Read what happened in Springfield this week on legislation to address the teacher shortage, an elected school board for Chicago, and more.
This week in Springfield, lawmakers prepared for next week’s 3rd reading deadline. Each chamber must move bills over to the opposite chamber by that deadline for individual proposals to stay alive. The following are highlights of this week’s action.
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Charters
HB 2100 (Welch, D-Westchester). This proposal abolishes the State Charter School Commission. A 3rd Amendment to the bill was by the House Education Licensing Committee on a partisan vote. HB 2100 continues to be negotiated.
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Teacher shortage and licensure
HB 1472 (Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville) will be sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Plainfield) in the Senate. HB 1472 allows retired teachers under TRS to return to work in districts deemed to have a subject shortage area without impacting their pension benefit. No additional service credit will accumulate as a result of the work. HB 2056 (Parkhurst, R- Kankakee). This proposal would allow teacher candidates who fail the Basic Skills test to instead complete a full year of student teaching or internship in a school. It also allows an alternative that if a candidate for teacher licensure completes a year of internship in a school, they would not be required to pass the Basic Skills test. HB 2056 passed the House Education, Administration, Licensing and Charter Committee. HB 423 (Scherer, D-Decatur). This proposal repeals the requirement for candidates for educator licensure to pass the Basis Skills test, however the candidate must receive at least a “C” grade in their student teaching class and pass content area tests. HB 423 passed the House Education, Administration, Licensing and Charter Committee.
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Elected school board for Chicago
HB 2267 (Martwick, D-Chicago). HB 2267 would replace the current board, as appointed by the mayor, with a 21-member elected board by voters. It would take effect in 2023. HB 2267 passed in the House by a vote of 110-2 and now heads to the Senate.
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Consent education
HB 3550 (Williams, D-Chicago.) HB 3550 requires sexual education courses in grades 6-12 to include material, instruction, and age-appropriate discussion on the meaning of consent. HB 3550 passed in the House (103-6) in the House and now moves to the Senate.
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Watch Under the Dome throughout the legislative session for the latest news from Springfield.
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