Legal Reference Guide & Database

Description

Each payment made under a State Board of Education administered program shall be disbursed by the Comptroller to “participants”, i.e., school districts, regional superintendents of schools, other public educational agencies, and nonpublic schools through electronic transfer of funds. To initiate the electronic fund transfer, the participant must provide information to the State Superintendent of Education on an authorization form prescribed by the State Superintendent and approved by the Comptroller.

Description

The examination concerning patriotism and principles of representative government may be administered remotely.

Description

Obligates “data collectors” (defined to include any public or private entity, including school districts) to notify Illinois residents when their “personal information” has been breached. The law provides an expansive definition of “personal information.” It includes breaches of health insurance information, medical information, unique biometric data, and online account information. Data collectors are required to notify affected residents and provide contact information for consumer reporting agencies and the Federal Trade Commission, and advise the individual can obtain information from these sources about fraud alerts and security freezes. If a breach permits access to an online account, notices via electronic or other form is required directing the individual to promptly change his or her user name or password or take appropriate steps to protect accounts. Data collectors are required to implement and maintain reasonable security measures to protect “personal information” from unauthorized access. In the event that notice is required to be issued to more than 500 residents as a result of a breach, notice shall be provided to the Attorney General, including a description of the nature of the breach, the number of residents affected, and steps the data collector has taken in response to the breach. The Attorney General is authorized to publish the name of the data collector, the types of information compromised, and the date range of the breach.

Description

The competent teacher: Knowledge: understands how to identify individual needs and how to locate and access technology, services, and resources Performance: demonstrates fluency in technology systems and uses technology to support and enhance learning, and utilizes assistive technology to provide access to individuals with disabilities Differentiated Instruction: understands the appropriate role of technology and assistive technology to address student needs Learning environment: uses appropriate technology in a functional learning community, and manages technology to provide active and equitable engagement of students

Description

A list of all property owned by or leased to the Board shall be published on the district’s Internet website and updated annually. Further, a summary of all lease agreements in which the Board is a lessor or lessee must be published. This law applies to school districts in cities with a population of over 500,000.

Description

The chief executive officer shall publish notice of proposed school actions such as school closures, consolidation, co-location, or boundary changes, on the district’s Internet website, as well as a written report by an independent hearing officer that summarizes the public hearings conducted to determine whether the chief executive officer complied with statutory requirements. Lastly, a summary of the public meeting shall be published on the district’s website. With respect to school closures only, eight months after notice of the proposed school action is given, the chief executive officer must publish on the district’s website a full financial report on the closure that includes an analysis of the closure’s costs and benefits to the school district. This law applies to school districts in cities with a population of over 500,000.

Description

School districts may purchase textbooks and electronic textbooks (and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and use electronic textbooks) from the publishers and manufacturers at the prices listed with the retail dealer’s website and sell them to the pupils at the listed prices or at such prices as will include the cost of transportation and handling.

Description

School districts may purchase textbooks or electronic textbooks, instructional materials, and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and use electronic textbooks, from the publishers and manufacturers at the prices listed with the retail dealer’s website and may designate a retail dealer to act as the agent of the district in selling them to pupils. Such dealers shall make settlement with the district for books sold. Such dealers shall not sell textbooks at prices which exceed a 10% advance on the net prices as listed on the retailer dealer’s website.

Description

Any on-premises fixed telephones associated with a multi-line telephone system must ensure that “dispatchable location” information is conveyed with any 9-1-1 call made from such device. Any on- or off-premises, non-fixed devices associated with a multi-line system must also ensure that “dispatchable location” information is conveyed when technically feasible; otherwise, it shall provide dispatchable location based on end user manual update or alternative location information. “Dispatchable location” includes the street address of the caller, plus additional location information such as a suite, apartment, or similar information necessary to identify the location of the caller.

Description

A regional network of educational service centers shall be established by the State Board of Education to provide new services to schools. Services to be made available by such centers shall include the planning, implementation and evaluation of computer technology education.

Description

Employers are required to reimburse employees for all reasonable expenditures or losses required of the employee in the discharge of employment duties, and that inure to the benefit of the employer. This means that expenses for cell phones, laptops, and other personal devices that the employee incurs within the scope of his or her employment, and that directly relate to services for the employer, must be reimbursed unless: 1) The employee was not authorized or required to incur the expense. 2) The loss was due to an employee’s own negligence, normal wear, or theft (unless the theft was a result of the employer’s negligence). 3) If the employee failed to comply with the employer’s written expense reimbursement policy. The written reimbursement policy may provide specifications or guidelines for authorized necessary expenditures, and provide reimbursement in an amount less than 100% of the expense, so long as the employer does not have a policy that provides for no reimbursement or de minimis reimbursement.

Description

The following provisions only apply in the event that the Governor, Department of Public Health, or Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a disaster declaration due to public health concerns pursuant to Sections 4 or 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act or has imposed limits on the size of in-person meetings. The State Superintendent of Education may declare a requirement to use remote learning days or blended remote learning days. During remote learning days, schools shall conduct instruction remotely. During blended remote learning days, schools may utilize hybrid models of in-person and remote instruction. A remote or blended remote learning day may be met through the district’s implementation of an e-learning program. Remote learning days, blended remote learning days, and up to five remote and blended remote learning planning days shall be deemed pupil attendance days for calculation of the length of a school term.

Description

Each remote and blended remote learning day plan shall be posted on the district’s website where other policies, rules, and standards of conduct are posted.

Description

School districts may place students into a remote educational program pursuant to an adopted school board policy. A student may participate only after the school district and a person authorized to enroll the student determine that a remote educational program will best serve the student’s individual learning needs. A remote educational program is an educational program delivered to students in the home or other location outside of a school building that aligns to State learning standards, and the program is consistent with those given to students at the same level in the school district. Each student must have a written remote educational plan approved by the school district. The placement of a student in a remote educational program does not relieve the school district of the responsibility for ensuring the student will receive all programming and related services required by the IEP. This program does not include instruction delivered to students through an “E-Learning Program.”

Description

The notice that accompanies an honorable dismissal of an employee, in addition to the written notice mailed to the teacher, may be delivered by electronic mail.

Description

The following provisions only apply in the event that the Governor, Department of Public Health, or Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a disaster declaration due to public health concerns pursuant to Sections 4 or 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act or has imposed limits on the size of in-person meetings. If the Governor has declared a disaster due to a public health emergency, the requirements concerning prehearings and hearings are paused and do not begin to toll until the disaster proclamation is no longer in effect. If mutually agreed to in writing, the parties may proceed with the prehearing and hearing requirements remotely.

Description

Makes grants available for public schools to assist with feasibility studies in training green economy technology, and in the installation of renewable systems, including wind energy systems, smart grid technology, etc.

Description

For students who will enter 9th grade in the 2022-2023 school year and 2023-2024 school year, a student must take one year of a course that includes intensive instruction in computer literacy (which may be incorporated with another subject that fulfills another graduation requirement.)

Description

Elementary or secondary schools must provide notification to the student and his or her parent or guardian that the school may not request or require a student to provide a password or other account information to gain access to the student’s account or profile on a social networking website. Elementary or secondary schools must provide notification to the student and his or her parent or guardian that the school may conduct an investigation, or require a student to cooperate in an investigation, if there is specific information about activity that violates a disciplinary rule or policy. The notification must be published in the elementary or secondary school’s disciplinary rules, policies, handbook, or communicated by similar means.

Description

Employers are prohibited from requiring employee disclosure of social-media passwords, and are also prohibited from demanding access to social media accounts. Employers are not prohibited from maintaining workplace policies governing the use of the employer’s electronic equipment, including internet/social networking/email use, and are further not prohibited from monitoring the usage of the employer’s electronic equipment (without requesting or using any employee’s to provide any password in order to gain access to the employee’s personal account).

Description

Each public school district, through its school board or designee, must conduct a minimum of one annual meeting to review each school building’s emergency and crisis response plans, protocols, and procedures, including procedures regarding the school district’s threat assessment team, the efficacy and effects of law enforcement drills, and each building’s compliance with the school safety drill programs. In updating a school building’s emergency and crisis response plans, consideration may be given to making the response plans available to first responders, administrators, and teachers for implementation and utilization through the use of electronic applications on electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Description

School districts shall give public notice of the schedule of regular meetings at the beginning of each calendar or fiscal year and shall state the regular dates, times, and places of such meetings. An agenda for each regular meeting shall be posted at the principal office of the school district and at the location where the meeting is to be held at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting. A district with a full-time staff operating a website shall also post on its website the agenda of any regular meetings. Any agenda of a regular meeting that is posted on a website shall remain posted until the regular meeting is concluded.

Description

School districts must include a mechanism (such as an email address) on its Internet website for members of the public to electronically communicate with school board members.

Description

The school district shall maintain on its Internet website the names of all voting members of the school board who have successfully completed professional development leadership training.

Description

School bus drivers are required to have either an operating two-way radio or a cellular radio telecommunications device while in possession of the bus. It is a petty offense for a school bus driver to use a cellular device when the school bus is moving, unless the use falls within the enumerated exceptions, including, but not limited to: (1) using the cell phone in an emergency or (2) using the cell phone while the bus is parked.

Description

For school districts, the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant Program provides funding for school safety, textbooks and software, electronic textbooks (and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and use electronic textbooks), teacher training and curriculum development, school improvements, school report cards, and criminal history records checks. For State-recognized, non-public schools, the program provides funding for secular textbooks and software, criminal history records checks, and health and safety mandates to the extent that the funds are expended for purely secular purposes.

Description

No later than December 1, 2022, and each December 1st thereafter, each school district must report to ISBE data related to the number of personnel holding school support personnel endorsements, and must make that information available on the district’s website.

Description

A school district entering into a severance agreement with an employee or contractor because the employee or contractor was found to have engaged in sexual harassment or sexual discrimination must publish on its website, if one is maintained: (i) the name and title of the person receiving payment; (ii) the amount of the payment; (iii) the employee or contractor was found to have engaged in sexual harassment or sexual discrimination; and (iv) the date, time, and location of the meeting at which the school district approved the severance agreement.

Description

A minor is prohibited from distributing or disseminating an indecent visual depiction of another minor through the use of a computer or electronic communication device. Further, under the Child Pornography statute, juveniles and adults could be charged with Child Pornography, a Class 1 Felony, if a person with the knowledge of the content, disseminates or is in possession of any depiction of any child whom the person knows or should know the person to be under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts.

Description

Each school district must develop an employee code of professional conduct policy in accordance with the requirements of Faith’s Law and post the policy on its website.

Description

Each school district is required to complete a “Shared Service Reporting and Fiscal Efficiency” report for the State Board of Education that includes, among other things, the incidence of shared service options for technology services and STEM program offerings. This report must be approved by the school board at an open meeting that allows for public comment and published on the school district’s website, if any.

Description

Each school district must complete an annual report developed by the State Board of Education to accompany the annual financial report, and to be published on the State Board of Education’s website, that summarizes district attempts to improve fiscal efficiency through shared services. Such report shall include, but is not limited to, shared service options such as technology services, supply and equipment purchasing, and STEM program offerings.This report must be approved by the school board at an open meeting that allows for public comment.

Description

The curriculum information presented on the School Report Card must include “computer science courses.” “Computer science” is defined as “the study of computers and algorithms, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their implementation, and their impact on society. ‘Computer science’ does not include the study of everyday uses of computers and computer applications, such as keyboarding or accessing the Internet.”

Description

The State Board of Education administers the School STEAM Grant Program to make science, technology, engineering, art, and math programming available to low-income students in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Description

School districts that collect biometric information from students shall adopt policies that require, at a minimum, all of the following: (i) Written permission from the individual who has legal custody of the student or from the student if he or she has reached the age of 18. (ii) Discontinuation of use of a student’s biometric information upon the student’s graduation or withdrawal; or upon receipt in writing a request for discontinuation by the individual who has legal custody of the student or from the student if he or she has reached the age of 18. (iii) Destruction of a student’s biometric information within 30 days after the use of the biometric information is discontinued. (iv) The use of biometric information solely for identification or fraud prevention. (v) Prohibition on the sale, lease, or disclosure of biometric information (unless there is consent or disclosure required by court order). (vi) Storage, transmittal and protection of biometric information from disclosure. “Biometric information” means any information that is collected through an identification process for individuals based on their unique behavioral or physiological characteristics, including fingerprint, hand geometry, voice, or facial recognition or iris or retinal scans.

Description

Each school must provide contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and for the Crisis Text Line on the back of each student identification card. If the school district does not issue student identification cards to all students, it must publish this information on its website.

Description

Effective July 1, 2021, each school shall post and maintain on its website, or make available for inspection the following information: (i) a “layperson” explanation of the data elements of covered information under the Student Online Protection Act that the school collects, maintains, or discloses to any person or entity, and how the school uses and discloses the information, and the purpose of the use of such information; (ii) a list of operators that the school has written agreements with, a copy of each written agreement, and a business address for each operator; (iii) for each operator, a list of any subcontractors to whom covered information may be disclosed, or a link to the operator’s website that lists that information; (iv) a written description of procedures a parent may use to exercise rights granted by the Act; (v) a list of any breaches of covered information that includes: (1) the number of students involved (unless disclosure violates Personal Information Protection Act); (2) the date or estimated date range of the breach; and (3) if an operator breach, the name of the operator. Schools must update items (i)(iii)(iv)and (v) no later than 30 days following the start of a fiscal year, and no later than 30 days following the beginning of a calendar year. If the number of students whose covered information involved in the breach is less than 10% of enrollment, the school may omit such breach.

Description

Upon a parent’s request, a school must request an operator to delete covered information on behalf of a student, so long as the deletion of the covered information does not violate State or federal records laws.

Description

No school district may sell, rent, lease or trade any covered information. (i) Additionally, schools (other than nonpublic schools) may not share, transfer, disclose, or provide access to a student’s covered information to an entity or individual, other than the student’s parent, school personnel, appointed or elected school board members or local school council members, or the State Board, absent a written agreement, unlessi) it is for the protection and safety of others, or the security or integrity of the operator’s service; (ii) required by court order or State or federal law; or (iii) to ensure legal or regulatory compliance.