Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Class
schedules shall be maintained in the administrative office in each attendance
center of a school district.
b)
Every school district shall have an organized plan for recording pupil progress
and/or awarding credit, including credit for courses completed by
correspondence, online, or from other external sources, that can be
disseminated to other schools within the State.
c) Every school district shall:
1) Provide curricula and staff inservice
training to help eliminate unconstitutional and unlawful discrimination in
schools and society. School districts shall use the resources of the community
to achieve the stated objective of eliminating discrimination and to enrich the
instructional program.
2) Include
in its instructional program concepts designed to improve students'
understanding of and their relationships with individuals and groups of
different ages, sexes, races, national origins, religions and socio-economic
backgrounds.
d) Boards
shall adopt and implement a policy for the distribution of teaching
assignments, including study hall and extra class duties and
responsibilities.
e) Every school
system shall conduct supervisory and inservice programs for its professional
staff. The staff shall be involved in planning, conducting and evaluating
supervisory and inservice programs.
f) Sections 10-19, 18-8.05, 18-12 and 18-12.5
of the School Code [105 ILCS 5 ] establish certain requirements regarding the
school year and the school day. School districts shall observe these
requirements when preparing their calendars and when calculating average daily
attendance for the purpose of claiming general State financial aid.
1) Section 18-8.05(F)(2)(c) of the School
Code provides that, with the approval of the State Superintendent of Education,
four or more clock-hours of instruction may be counted as a day of attendance
when the regional superintendent certifies that, due to a condition beyond the
control of the district, the district has been forced to use multiple sessions.
The State Superintendent's approval will be granted when the district
demonstrates that, due to a condition beyond the control of the district, its
facilities are inadequate to house a program offering five clock-hours daily to
all students.
A) The district superintendent's
request to the State Superintendent shall be accompanied by an assurance that
the local school board has approved the plan for multiple sessions, including
the date of the meeting at which this occurred, and evidence of the approval of
the responsible regional superintendent.
B) Each request shall include a description
of the circumstances that resulted in the need for multiple sessions;
information on the buildings and grades affected; the intended beginning and
ending dates for the multiple sessions; a plan for remedying the situation
leading to the request; and a daily schedule showing that each student will be
in class for at least four clock-hours.
C) Approval for multiple sessions shall be
granted for the school year to which the request pertains. Each request for
renewed approval shall conform to the requirements of subsections (f)(1)(A) and
(B).
D) Students who are in
attendance for at least 150 minutes of school work but fewer than 240 minutes
may be counted for a half-day of attendance. Students in attendance for fewer
than 150 minutes of school work shall not be counted for purposes of
calculating average daily attendance.
2) Section 18-8.05(F)(2)(h) of the School
Code allows for a determination under rules of the State Board regarding the
necessity for a second year's attendance at kindergarten for certain students
so they may be included in a district's calculation of average daily
attendance. Districts may count these students when they determine through an
assessment of their individual educational development that a second year of
kindergarten is warranted.
3) A
school district shall be considered to have conducted a legal school day, which
is eligible to be counted for General State Aid, when the following conditions
are met during a work stoppage.
A) Fifty
percent or more of the district's students are in attendance, based on the
average daily attendance during the most recent full month of attendance prior
to the work stoppage.
B)
Educational programs are available at all grade levels in the district, in
accordance with the minimum standards set forth in this Part.
C) All teachers hold educator licenses that
are registered with the regional superintendent of schools for their county of
employment. Other than substitute teachers, licensure appropriate to the grade
level and subject areas of instruction is held by all teachers.
4) Sections 18-12 and 18-12.5 of
the School Code set forth requirements for a school district to claim General
State Aid in certain circumstances when one or more, but not all, of the
district's school buildings are closed either for a full or partial day. A
school district shall certify the reasons for the closure in an electronic
format specified by the State Superintendent within 30 days from the date of
the incident.
A) If the certification is
submitted under Section 18-12 of the School Code, it shall indicate whether
instruction was provided to students using an e-learning day authorized under
Section 10-20.56 of the School Code and Section
1.422
of this Part.
B) If the
certification is submitted for reasons of a public health emergency under
Section 18-12.5 of the School Code, it shall be accompanied by a signed
statement from the local health department to the State Superintendent that
includes:
i) the name of the building that is
being recommended for closure;
ii)
the specific public health emergency that warrants the closure; and
iii) the anticipated building closure dates
recommended by the health department.
5) Attendance for General State Aid Purposes
A) For purposes of determining average daily
attendance on the district's General State Aid claim, students in full-day
kindergarten and first grade may be counted for a full day of attendance only
when they are in attendance for four or more clock hours of school work;
provided, however, that students in attendance for more than two clock hours of
school work but less than four clock hours may be counted for a half-day of
attendance. Students in attendance for fewer than two hours of school work
shall not be counted for purposes of calculating average daily
attendance.
B) For purposes of
determining average daily attendance on the district's General State Aid claim,
students enrolled full-time in grades 2 through 12 may be counted for a full
day of attendance only when they are in attendance for five or more clock hours
of school work; provided, however, that students in attendance for more than
two and one-half clock hours of school work but less than five clock hours may
be counted for a half-day of attendance. Students in attendance for fewer than
two and one-half hours of school work shall not be counted for purposes of
calculating average daily attendance.
C) For purposes of determining average daily
attendance for General State Aid received under Sections 18-12 and 18-12.5 of
the School Code, "immediately preceding school day" shall include school days
in the previous school year in instances in which the building closure occurs
before three or more days of instruction have been provided in the school year
for which attendance is being counted.
D) For the purposes of determining average
daily attendance for General State Aid under Section 10-20.56 or 10-29 of the
School Code, a school district operating a remote educational program shall
document the clock hours of instruction for each student, and make available to
the State Superintendent or a designee upon request, a written or online record
of instructional time for each student enrolled in the program that provides
sufficient evidence of the student's active participation in the program (e.g.,
log in and log off process, electronic monitoring, adult supervision, two-way
interaction between teacher and student, video cam). "Clock hours of
instruction" shall be calculated in accordance with Section 18-8.05(F)(2)(j) of
the School Code.
g)
Each school board shall annually
prepare a calendar for the school term, specifying the opening and closing
dates and providing a minimum term of at least 185 days to ensure
176 days of actual pupil attendance, computable under Section 10-9.05
of the School Code (Section 10-19 of the School Code).
h) Local boards of education shall establish
and maintain kindergartens for the instruction of children (see Sections
10-20.19a and 10-22.18 of the School Code).
1)
School districts may establish a kindergarten of either half-day or full-day
duration. If the district establishes a full-day kindergarten, it must also
provide a half-day kindergarten for those students whose parents or guardians
request a half-day program.
2) If a
school district that establishes a full-day kindergarten also has 20 or more
students whose parents request a half-day program, the district must schedule
half-day classes, separate and apart from full-day classes, for those children.
If there are fewer than 20 children whose parents request a half-day program,
those students may be enrolled in either the morning or afternoon session of a
full-day program provided that the following conditions are met.
A) Distinctive curriculum plans for the
half-day and full-day kindergarten programs must be developed by the school
district, made available to parents to assist the parents in selecting the
appropriate program for their child, and maintained in district
files.
B) A common core of
developmental, readiness and academic activities must be made available to all
kindergarten students in the district regardless of the amount of time they
attend school.
C) All support
services (e.g., health counseling and transportation) provided by the district
must be equally available to full-day and half-day students.
3) Each public school district,
including charter schools, offering a kindergarten program, whether full-day or
half-day, shall report to the State Board of Education on the 14 State
Readiness Measures listed in subsection (h)(3)(A) annually on each student
enrolled in kindergarten, except as otherwise provided under this subsection
(h)(3). The Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) shall be
available to school districts for this purpose. Data for each student, based on
local instruction and assessment practices, shall be reported through the
KIDSTech rating system. A school district is not obligated to administer KIDS
in any school year in which the State does not provide funding sufficient for
the cost of reporting or access to professional development for teachers and
administrators.
A) For the purpose of this
subsection (h)(3), the 14 State Readiness Measures shall address, at a minimum:
i) language and literacy development:
* communication and use of language (Expressive);
* reciprocal communication and conversation;
* comprehension of age-appropriate text;
* phonological awareness;
* letter and word knowledge;
ii) cognition; math:
* classification;
* number sense of quantity;
* number sense of math operations;
* shapes; and
iii) approaches toward learning and social
and emotional development:
* curiosity and initiative in learning;
* self-control of feelings and behavior;
* engagement and persistence;
* relationships and social interactions with familiar
adults;
* relationships and social interactions with
peers.
B) Each
school district shall report electronically the results of the observations
conducted and evidence collected once each school year (i.e., after 40 days of
enrollment beginning with the first day of official attendance). The data
required under this subsection (h)(3)(B) shall be reported for any student who
was enrolled in a kindergarten classroom at least 30 days before the date on
which the data is required to be reported.
C) By August 1 of each school year, each
school district shall provide to the State Superintendent the name, title,
email address, and telephone number for the district staff personnel who will
serve as the KIDS contact persons, using a form prescribed for this purpose.
Staff personnel serving as the KIDS contact person can be anyone that the
district chooses, but preferably is someone who is working closely with the
kindergarten teachers and can act as a liaison between SBE and the kindergarten
teachers. This can include teachers and administrators.
D) Each KIDS contact person designated under
subsection (h)(3)(C) shall participate in, at a minimum, a KIDS administrator
training sponsored by the State Board no later than 30 days after the beginning
of the school year. A KIDS contact person need only take the KIDS administrator
training once.
E) All teachers
teaching in a public or charter school classroom containing kindergarten
students must complete or have completed the KIDS teacher training sponsored by
the State Board.
F) Beginning in
the 2017-18 school year and thereafter, a public school district, including
charter schools, shall report the data required under subsection (h)(3)(B) for
each student enrolled in kindergarten.
G) The 14 State Readiness Measures shall be
reported for kindergarten children taught in a self-contained special education
classroom or an alternative setting unless a special education team deems it
inappropriate, at which time the justification for this decision must be
recorded in the Individualized Education Program.
H) The 14 State Readiness Measures shall be
reported for kindergarten children who are English learners unless the school
district deems that required Language and Literacy Measures should be
substituted with more appropriate non-required measures.
i) Career Education
1) The educational system shall provide
students with opportunities to prepare themselves for entry into the world of
work.
2) Every district shall
initiate a Career Awareness and Exploration Program that should enable students
to make more meaningful and informed career decisions. This program should be
available at all grade levels.
j) Co-Curricular Activities
1) Programs for extra classroom activities
shall provide opportunities for all students.
2) The desires of the student body in the
area of co-curricular activities shall be of critical importance. At all times,
activities of this nature shall be carefully supervised by a school-approved
sponsor.
k) Consumer
Education and Protection
1) A program in
consumer education shall include at least the topics required by Section
27-12.1 of the School Code.
2) The
superintendent of each unit or high school district shall maintain evidence
showing that each student has received adequate instruction in consumer
education prior to the completion of grade 12. Consumer education may be
included in course content of other courses, or it may be taught as a separate
required course.
3) The minimal
time allocation shall not be less than nine weeks or the equivalent for grades
9-12.
4) Teachers instructing in
consumer education courses shall hold educator licensure valid for the grade
levels taught and have completed at least three semester hours in consumer
education courses.
l)
Conservation of Natural Resources
Each district shall provide instruction on current
problems and needs in the conservation of natural resources, including, but not
limited to, air pollution, water pollution, waste reduction and recycling, the
effect of excessive use of pesticides, preservation of wilderness areas, forest
management, protection of wildlife, and humane care of domestic
animals (Section 27-13.1 of the School Code).
m) Every school district has the
responsibility to prepare students for full citizenship. To this end, each
school district should encourage student discussion and communication in areas
of local, State, national, and international concern.
n) Health Education
1) Each school system shall provide a program
in compliance with the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health
Education Act [105 ILCS 110 ].
A) There is no
specific time requirement for grades K-6; however, health education shall be a
part of the formal regular instructional program at each grade level.
B) The minimal time allocation shall not be
less than one semester or equivalent during the middle or junior high
experience.
C) The minimal time
allocation shall not be less than one semester or equivalent during the
secondary school experience.
D) If
health education is offered in conjunction with another course on a "block of
time" basis in a middle school, a junior high school, or a high school,
instruction may be offered in any combination of the grade levels in the
school, provided that the total time devoted to health education is the
equivalent of one full semester's work.
2) Nothing in this Section shall be construed
as requiring or preventing the establishment of classes or courses in
comprehensive sex education or family life education as authorized by Sections
27-9.1 and 27-9.2 of the School Code.
o) Library Media Programs
Each school district shall provide a program of library media
services for the students in each of its schools. Each district's program shall
meet the requirements of this subsection (o).
1) General
The program shall include an organized collection of
resources that circulate to students and staff in order to supplement classroom
instruction, foster reading for pleasure, enhance information literacy, and
support research, as appropriate to students of all abilities in the grade
levels served. A district that relies solely upon the collection of a local
public library shall maintain evidence that students receive instruction,
direction, or assistance in locating and using resources that are applicable to
these purposes from an individual who is qualified under Section
1.755
and who is acting on behalf of the school district.
2) Financial Resources
Each district's annual budget shall include an identifiable
allocation for resources and supplies for the program, except that a unit
district serving fewer than 400 students or an elementary or high school
district serving fewer than 200 students may demonstrate that it is meeting its
students' needs through alternate means that the district has determined are
adequate in light of local circumstances.
3) Facilities
If there is no single location within a particular attendance
center that is specifically devoted to a library media center, such as where
classroom collections have been established instead, the district shall ensure
that equitable access to library media resources is made available to students
in all the grade levels served. If students' only access to library media
resources is achieved by visiting a location outside their attendance center,
the district shall maintain records demonstrating that all students' regular
schedules include time for this purpose.
4) Staff
Nothing in this subsection (o)(4) shall be construed as
prohibiting districts or schools from sharing the services of individuals
qualified under Section 1.755, and nothing in this subsection (o) shall be
construed as permitting an individual who is not qualified as a library
information specialist to assume that role. Each district shall assign
responsibility for overall direction of its program of library media services
to an employee who holds a professional educator license endorsed for a
teaching or an administrative field. Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(o)(4)(A), the individual to whom this responsibility is assigned shall meet
the requirements of Section 1.755, and the individual to whom this
responsibility is assigned shall not provide the services described in Section
1.755
unless the individual meets the requirements of that Section.
A) If no employee of the district holds any
of the qualifications enumerated in Section 1.755, the individual to whom
direction of the program is assigned shall be required to participate annually
in professional development consisting of:
i)
undergraduate or graduate coursework in library science offered by a regionally
accredited institution of higher education; or
ii) one or more workshops, seminars,
conferences, institutes, symposia, or other similar training events that are
offered by the Illinois State Library, a regional library system, or another
professional librarians' organization; or
iii) one or more "library academies" if these
are made available by or at the direction of the State Superintendent of
Education.
B) A district
that is otherwise unable to fulfill the requirements of this subsection (o)(4)
shall ensure that the overall direction of the library media program (e.g.,
selection and organization of materials, provision of instruction in
information and technology literacy, structuring the work of library
paraprofessionals) is accomplished with the advice of an individual who is
qualified pursuant to Section 1.755.
p) Physical Education
Appropriate activity related to physical education shall be
required as provided for by Section 27-6 of the School Code. The time schedule
shall compare favorably with other courses in the curriculum. Safety education
as it relates to the physical education program should be incorporated. See
Section
1.425
for additional requirements that apply to the provision of physical education
instruction.
q) School
Support Personnel Services
To assure provision of School Support Personnel Services, the
local district shall conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to determine the
scope of the needs in the areas of:
1)
Guidance and Counseling Needs;
2)
Psychological Needs;
3) Social Work
Needs;
4) Health Needs.
r) Social Sciences and History
Each school system shall provide history and social sciences
courses that do the following:
1)
analyze the principles of representative government, the Constitutions of both
the United States and the State of Illinois, the proper use of the flag, and
how these concepts have related and currently do relate in actual practice in
the world (see Section 27-21 of the School Code);
2)
include in the teaching of United
States history the role and contributions of ethnic groups in the history of
this country and the State (Section 27-21 of the School
Code);
3)
include in the
teaching of United States history the role of labor unions and their
interaction with government in achieving the goals of a mixed free-enterprise
system (Section 27-21 of the School Code);
4)
include the study of that period
in world history known as the Holocaust (Section 27-20.3 of the School
Code);
5)
include the study
of the events of Black history, including the individual contributions of
African-Americans and their collective socio-economic struggles
(Section 27-20.4 of the School Code);
6)
include the study of the events of
women's history in America, including individual contributions and women's
struggles for the right to vote and for equal treatment (Section
27-20.5 of the School Code);
7)
include the study of the events related to the forceful removal and
illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great
Depression (Section 27-21 of the School Code);
8)
in public schools
only,include a study of the roles and contributions of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country
and this State (Section 27-21 of the School Code);
9)
include instruction on the history
of Illinois (Section 27-21 of the School Code);
10)
include the study of events of
Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois
and the Midwest, as well as contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing
civil rights from the 19th century onward (Section 27-20.8 of the
School Code); and
11)
include the contributions made to society by Americans of different
faith practices, including, but not limited to, Muslim Americans, Jewish
Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans, Buddhist
Americans, and any other collective community of faith that has shaped
America (Section 27-21 of the School Code).
s) Protective eye devices shall be provided
to and worn by all students, teachers, and visitors when participating in or
observing dangerous career and technical education courses and
chemical-physical courses of laboratories as specified in Section 1 of the Eye
Protection in School Act [105 ILCS 115 ]. The eye protective devices shall meet
the nationally accepted standards set forth in "American National Standard
Practice for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection
Devices", ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 -2010, issued by the American National Standards
Institute, Inc., 1899 L Street, NW, 11th Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20036. No later editions or amendments to these standards are
incorporated.
t) Each school
district shall provide instruction as required by Sections 27-3.5, 27-13.2,
27-13.3, 27-23.3, 27-23.4 and 27-23.8 of the School Code.
