school
district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher
or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee
seeking employment positions with more than one district, any
such district may require the applicant to furnish
authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of
the educational service region in which are located the school
districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a
substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this
authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional
superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the

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applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State
Police. The regional superintendent submitting the requisite
information to the Illinois State Police shall promptly notify
the school districts in which the applicant is seeking
employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
concurrent educational support personnel employee that the
check of the applicant has been requested. The Illinois State
Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish,
pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records
check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until
expunged, to the president of the school board for the school
district that requested the check, or to the regional
superintendent who requested the check. The Illinois State
Police shall charge the school district or the appropriate
regional superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which
fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and
shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant
shall not be charged a fee for such check by the school
district or by the regional superintendent, except that those
applicants seeking employment as a substitute teacher with a
school district may be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of
the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the
State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse school
districts and regional superintendents for fees paid to obtain

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criminal history records checks under this Section.
(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community
Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the
Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted by the
school district or regional superintendent once for every 5
years that an applicant remains employed by the school
district.
(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the
school district or regional superintendent once for every 5
years that an applicant remains employed by the school
district.
(b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
obtained by the president of the school board or the regional
superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or
his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the
check was requested by the school district, the presidents of
the appropriate school boards if the check was requested from
the Illinois State Police by the regional superintendent, the

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State Board of Education and a school district as authorized
under subsection (b-5), the State Superintendent of Education,
the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, any other
person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
employment, or for clarification purposes the Illinois State
Police or Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both. A copy of
the record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State
Police shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon
the check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the
school district or regional superintendent shall notify an
applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been
identified in the Database. If a check of an applicant for
employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than
one school district was requested by the regional
superintendent, and the Illinois State Police upon a check
ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any of
the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of
this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for employment with the school district, of any
other felony under the laws of this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of
this State and so notifies the regional superintendent and if

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the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the
applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database
or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
specified by the Illinois State Police the applicant has not
been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been
convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of this State and
evidencing that as of the date that the regional
superintendent conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
Youth Database, the applicant has not been identified in the
Database. The school board of any school district may rely on
the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that
substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or
concurrent educational support personnel employee or may
initiate its own criminal history records check of the
applicant through the Illinois State Police and its own check
of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as provided in

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this Section. Any unauthorized release of confidential
information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal
Identification Act.
(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a
regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as
a substitute teacher with a school district, the regional
superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education
whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under
subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board
receives information on an applicant under this subsection,
then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information
System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued
or has not been issued a certificate.
(c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who
has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her
to license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80
of this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of
Section 21B-80. Further, no school board shall knowingly
employ a person who has been found to be the perpetrator of
sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age
pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987. 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

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Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused
and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency
of another jurisdiction.
(d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex
Offender Database check have not been initiated.
(e) Within 10 days after a superintendent, regional office
of education, or entity that provides background checks of
license holders to public schools receives information of a
pending criminal charge against a license holder for an
offense set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code, the
superintendent, regional office of education, or entity must
notify the State Superintendent of Education of the pending
criminal charge.
If permissible by federal or State law, no later than 15
business days after receipt of a record of conviction or of
checking the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
Youth Database or the Statewide Sex Offender Database and
finding a registration, the superintendent of the employing
school board or the applicable regional superintendent shall,
in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of
any license holder who has been convicted of a crime set forth
in Section 21B-80 of this Code. Upon receipt of the record of a
conviction of or a finding of child abuse by a holder of any
license issued pursuant to Article 21B or Section 34-8.1 or
34-83 of this the School Code, the State Superintendent of

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Education may initiate licensure suspension and revocation
proceedings as authorized by law. If the receipt of the record
of conviction or finding of child abuse is received within 6
months after the initial grant of or renewal of a license, the
State Superintendent of Education may rescind the license
holder's license.
(e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board
shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of
Education and the applicable regional superintendent of
schools of any license holder whom he or she has reasonable
cause to believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or
neglect with the result of making a child an abused child or a
neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
license holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
after the dismissal or resignation and must include the
Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) of the license
holder and a brief description of the misconduct alleged. The
license holder must also be contemporaneously sent a copy of
the notice by the superintendent. All correspondence,
documentation, and other information so received by the
regional superintendent of schools, the State Superintendent
of Education, the State Board of Education, or the State
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board under this subsection
(e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed to third

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parties, except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent
of Education or his or her designee to investigate and
prosecute pursuant to Article 21B of this Code, (ii) pursuant
to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the license holder or
his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in
this Article and provided that any such information admitted
into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality
and non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful
or wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides
notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have
immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that
otherwise might result by reason of such action.
(f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section
shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
contracts with any school district including, but not limited
to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
Sex Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
the educational service region in which the contracting school
districts are located may, at the request of any such school
district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee

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and submitting the same to the Illinois State Police and for
conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for
each employee. Any information concerning the record of
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
board or school boards.
(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any
information obtained by a school district pursuant to
subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be
made available to the requesting school or school district.
(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching
experience or required internship (which is referred to as
student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a
student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment
of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student
teacher to the school district where the student teaching is
to be completed. Upon receipt of this authorization and
payment, the school district shall submit the student
teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State
Police. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check, records of convictions,

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forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of
the school board for the school district that requested the
check. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school
district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not
exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the
State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further
perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as
authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and
of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No
school board may knowingly allow a person to student teach for
whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex
Offender Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database check have not been completed
and reviewed by the district.
A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the
Illinois State Police must be provided to the student teacher.
Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained
by the president of the school board is confidential and may
only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school
district or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of
Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board,
or, for clarification purposes, the Illinois State Police or
the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized

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release of confidential information may be a violation of
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
No school board shall knowingly allow a person to student
teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject
him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
subsection (c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as
provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, no
school board shall allow a person to student teach if he or she
has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical
abuse of a minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings
under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Each school
board must consider the status of 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.
(h) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19;
101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-552, eff.
1-1-22; revised 10-6-21.)
(105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks
of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
(a) Licensed and nonlicensed applicants for employment

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with the school district are required as a condition of
employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
records check to determine if such applicants have been
convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug
offense in subsection (c) of this Section or have been
convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of this State.
Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the
applicant to the school district, except that if the applicant
is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one
school district, or a teacher seeking concurrent part-time
employment positions with more than one school district (as a
reading specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an educational support personnel employee seeking
employment positions with more than one district, any such
district may require the applicant to furnish authorization
for the check to the regional superintendent of the
educational service region in which are located the school
districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a
substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this
authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional

HB5188 Engrossed - 24 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the
applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State
Police. The regional superintendent submitting the requisite
information to the Illinois State Police shall promptly notify
the school districts in which the applicant is seeking
employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
concurrent educational support personnel employee that the
check of the applicant has been requested. The Illinois State
Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish,
pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records
check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until
expunged, to the president of the school board for the school
district that requested the check, or to the regional
superintendent who requested the check. The Illinois State
Police shall charge the school district or the appropriate
regional superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which
fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and
shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant
shall not be charged a fee for such check by the school
district or by the regional superintendent. Subject to
appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of
Education shall reimburse the school district and regional
superintendent for fees paid to obtain criminal history
records checks under this Section.

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(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community
Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the
Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted by the
school district or regional superintendent once for every 5
years that an applicant remains employed by the school
district.
(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the
school district or regional superintendent once for every 5
years that an applicant remains employed by the school
district.
(b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
obtained by the president of the board of education or the
regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
transmitted to the general superintendent of the school
district or his designee, the appropriate regional
superintendent if the check was requested by the board of
education for the school district, the presidents of the
appropriate board of education or school boards if the check
was requested from the Illinois State Police by the regional

HB5188 Engrossed - 26 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
superintendent, the State Board of Education and the school
district as authorized under subsection (b-5), the State
Superintendent of Education, the State Educator Preparation
and Licensure Board or any other person necessary to the
decision of hiring the applicant for employment. A copy of the
record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State Police
shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the
check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the
school district or regional superintendent shall notify an
applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been
identified in the Database. If a check of an applicant for
employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than
one school district was requested by the regional
superintendent, and the Illinois State Police upon a check
ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any of
the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of
this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for employment with the school district, of any
other felony under the laws of this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of
this State and so notifies the regional superintendent and if
the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the

HB5188 Engrossed - 27 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database
or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
specified by the Illinois State Police the applicant has not
been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been
convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
this State or of 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 a felony under the laws of this State and
evidencing that as of the date that the regional
superintendent conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
Youth Database, the applicant has not been identified in the
Database. The school board of any school district may rely on
the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that
substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or
concurrent educational support personnel employee or may
initiate its own criminal history records check of the
applicant through the Illinois State Police and its own check
of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as provided in
this Section. Any unauthorized release of confidential

HB5188 Engrossed - 28 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal
Identification Act.
(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a
regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as
a substitute teacher with the school district, the regional
superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education
whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under
subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board
receives information on an applicant under this subsection,
then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information
System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued
or has not been issued a certificate.
(c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
person who has been convicted of any offense that would
subject him or her to license suspension or revocation
pursuant to Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided
under subsection (b) of 21B-80. Further, the board of
education shall not knowingly employ a person who has been
found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any
minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under
Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. As a condition of
employment, the board of education 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

HB5188 Engrossed - 29 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or
by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction.
(d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
person for whom a criminal history records check and a
Statewide Sex Offender Database check have not been initiated.
(e) Within 10 days after the general superintendent of
schools, a regional office of education, or an entity that
provides background checks of license holders to public
schools receives information of a pending criminal charge
against a license holder for an offense set forth in Section
21B-80 of this Code, the superintendent, regional office of
education, or entity must notify the State Superintendent of
Education of the pending criminal charge.
No later than 15 business days after receipt of a record of
conviction or of checking the Statewide Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database or the Statewide Sex Offender
Database and finding a registration, the general
superintendent of schools or the applicable regional
superintendent shall, in writing, notify the State
Superintendent of Education of any license holder who has been
convicted of a crime set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code.
Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a finding of
child abuse by a holder of any license issued pursuant to
Article 21B or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of this Code, the State
Superintendent of Education may initiate licensure suspension
and revocation proceedings as authorized by law. If the

HB5188 Engrossed - 30 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
receipt of the record of conviction or finding of child abuse
is received within 6 months after the initial grant of or
renewal of a license, the State Superintendent of Education
may rescind the license holder's license.
(e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in
writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any
license holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe
has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect with the
result of making a child an abused child or a neglected child,
as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and Neglected Child
Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the license holder's
dismissal or resignation from the school district and must
include the Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) of
the license holder and a brief description of the misconduct
alleged. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
after the dismissal or resignation. The license holder must
also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
information so received by the State Superintendent of
Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Educator
Preparation and Licensure Board under this subsection (e-5) is
confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties,
except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of
Education or his or her designee to investigate and prosecute
pursuant to Article 21B of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court
order, (iii) for disclosure to the license holder or his or her

HB5188 Engrossed - 31 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article
and provided that any such information admitted into evidence
in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and
non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or
wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides
notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have
immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that
otherwise might result by reason of such action.
(f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section
shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
contracts with any school district including, but not limited
to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
Sex Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
the educational service region in which the contracting school
districts are located may, at the request of any such school
district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
and submitting the same to the Illinois State Police and for
conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for
each employee. Any information concerning the record of
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such

HB5188 Engrossed - 32 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
board or school boards.
(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any
information obtained by the school district pursuant to
subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be
made available to the requesting school or school district.
(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching
experience or required internship (which is referred to as
student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a
student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment
of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student
teacher to the school district. Upon receipt of this
authorization and payment, the school district shall submit
the student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social
security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State
Police. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check, records of convictions,
forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of
the board. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school
district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not
exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the
State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further

HB5188 Engrossed - 33 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as
authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and
of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. The
board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach for
whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex
Offender Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent
Offender Against Youth Database check have not been completed
and reviewed by the district.
A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the
Illinois State Police must be provided to the student teacher.
Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained
by the president of the board is confidential and may only be
transmitted to the general superintendent of schools or his or
her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the State
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for
clarification purposes, the Illinois State Police or the
Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized
release of confidential information may be a violation of
Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
The board may not knowingly allow a person to student
teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject
him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
subsection (c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as

HB5188 Engrossed - 34 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, the
board may not allow a person to student teach if he or she has
been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of
a minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under
Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The board must
consider the status of 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.
(h) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19;
101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-552, eff.
1-1-22; revised 10-18-21.)
(105 ILCS 5/1F-62 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.33a rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.123 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.128 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.171 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.172 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/18-8.10 rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/21-5e rep.)
(105 ILCS 5/34-83 rep.)
Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing
Sections 1F-62, 2-3.33a, 2-3.123, 2-3.128, 2-3.171, 2-3.172,

HB5188 Engrossed - 35 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
18-8.10, 21-5e, and 34-83.
Section 15. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act
is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:
(115 ILCS 5/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 1702)
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "Educational employer" or "employer" means the
governing body of a public school district, including the
governing body of a charter school established under Article
27A of the School Code or of a contract school or contract
turnaround school established under paragraph 30 of Section
34-18 of the School Code, combination of public school
districts, including the governing body of joint agreements of
any type formed by 2 or more school districts, public
community college district or State college or university, a
subcontractor of instructional services of a school district
(other than a school district organized under Article 34 of
the School Code), combination of school districts, charter
school established under Article 27A of the School Code, or
contract school or contract turnaround school established
under paragraph 30 of Section 34-18 of the School Code, an
Independent Authority created under Section 2-3.25f-5 of the
School Code, and any State agency whose major function is
providing educational services. "Educational employer" or
"employer" does not include (1) a Financial Oversight Panel

HB5188 Engrossed - 36 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
created pursuant to Section 1A-8 of the School Code due to a
district violating a financial plan or (2) an approved
nonpublic special education facility that contracts with a
school district or combination of school districts to provide
special education services pursuant to Section 14-7.02 of the
School Code, but does include a School Finance Authority
created under Article 1E or 1F of the School Code and a
Financial Oversight Panel created under Article 1B or 1H of
the School Code. The change made by this amendatory Act of the
96th General Assembly to this paragraph (a) to make clear that
the governing body of a charter school is an "educational
employer" is declaratory of existing law.
(b) "Educational employee" or "employee" means any
individual, excluding supervisors, managerial, confidential,
short term employees, student, and part-time academic
employees of community colleges employed full or part time by
an educational employer, but shall not include elected
officials and appointees of the Governor with the advice and
consent of the Senate, firefighters as defined by subsection
(g-1) of Section 3 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act,
and peace officers employed by a State university. For the
purposes of this Act, part-time academic employees of
community colleges shall be defined as those employees who
provide less than 3 credit hours of instruction per academic
semester. In this subsection (b), the term "student" does not
include graduate students who are research assistants

HB5188 Engrossed - 37 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
primarily performing duties that involve research, graduate
assistants primarily performing duties that are
pre-professional, graduate students who are teaching
assistants primarily performing duties that involve the
delivery and support of instruction, or any other graduate
assistants.
(c) "Employee organization" or "labor organization" means
an organization of any kind in which membership includes
educational employees, and which exists for the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning
grievances, employee-employer disputes, wages, rates of pay,
hours of employment, or conditions of work, but shall not
include any organization which practices discrimination in
membership because of race, color, creed, age, gender,
national origin or political affiliation.
(d) "Exclusive representative" means the labor
organization which has been designated by the Illinois
Educational Labor Relations Board as the representative of the
majority of educational employees in an appropriate unit, or
recognized by an educational employer prior to January 1, 1984
as the exclusive representative of the employees in an
appropriate unit or, after January 1, 1984, recognized by an
employer upon evidence that the employee organization has been
designated as the exclusive representative by a majority of
the employees in an appropriate unit.
(e) "Board" means the Illinois Educational Labor Relations

HB5188 Engrossed - 38 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
Board.
(f) "Regional Superintendent" means the regional
superintendent of schools provided for in Articles 3 and 3A of
The School Code.
(g) "Supervisor" means any individual having authority in
the interests of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, lay
off, recall, promote, discharge, reward or discipline other
employees within the appropriate bargaining unit and adjust
their grievances, or to effectively recommend such action if
the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or
clerical nature but requires the use of independent judgment.
The term "supervisor" includes only those individuals who
devote a preponderance of their employment time to such
exercising authority.
(h) "Unfair labor practice" or "unfair practice" means any
practice prohibited by Section 14 of this Act.
(i) "Person" includes an individual, educational employee,
educational employer, legal representative, or employee
organization.
(j) "Wages" means salaries or other forms of compensation
for services rendered.
(k) "Professional employee" means, in the case of a public
community college, State college or university, State agency
whose major function is providing educational services, the
Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois School for the
Visually Impaired, (1) any employee engaged in work (i)

HB5188 Engrossed - 39 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed
to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work; (ii)
involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment
in its performance; (iii) of such character that the output
produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in
relation to a given period of time; and (iv) requiring
knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning
customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized
intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher
learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general
academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training
in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical
processes; or (2) any employee, who (i) has completed the
courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study
described in clause (iv) of paragraph (1) of this subsection,
and (ii) is performing related work under the supervision of a
professional person to qualify himself or herself to become a
professional as defined in paragraph (l).
(l) "Professional employee" means, in the case of any
public school district, or combination of school districts
pursuant to joint agreement, any employee who has a
certificate issued under Article 21 or Section 34-83 of the
School Code, as now or hereafter amended.
(m) "Unit" or "bargaining unit" means any group of
employees for which an exclusive representative is selected.
(n) "Confidential employee" means an employee, who (i) in

HB5188 Engrossed - 40 - LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b
the regular course of his or her duties, assists and acts in a
confidential capacity to persons who formulate, determine and
effectuate management policies with regard to labor relations
or who (ii) in the regular course of his or her duties has
access to information relating to the effectuation or review
of the employer's collective bargaining policies.
(o) "Managerial employee" means an individual who is
engaged predominantly in executive and management functions
and is charged with the responsibility of directing the
effectuation of such management policies and practices.
(p) "Craft employee" means a skilled journeyman, craft
person, and his or her apprentice or helper.
(q) "Short-term employee" is an employee who is employed
for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during a
calendar year and who does not have a reasonable expectation
that he or she will be rehired by the same employer for the
same service in a subsequent calendar year. Nothing in this
subsection shall affect the employee status of individuals who
were covered by a collective bargaining agreement on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991.
(Source: P.A. 101-380, eff. 1-1-20.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.