Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois Senate Bill SB1555 Latest Draft

Bill / Engrossed Version Filed 04/03/2025

                            SB1555 EngrossedLRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed  LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed  LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 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  14-3.01 as follows:
6  (105 ILCS 5/14-3.01)    (from Ch. 122, par. 14-3.01)
7  Sec. 14-3.01. Advisory Council. This amendatory Act of
8  1998, in compliance with the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997,
9  makes changes in the membership and responsibilities of the
10  Advisory Council on the Education of Children with
11  Disabilities. The Council shall provide advice and policy
12  guidance to the Governor, General Assembly, and the State
13  Board of Education with respect to special education and
14  related services for children with disabilities. The State
15  Board of Education shall seek the advice of the Advisory
16  Council regarding all rules and regulations related to the
17  education of children with disabilities that are to be
18  promulgated by the State Board of Education. The State Board
19  of Education shall seek the advice of the Advisory Council on
20  modifications or additions to comprehensive plans submitted
21  under Section 14-4.01. The Council shall consider any rule or
22  regulation or plan submitted to it by the State Board of
23  Education within 60 days after its receipt by the chairperson

 

  SB1555 Engrossed  LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 2 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 2 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 2 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  of the Council.
2  Additionally, the Advisory Council shall: (1) advise the
3  General Assembly, the Governor, and the State Board of
4  Education on unmet needs in the education of children with
5  disabilities; (2) assist the State Board of Education in
6  developing evaluations and reporting on data to the United
7  States Secretary of Education; (3) advise the State Board of
8  Education relative to qualifications for hearing officers and
9  the rules and procedures for hearings conducted under Section
10  14-8.02 or 14-8.02a; (4) comment publicly on any rules or
11  regulations proposed by the State regarding the education of
12  children with disabilities and the procedures for distribution
13  of funds under this Act; (5) advise the State Board of
14  Education in developing corrective action plans to address
15  findings identified in federal monitoring reports pursuant to
16  the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; (6) advise
17  State and local education agencies regarding educational
18  programs and materials that may be provided to children with
19  disabilities to enable them to fully exercise their
20  constitutional and legal rights and entitlements as citizens,
21  including those afforded under the Federal Rehabilitation Act
22  of 1973, as amended, and the Illinois Human Rights Act; and (7)
23  advise the State Board of Education in developing and
24  implementing policies relating to the coordination of services
25  for children with disabilities.
26  The Council shall be composed of 28 27 members, including

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 2 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 3 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 3 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 3 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  23 voting members appointed by the Governor and 5 4 ex-officio
2  voting members. Members shall be broadly representative of the
3  State's population in regard to developmental, physical, and
4  mental disabilities, race, ethnic background, gender, and
5  geographic location. Nine members shall be parents of children
6  with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years currently
7  receiving special education services at public expense. Five
8  members shall be individuals with disabilities, including one
9  student or former student who is at least 18 years of age and
10  no older than 21 years of age at the time of his or her
11  appointment to the Council and who is receiving special
12  education services at public expense or received those
13  services at the time his or her high school program
14  terminated. Within 30 days after the effective date of this
15  amendatory Act of 1998, the Governor or his designee shall
16  invite statewide organizations, being as inclusive as possible
17  and based upon a reasonable inquiry, and Parent Training and
18  Information Centers representing parents of children with
19  disabilities, individuals with disabilities or both, to
20  convene for the purpose of recommending to the Governor twice
21  the number of individuals required to be appointed as members
22  from each of the categories described in this paragraph, from
23  which the Governor may appoint the 14 members of the Council
24  who are parents of children with disabilities and individuals
25  with disabilities. The 9 members who are parents of children
26  with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 years receiving

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 3 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 4 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 4 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 4 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  special education services at public expense and the 5 members
2  who are individuals with disabilities shall not be current
3  full or part-time employees of school districts, special
4  education cooperatives, regional service areas or centers, or
5  any agency under the jurisdiction of any elected State
6  official.
7  In addition, the Governor shall appoint one regional
8  superintendent of schools, one representative of an
9  institution of higher education that prepares special
10  education and related services personnel, one teacher of
11  students with disabilities, one superintendent of a public
12  school district, one director of a special education
13  cooperative or special education administrator from a school
14  district of less than 500,000 population, one representative
15  of a public charter school, one representative of a private
16  school serving children with disabilities, one representative
17  of a vocational, community, or business organization that
18  provides transition services to children with disabilities,
19  and one at-large member from the general public. In addition,
20  the Secretary of Human Services or his or her designee, the
21  Director of Children and Family Services or his or her
22  designee, the Director of Corrections or his or her designee,
23  the Secretary of Early Childhood or his or her designee, and
24  the Director of Special Education for the City of Chicago
25  School District #299 or his or her designee shall serve as
26  ex-officio voting members of the Council.

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 4 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 5 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 5 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 5 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  All Council members shall be legal residents of the State
2  of Illinois and shall be selected, as far as practicable, on
3  the basis of their knowledge of, or experience in, the
4  education of children with disabilities.
5  The initial members to be appointed to the Council by the
6  Governor under the provisions of this amendatory Act of 1998
7  shall be appointed within 60 days after the effective date of
8  that amendatory Act; provided that those persons who are
9  serving as Council members on that effective date and who, as
10  determined by the Governor after consultation with the State
11  Board of Education, meet the requirements established by this
12  amendatory Act for appointment to membership on the Council
13  shall continue to serve as Council members until the
14  completion of the remainder of their current terms. The
15  initial members of the Council who are not Council members on
16  the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998 and who are
17  appointed by the Governor under this amendatory Act of 1998
18  shall by lot determine one-third of their number to serve for a
19  term of 2 years (provided that person appointed as the student
20  or former student member shall be included among those members
21  who are to serve a term of 2 years), one-third of their number
22  to serve for a term of 3 years, and one-third of their number
23  to serve for a term of 4 years; provided, that if the total
24  number of initial members so appointed by the Governor is not
25  divisible into 3 whole numbers, all of the initial members so
26  appointed shall by lot be assigned to 3 groups as follows: (i)

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 5 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 6 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 6 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 6 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  the members assigned to the first group, who shall include the
2  student or former student member and who shall be equal in
3  number to the number of members who are assigned to the second
4  group, shall serve for a term of 2 years; (ii) the members
5  assigned to the second group, who shall be equal in number to
6  the number of members who are assigned to the first group,
7  shall serve for a term of 3 years; and (iii) the members
8  assigned to the third group, who shall comprise the remainder
9  of the initial members so appointed by the Governor and whose
10  number shall be either one more or one less than the number of
11  members assigned to either the first group or second group,
12  shall serve for a term of 4 years. Upon expiration of the term
13  of office of a member of the Council who is not an ex-officio
14  member, his or her successor shall be appointed by the
15  Governor to serve for a term of 4 years, except that a
16  successor appointed as the student or former student member
17  shall be appointed to serve for a term of 2 years. Each member
18  of the Council who is not an ex-officio member and whose term
19  of office expires shall nevertheless continue to serve as a
20  Council member until his or her successor is appointed. Each
21  of the 4 ex-officio members of the Council shall continue to
22  serve as a Council member during the period in which he or she
23  continues to hold the office by reason of which he or she
24  became an ex-officio member of the Council. The initial
25  members of the Council who are not ex-officio members shall
26  not, upon completion of their respective initial terms, be

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 6 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 7 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 7 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 7 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  appointed to serve more than one additional consecutive term
2  of 4 years, nor shall any successor member of the Council be
3  appointed to serve more than 2 full consecutive 4-year terms;
4  provided, that a person appointed as the student or former
5  student member shall serve only one two-year term and shall
6  not be reappointed to serve for an additional term. Vacancies
7  in Council memberships held by parents of children with
8  disabilities or individuals with disabilities may be filled
9  from the original list of such parents and individuals
10  recommended to the Governor. The Governor shall reconvene the
11  group of organizations that provided the original list of
12  parents of children with disabilities and individuals with
13  disabilities when additional recommendations for those Council
14  memberships are needed, but at a minimum the group shall be
15  convened every 2 years for the purpose of updating the list of
16  recommended parents or individuals. A vacancy in an appointed
17  membership on the Council shall be filled for the unexpired
18  balance of the term of that membership in the same manner that
19  the original appointment for that membership was made.
20  The terms of all persons serving as Advisory Council
21  members on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1998
22  who are not determined by the Governor, after consultation
23  with the State Board of Education, to meet the requirements
24  established by this amendatory Act for appointment to initial
25  membership on the Council shall terminate on the date that the
26  Governor completes his appointments of the initial members of

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 7 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b


SB1555 Engrossed- 8 -LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b   SB1555 Engrossed - 8 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
  SB1555 Engrossed - 8 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b
1  the Council under this amendatory Act, and the members of the
2  Council as constituted under this amendatory Act shall take
3  office and assume their powers and duties on that date.
4  The Council as constituted under this amendatory Act of
5  1998 shall organize with a chairperson selected by the Council
6  members and shall meet at the call of the chairperson upon 10
7  days written notice but not less than 4 times a year. The
8  Council shall establish such committees and procedures as it
9  deems appropriate to carry out its responsibilities under this
10  Act and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
11  Act.
12  The State Board of Education shall designate an employee
13  to act as executive secretary of the Council and shall furnish
14  all professional and clerical assistance necessary for the
15  performance of its duties.
16  Members of the Council shall serve without compensation
17  but shall be reimbursed for the necessary expenses incurred in
18  the performance of their duties in accordance with the State
19  Board of Education's Travel Control Policy.
20  (Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97;
21  90-644, eff. 7-24-98.)
22  Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23  becoming law.

 

 

  SB1555 Engrossed - 8 - LRB104 10971 LNS 21053 b