103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4265 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 Amends the Gifted and Talented Children and Children Eligible for Accelerated Placement Article of the School Code. Provides that, by no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy may (instead of shall) allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student exceeds (instead of meets or exceeds) State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under the School Code. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4265 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 Amends the Gifted and Talented Children and Children Eligible for Accelerated Placement Article of the School Code. Provides that, by no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy may (instead of shall) allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student exceeds (instead of meets or exceeds) State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under the School Code. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4265 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 Amends the Gifted and Talented Children and Children Eligible for Accelerated Placement Article of the School Code. Provides that, by no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy may (instead of shall) allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student exceeds (instead of meets or exceeds) State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under the School Code. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b A BILL FOR HB4265LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 AN ACT concerning education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 5 14A-32 as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/14A-32) 7 Sec. 14A-32. Accelerated placement; school district 8 responsibilities. 9 (a) Each school district shall have a policy that allows 10 for accelerated placement that includes or incorporates by 11 reference the following components: 12 (1) a provision that provides that participation in 13 accelerated placement is not limited to those children who 14 have been identified as gifted and talented, but rather is 15 open to all children who demonstrate high ability and who 16 may benefit from accelerated placement; 17 (2) a fair and equitable decision-making process that 18 involves multiple persons and includes a student's parents 19 or guardians; 20 (3) procedures for notifying parents or guardians of a 21 child of a decision affecting that child's participation 22 in an accelerated placement program; and 23 (4) an assessment process that includes multiple 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4265 Introduced , by Rep. Lance Yednock SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 Amends the Gifted and Talented Children and Children Eligible for Accelerated Placement Article of the School Code. Provides that, by no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy may (instead of shall) allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student exceeds (instead of meets or exceeds) State standards in English language arts, mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered under the School Code. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b A BILL FOR 105 ILCS 5/14A-32 LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265- 2 -LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 2 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 2 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 valid, reliable indicators. 2 (a-5) By no later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 3 school year, a school district's accelerated placement policy 4 may shall allow for the automatic enrollment, in the following 5 school term, of a student into the next most rigorous level of 6 advanced coursework offered by the high school if the student 7 meets or exceeds State standards in English language arts, 8 mathematics, or science on a State assessment administered 9 under Section 2-3.64a-5 as follows: 10 (1) A student who meets or exceeds State standards in 11 English language arts may shall be automatically enrolled 12 into the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework 13 in English, social studies, humanities, or related 14 subjects. 15 (2) A student who meets or exceeds State standards in 16 mathematics may shall be automatically enrolled into the 17 next most rigorous level of advanced coursework in 18 mathematics. 19 (3) A student who meets or exceeds State standards in 20 science may shall be automatically enrolled into the next 21 most rigorous level of advanced coursework in science. 22 For a student entering grade 12, the next most rigorous 23 level of advanced coursework in English language arts or 24 mathematics shall be a dual credit course, as defined in the 25 Dual Credit Quality Act, an Advanced Placement course, as 26 defined in Section 10 of the College and Career Success for All HB4265 - 2 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265- 3 -LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 3 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 3 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 Students Act, or an International Baccalaureate course; 2 otherwise, the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework 3 under this subsection (a-5) may include a dual credit course, 4 as defined in the Dual Credit Quality Act, an Advanced 5 Placement course, as defined in Section 10 of the College and 6 Career Success for All Students Act, an International 7 Baccalaureate course, an honors class, an enrichment 8 opportunity, a gifted program, or another program offered by 9 the district. 10 A school district may use the student's most recent State 11 assessment results to determine whether a student meets or 12 exceeds State standards. For a student entering grade 9, 13 results from the State assessment taken in grades 6 through 8 14 may be used. For other high school grades, the results from a 15 locally selected, nationally normed assessment may be used 16 instead of the State assessment if those results are the most 17 recent. 18 A school district must provide the parent or guardian of a 19 student eligible for automatic enrollment under this 20 subsection (a-5) with the option to instead have the student 21 enroll in alternative coursework that better aligns with the 22 student's postsecondary education or career goals. 23 Nothing in this subsection (a-5) may be interpreted to 24 preclude other students from enrolling in advanced coursework 25 per the policy of a school district. 26 (b) Further, a school district's accelerated placement HB4265 - 3 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265- 4 -LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 4 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 4 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 policy may include or incorporate by reference, but need not 2 be limited to, the following components: 3 (1) procedures for annually informing the community 4 at-large, including parents or guardians, community-based 5 organizations, and providers of out-of-school programs, 6 about the accelerated placement program and the methods 7 used for the identification of children eligible for 8 accelerated placement, including strategies to reach 9 groups of students and families who have been historically 10 underrepresented in accelerated placement programs and 11 advanced coursework; 12 (2) a process for referral that allows for multiple 13 referrers, including a child's parents or guardians; other 14 referrers may include licensed education professionals, 15 the child, with the written consent of a parent or 16 guardian, a peer, through a licensed education 17 professional who has knowledge of the referred child's 18 abilities, or, in case of possible early entrance, a 19 preschool educator, pediatrician, or psychologist who 20 knows the child; 21 (3) a provision that provides that children 22 participating in an accelerated placement program and 23 their parents or guardians will be provided a written plan 24 detailing the type of acceleration the child will receive 25 and strategies to support the child; 26 (4) procedures to provide support and promote success HB4265 - 4 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265- 5 -LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 5 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 5 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 for students who are newly enrolled in an accelerated 2 placement program; 3 (5) a process for the school district to review and 4 utilize disaggregated data on participation in an 5 accelerated placement program to address gaps among 6 demographic groups in accelerated placement opportunities; 7 and 8 (6) procedures to promote equity, which may 9 incorporate one or more of the following evidence-based 10 practices: 11 (A) the use of multiple tools to assess 12 exceptional potential and provide several pathways 13 into advanced academic programs when assessing student 14 need for advanced academic or accelerated programming; 15 (B) providing enrichment opportunities starting in 16 the early grades to address achievement gaps that 17 occur at school entry and provide students with 18 opportunities to demonstrate their advanced potential; 19 (C) the use of universal screening combined with 20 local school-based norms for placement in accelerated 21 and advanced learning programs; 22 (D) developing a continuum of services to identify 23 and develop talent in all learners ranging from 24 enriched learning experiences, such as problem-based 25 learning, performance tasks, critical thinking, and 26 career exploration, to accelerated placement and HB4265 - 5 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265- 6 -LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 6 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b HB4265 - 6 - LRB103 35705 RJT 65781 b 1 advanced academic programming; and 2 (E) providing professional learning in gifted 3 education for teachers and other appropriate school 4 personnel to appropriately identify and challenge 5 students from diverse cultures and backgrounds who may 6 benefit from accelerated placement or advanced 7 academic programming. 8 (c) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 9 determine data to be collected and disaggregated by 10 demographic group regarding accelerated placement, including 11 the rates of students who participate in and successfully 12 complete advanced coursework, and a method of making the 13 information available to the public. 14 (d) On or before November 1, 2022, following a review of 15 disaggregated data on the participation and successful 16 completion rates of students enrolled in an accelerated 17 placement program, each school district shall develop a plan 18 to expand access to its accelerated placement program and to 19 ensure the teaching capacity necessary to meet the increased 20 demand. 21 (Source: P.A. 102-209, eff. 11-30-21 (See Section 5 of P.A. 22 102-671 for effective date of P.A. 102-209); 103-263, eff. 23 6-30-23.) 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