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"We have to get rid of requirements that do nothing to help kids and
create piles of paperwork for schools," Blagojevich said. "The State
Board of Education has already eliminated hundreds of pages of
unnecessary rules, and we have pushed for changes in the law that
will make it easier for local districts to focus on teaching. These
new laws are another step in the right direction as we continue our
work to improve education in Illinois." Paperwork reduction
Sponsored by Rep. Milton Patterson, D-Chicago, and Sen.
Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago,
House Bill 3680 removes the requirement that school
districts certify to the Illinois State Board of Education that
serious safety hazards continue to exist within the district.
Current law allows local school boards to provide free student
transportation to students, based on the local board's annual
determination that walking conditions within 1.5 miles of the school
present a serious safety hazard, as based on Illinois Department of
Transportation guidelines. School districts must continue to make
this determination on an annual basis but are not required to submit
certification to the state board. The new law, effective July 1,
removes redundant paperwork and reporting for local districts.
"This law lets school districts continue to provide for the
safety of their students without having to complete unneeded
paperwork each year," said Patterson. "Schools are already working
with the Department of Transportation on this safety issue. Making
them report to the state board on it, too, just didn't make sense."
Accelerated reimbursement
Senate Bill 1734, sponsored by Sen. Susan Garrett,
D-Highwood, and Rep. Karen May, D-Highland Park, removes a
requirement for school districts to submit claim forms for
reimbursement from the Driver Education Fund. The new law
establishes Driver Education Fund reimbursement to districts on a
quarterly basis instead of annually and removes the provision that a
district's reimbursement could not exceed the per-pupil instruction
and practice driving costs.
"Making schools wait a full year before reimbursing them for the
costs of teaching students how to drive just didn't make sense,"
Garrett said. "We have made good changes to the law to reimburse
schools more quickly for money they've spent, and we eliminated a
ridiculous requirement to submit claim forms in duplicate. Schools
have a tough enough job to do without meeting the unnecessary
requirements of obsolete laws."
Increased flexibility
Sponsored by Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville, and Sen. Dan Cronin,
R-Lombard,
House Bill 404 allows schools flexibility when administering
the 1½-day Prairie State Achievement Examination. The new law
provides that a school may shorten the day below five clock hours to
accommodate the required testing procedures and still allow the
shortened day to be counted toward the 176 days of pupil attendance
required each year.
Current law requires five clock hours of instruction. However, if
a district has already "banked" additional minutes by exceeding the
five-hour minimum on other school days, those districts can count
the shortened day as a full day toward the average daily attendance
requirement. Although districts could do this in the past, it
required a modification of the Illinois School Code from the State
Board of Education. Under this law, school districts are afforded
the flexibility without additional paperwork.
"We're very pleased the governor is acting to ease some of the
burden the federal education law places on local schools," said Ken
Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association. "Until
now, districts could be penalized for complying with the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act if they dedicated a day to
the Prairie State exam. This bill brings some common sense to table,
and we are grateful for the governor's support."
While the Illinois School Code requires attending 300 daily
minutes, if a district has already "banked" additional minutes by
exceeding the five-hour minimum on other school days, this law
allows those districts to count the shortened day as a full day
toward its average daily attendance requirement.
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Senate Bill 1851, sponsored by Sen. Kimberly Lightford,
D-Westchester, and Rep. William Delgado, D-Chicago, removes specific
statutory dates for districts to file estimated reimbursement claims
for the cost of providing transitional bilingual education services.
Previously, the law stipulated four dates throughout the calendar
year and placed districts at risk of forfeiting their state
reimbursement if they didn't file final claims by July 20 each year.
"There's a growing need for bilingual education in
communities throughout the state," Lightford said. "Yet, the needs
in each school district are unique. Programs and scheduling have to
be tailored to each community's needs. We can't put funding for
these important programs at risk because of an arbitrary deadline.
This new law keeps that from happening."
Illinois schools benefit from governor's education
reform initiatives
The governor's bill signing Thursday was a continuation of his
work to reform education in Illinois to help Illinois schools. When
Blagojevich appointed seven new members to the State Board of
Education in September of 2004, he charged them with reducing red
tape for schools, eliminating the teacher certification backlog,
helping schools save money that could be redirected into classrooms,
and eliminating the state board's persistent delays and inaccuracies
in providing data to local schools and districts. Under its new
leadership, the state board has made good progress in each of these
areas.
The board has begun the process of reducing the administrative
rules and paperwork that burden Illinois schools through its "Less
Red Tape" initiative, which has already yielded a reduction of over
400 pages of administrative rules. One major step in this process
occurred when the state board aligned the state and federal school
accountability requirements. This action allows schools to focus on
meeting the increasingly difficult federal standards under No Child
Left Behind. Prior to this action, Illinois school districts were
forced to work under two systems that were not designed to
complement one another. Reporting for the state system created
duplicative "paper chase" requirements that forced schools to
complete added forms and paperwork that did not necessarily increase
accountability.
The governor also charged the board with eliminating Illinois'
massive teacher certification backlog. In just a few months under
the state board's new leadership, the backlog that frustrated
teachers, schools and districts is gone. In looking to prevent any
future backlogs, Blagojevich has signed a law that reduced teacher
recertification paperwork from nearly 100 pages to just two or three
pages. In addition, the state board is looking at ways to streamline
the rules that govern teacher certification while keeping the
highest level of accountability for Illinois' educators. And, the
agency is working with universities and teacher unions to create a
website that provides an online, one-stop shop for certification,
recertification and employment opportunities.
Another major concern the governor drew attention to last year
was the state board's error-filled reporting on school performance
data. The errors and delays under the previous agency leadership
caused serious difficulties for schools and districts whose
improvement status required them to communicate the option of school
choice and supplemental education services to parents. The new state
board addressed this issue as one of its first initiatives to help
schools, students and parents. Just a few months after the 2005
student testing was completed, the state board has begun to release
Adequate Yearly Progress School Status Reports to Illinois schools
and districts that have completed their data approval process. Under
the new agency leadership, this year's reports are being released to
schools months earlier than in any previous year.
The State Board of Education's work to respond to the governor's
charge to help schools save money has resulted in the creation of
the Illinois School Purchasing Network. The network offers all
school districts in Illinois access to high-quality products at some
of the best available government prices. More than 100 districts in
Illinois have already registered for the program in its first two
months.
[News release from
the governor's office] |
