Bill Text: IL HB5326 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Requires Equip for Equality, a State protection and advocacy system, to establish a monitoring team to work in collaboration with the State Board of Education to: (1) conduct monitoring of time out and physical restraint in schools and programs; (2) develop criteria for selecting schools and programs where onsite monitoring shall be conducted; (3) develop protocols for monitoring activity, including frequency and methods for gathering information and data; and (4) determine the frequency and format of reporting by the investigation unit to the State Board of Education. Requires Equip for Equity to submit an annual report to the Governor, General Assembly, and the State Superintendent of Education. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5326 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB5326-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 HB5326 Introduced , by Rep. Fred Crespo SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/2-3.182 new
Amends the School Code. Requires Equip for Equality, a State protection and advocacy system, to establish a monitoring team to work in collaboration with the State Board of Education to: (1) conduct monitoring of time out and physical restraint in schools and programs; (2) develop criteria for selecting schools and programs where onsite monitoring shall be conducted; (3) develop protocols for monitoring activity, including frequency and methods for gathering information and data; and (4) determine the frequency and format of reporting by the investigation unit to the State Board of Education. Requires Equip for Equity to submit an annual report to the Governor, General Assembly, and the State Superintendent of Education. Effective immediately.
LRB101 19189 CMG 68652 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB5326 LRB101 19189 CMG 68652 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 adding Section
2-3.182 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/2-3.182 new)
Sec. 2-3.182. State oversight and independent monitoring
of the use of time out and physical restraint.
(a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) Isolated time out and physical restraint are
inherently dangerous interventions that may exacerbate
existing mental health conditions and cause long-lasting
emotional trauma, serious physical harm, and even death.
(2) Despite existing law and rules prohibiting the use
of isolated time out or physical restraint in schools for
any reason other than safety, these interventions are
routinely used as a means of punishment or discipline or to
compel compliance in non-emergency situations when there
is no imminent threat of serious harm to the student or
others.
(3) Until recently adopted emergency rules by the State
Board of Education, there was no requirement that schools
report incidents of isolated time out or physical restraint

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to the State Board of Education, and oversight and
monitoring of these practices was minimal at best. This
system of self-policing has been wholly ineffective in
protecting vulnerable children and youth from the
widespread, abusive use of these interventions.
(4) To protect students from further misuse of these
practices, it is essential that the State Board establish a
strong system of school oversight and accountability that
includes independent monitoring of these practices in
schools.
(5) The Governor-designated, federally-mandated
protection and advocacy system for the State of Illinois,
Equip for Equality, has broad authority under State and
federal law to investigate suspected abuse or neglect,
including the misuse of restraint and seclusion, and
monitor for safety and protection of individual rights in
covered facilities, including in public and private
schools.
(6) In 2002, with direct funding from the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services as a result of a
congressional earmark to Equip for Equality for this
purpose, an independent monitoring and abuse and neglect
investigations unit was established, with matching funds
from the Department of Human Services and Department of
Public Health. The goal of this new program was to enhance
safety, care, and treatment, improve the quality of life

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for children and adults with disabilities, and improve
State investigatory systems working in collaboration with
the State of Illinois.
(7) Equip for Equality has conducted independent
facility monitoring and abuse and neglect investigations
in partnership with State agencies that has led to reforms
and system-wide improvements.
(8) The facility monitoring and abuse and neglect
investigations unit at Equip for Equality includes
professionals with legal, investigative, and clinical
backgrounds.
(9) The unit has conducted monitoring of troubled
programs and facilities and has developed tools to
effectively examine compliance with the laws governing the
use of restraints and seclusion.
(10) For several decades, Equip for Equality has
conducted in depth reviews of restraint and seclusion
practices, including:
(A) review of restraint and seclusion incident
reports at State-operated mental health and
developmental centers, finding a systemic failure to
comply with State law and widespread, punitive uses of
these practices;
(B) psychiatric units at general hospitals,
documenting wide-spread non-compliance with federal
and State standards; and

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(C) a national examination of restraint-related
deaths of children and adults in a wide array of
settings, including schools, camps, hospitals,
emergency rooms, and nursing homes.
(11) Equip for Equality is uniquely qualified and
positioned to assist with the State Board of Education's
oversight of these practices by serving as an independent
monitor.
(b) With funding appropriated by the General Assembly for
this purpose, Equip for Equality shall establish a monitoring
team that will work in collaboration with the State Board of
Education to:
(1) conduct monitoring of time out and physical
restraint in schools and programs;
(2) develop criteria for selecting schools and
programs where onsite monitoring will be conducted;
(3) develop protocols for monitoring activity,
including frequency and methods for gathering information
and data; and
(4) determine the frequency and format of reporting by
the investigation unit to the State Board of Education.
(c) Equip for Equality shall submit an annual report to the
Governor, General Assembly, and the State Superintendent of
Education.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.