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Illinois Senate Bill SB1850

Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois Senate Bill SB1850 Compare Versions

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11 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1850 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning teacher evaluation plans, provides that for teachers not in contractual continued service who participate in a new teacher induction and mentoring program established by the school district in which they are employed, non-evaluative mentor observation and feedback may be used in place of one evaluation observation. LRB104 03472 LNS 13495 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1850 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning teacher evaluation plans, provides that for teachers not in contractual continued service who participate in a new teacher induction and mentoring program established by the school district in which they are employed, non-evaluative mentor observation and feedback may be used in place of one evaluation observation. LRB104 03472 LNS 13495 b LRB104 03472 LNS 13495 b A BILL FOR
22 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1850 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
33 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
44 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
55 Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning teacher evaluation plans, provides that for teachers not in contractual continued service who participate in a new teacher induction and mentoring program established by the school district in which they are employed, non-evaluative mentor observation and feedback may be used in place of one evaluation observation.
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1111 1 AN ACT concerning education.
1212 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1313 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1414 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
1515 5 24A-5 as follows:
1616 6 (105 ILCS 5/24A-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5)
1717 7 Sec. 24A-5. Content of evaluation plans. This Section does
1818 8 not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in an
1919 9 agreement entered into between the board of a school district
2020 10 operating under Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive
2121 11 representative of the district's teachers in accordance with
2222 12 Section 34-85c of this Code.
2323 13 Each school district to which this Article applies shall
2424 14 establish a teacher evaluation plan which ensures that each
2525 15 teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least
2626 16 once in the course of every 2 or 3 school years as provided in
2727 17 this Section.
2828 18 Each school district shall establish a teacher evaluation
2929 19 plan that ensures that:
3030 20 (1) each teacher not in contractual continued service
3131 21 is evaluated at least once every school year; and
3232 22 (2) except as otherwise provided in this Section, each
3333 23 teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at
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3737 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1850 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3838 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5 105 ILCS 5/24A-5 from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5
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6868 1 least once in the course of every 2 school years. However,
6969 2 any teacher in contractual continued service whose
7070 3 performance is rated as either "needs improvement" or
7171 4 "unsatisfactory" must be evaluated at least once in the
7272 5 school year following the receipt of such rating.
7373 6 No later than September 1, 2022, each school district must
7474 7 establish a teacher evaluation plan that ensures that each
7575 8 teacher in contractual continued service whose performance is
7676 9 rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" is evaluated at
7777 10 least once in the course of the 3 school years after receipt of
7878 11 the rating and implement an informal teacher observation plan
7979 12 established by agency rule and by agreement of the joint
8080 13 committee established under subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of
8181 14 this Code that ensures that each teacher in contractual
8282 15 continued service whose performance is rated as either
8383 16 "excellent" or "proficient" is informally observed at least
8484 17 once in the course of the 2 school years after receipt of the
8585 18 rating.
8686 19 For the 2022-2023 school year only, if the Governor has
8787 20 declared a disaster due to a public health emergency pursuant
8888 21 to Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act,
8989 22 a school district may waive the evaluation requirement of all
9090 23 teachers in contractual continued service whose performances
9191 24 were rated as either "excellent" or "proficient" during the
9292 25 last school year in which the teachers were evaluated under
9393 26 this Section.
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104104 1 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section
105105 2 or any other Section of this Code, a principal shall not be
106106 3 prohibited from evaluating any teachers within a school during
107107 4 his or her first year as principal of such school. If a
108108 5 first-year principal exercises this option in a school
109109 6 district where the evaluation plan provides for a teacher in
110110 7 contractual continued service to be evaluated once in the
111111 8 course of every 2 or 3 school years, as applicable, then a new
112112 9 2-year or 3-year evaluation plan must be established.
113113 10 For teachers not in contractual continued service who
114114 11 participate in a new teacher induction and mentoring program
115115 12 established by the school district in which they are employed,
116116 13 non-evaluative mentor observation and feedback may be used in
117117 14 place of one evaluation observation.
118118 15 The evaluation plan shall comply with the requirements of
119119 16 this Section and of any rules adopted by the State Board of
120120 17 Education pursuant to this Section.
121121 18 The plan shall include a description of each teacher's
122122 19 duties and responsibilities and of the standards to which that
123123 20 teacher is expected to conform, and shall include at least the
124124 21 following components:
125125 22 (a) personal observation of the teacher in the
126126 23 classroom by the evaluator, unless the teacher has no
127127 24 classroom duties.
128128 25 (b) consideration of the teacher's attendance,
129129 26 planning, instructional methods, classroom management,
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140140 1 where relevant, and competency in the subject matter
141141 2 taught.
142142 3 (c) by no later than the applicable implementation
143143 4 date, consideration of student growth as a significant
144144 5 factor in the rating of the teacher's performance.
145145 6 (d) prior to September 1, 2012, rating of the
146146 7 performance of teachers in contractual continued service
147147 8 as either:
148148 9 (i) "excellent", "satisfactory" or
149149 10 "unsatisfactory"; or
150150 11 (ii) "excellent", "proficient", "needs
151151 12 improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
152152 13 (e) on and after September 1, 2012, rating of the
153153 14 performance of all teachers as "excellent", "proficient",
154154 15 "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory".
155155 16 (f) specification as to the teacher's strengths and
156156 17 weaknesses, with supporting reasons for the comments made.
157157 18 (g) inclusion of a copy of the evaluation in the
158158 19 teacher's personnel file and provision of a copy to the
159159 20 teacher.
160160 21 (h) within 30 school days after the completion of an
161161 22 evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
162162 23 service as "needs improvement", development by the
163163 24 evaluator, in consultation with the teacher, and taking
164164 25 into account the teacher's ongoing on-going professional
165165 26 responsibilities including his or her regular teaching
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176176 1 assignments, of a professional development plan directed
177177 2 to the areas that need improvement and any supports that
178178 3 the district will provide to address the areas identified
179179 4 as needing improvement.
180180 5 (i) within 30 school days after completion of an
181181 6 evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued
182182 7 service as "unsatisfactory", development and commencement
183183 8 by the district of a remediation plan designed to correct
184184 9 deficiencies cited, provided the deficiencies are deemed
185185 10 remediable. In all school districts the remediation plan
186186 11 for unsatisfactory, tenured teachers shall provide for 90
187187 12 school days of remediation within the classroom, unless an
188188 13 applicable collective bargaining agreement provides for a
189189 14 shorter duration. In all school districts evaluations
190190 15 issued pursuant to this Section shall be issued within 10
191191 16 days after the conclusion of the respective remediation
192192 17 plan. However, the school board or other governing
193193 18 authority of the district shall not lose jurisdiction to
194194 19 discharge a teacher in the event the evaluation is not
195195 20 issued within 10 days after the conclusion of the
196196 21 respective remediation plan.
197197 22 (j) participation in the remediation plan by the
198198 23 teacher in contractual continued service rated
199199 24 "unsatisfactory", an evaluator and a consulting teacher
200200 25 selected by the evaluator of the teacher who was rated
201201 26 "unsatisfactory", which consulting teacher is an
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212212 1 educational employee as defined in the Illinois
213213 2 Educational Labor Relations Act, has at least 5 years'
214214 3 teaching experience, and a reasonable familiarity with the
215215 4 assignment of the teacher being evaluated, and who
216216 5 received an "excellent" rating on his or her most recent
217217 6 evaluation. Where no teachers who meet these criteria are
218218 7 available within the district, the district shall request
219219 8 and the applicable regional office of education shall
220220 9 supply, to participate in the remediation process, an
221221 10 individual who meets these criteria.
222222 11 In a district having a population of less than 500,000
223223 12 with an exclusive bargaining agent, the bargaining agent
224224 13 may, if it so chooses, supply a roster of qualified
225225 14 teachers from whom the consulting teacher is to be
226226 15 selected. That roster shall, however, contain the names of
227227 16 at least 5 teachers, each of whom meets the criteria for
228228 17 consulting teacher with regard to the teacher being
229229 18 evaluated, or the names of all teachers so qualified if
230230 19 that number is less than 5. In the event of a dispute as to
231231 20 qualification, the State Board shall determine
232232 21 qualification.
233233 22 (k) a mid-point and final evaluation by an evaluator
234234 23 during and at the end of the remediation period,
235235 24 immediately following receipt of a remediation plan
236236 25 provided for under subsections (i) and (j) of this
237237 26 Section. Each evaluation shall assess the teacher's
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248248 1 performance during the time period since the prior
249249 2 evaluation; provided that the last evaluation shall also
250250 3 include an overall evaluation of the teacher's performance
251251 4 during the remediation period. A written copy of the
252252 5 evaluations and ratings, in which any deficiencies in
253253 6 performance and recommendations for correction are
254254 7 identified, shall be provided to and discussed with the
255255 8 teacher within 10 school days after the date of the
256256 9 evaluation, unless an applicable collective bargaining
257257 10 agreement provides to the contrary. These subsequent
258258 11 evaluations shall be conducted by an evaluator. The
259259 12 consulting teacher shall provide advice to the teacher
260260 13 rated "unsatisfactory" on how to improve teaching skills
261261 14 and to successfully complete the remediation plan. The
262262 15 consulting teacher shall participate in developing the
263263 16 remediation plan, but the final decision as to the
264264 17 evaluation shall be done solely by the evaluator, unless
265265 18 an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides to
266266 19 the contrary. Evaluations at the conclusion of the
267267 20 remediation process shall be separate and distinct from
268268 21 the required annual evaluations of teachers and shall not
269269 22 be subject to the guidelines and procedures relating to
270270 23 those annual evaluations. The evaluator may but is not
271271 24 required to use the forms provided for the annual
272272 25 evaluation of teachers in the district's evaluation plan.
273273 26 (l) reinstatement to the evaluation schedule set forth
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284284 1 in the district's evaluation plan for any teacher in
285285 2 contractual continued service who achieves a rating equal
286286 3 to or better than "satisfactory" or "proficient" in the
287287 4 school year following a rating of "needs improvement" or
288288 5 "unsatisfactory".
289289 6 (m) dismissal in accordance with subsection (d) of
290290 7 Section 24-12 or Section 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code of
291291 8 any teacher who fails to complete any applicable
292292 9 remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a
293293 10 "satisfactory" or "proficient" rating. Districts and
294294 11 teachers subject to dismissal hearings are precluded from
295295 12 compelling the testimony of consulting teachers at such
296296 13 hearings under subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section
297297 14 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code, either as to the rating
298298 15 process or for opinions of performances by teachers under
299299 16 remediation.
300300 17 (n) After the implementation date of an evaluation
301301 18 system for teachers in a district as specified in Section
302302 19 24A-2.5 of this Code, if a teacher in contractual
303303 20 continued service successfully completes a remediation
304304 21 plan following a rating of "unsatisfactory" in an overall
305305 22 performance evaluation received after the foregoing
306306 23 implementation date and receives a subsequent rating of
307307 24 "unsatisfactory" in any of the teacher's overall
308308 25 performance evaluation ratings received during the
309309 26 36-month period following the teacher's completion of the
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320320 1 remediation plan, then the school district may forgo
321321 2 remediation and seek dismissal in accordance with
322322 3 subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 34-85 of this
323323 4 Code.
324324 5 (o) Teachers who are due to be evaluated in the last
325325 6 year before they are set to retire shall be offered the
326326 7 opportunity to waive their evaluation and to retain their
327327 8 most recent rating, unless the teacher was last rated as
328328 9 "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory". The school
329329 10 district may still reserve the right to evaluate a teacher
330330 11 provided the district gives notice to the teacher at least
331331 12 14 days before the evaluation and a reason for evaluating
332332 13 the teacher.
333333 14 Nothing in this Section or Section 24A-4 shall be
334334 15 construed as preventing immediate dismissal of a teacher for
335335 16 deficiencies which are deemed irremediable or for actions
336336 17 which are injurious to or endanger the health or person of
337337 18 students in the classroom or school, or preventing the
338338 19 dismissal or non-renewal of teachers not in contractual
339339 20 continued service for any reason not prohibited by applicable
340340 21 employment, labor, and civil rights laws. Failure to strictly
341341 22 comply with the time requirements contained in Section 24A-5
342342 23 shall not invalidate the results of the remediation plan.
343343 24 Nothing contained in Public Act 98-648 repeals,
344344 25 supersedes, invalidates, or nullifies final decisions in
345345 26 lawsuits pending on July 1, 2014 (the effective date of Public
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