New Statutes of Note
After a busy legislative season this spring, which saw several changes coming to Illinois schools - including the reversal of the end-of-career TRS limits from 3% back to 6%, a few statutes have already been signed into law by Governor Pritzker which are notable:
PA 101-67 (effective January 1, 2020) increases the amount a time for a board of education to fill a vacancy on the board from 45 days to 60 days.
PA 101-46 (effective July 12, 2019) clarifies the rights of educational support personnel upon return from layoff/RIF. Specifically, an employee who is recalled from a RIF within one calendar year from the beginning of the following school term shall maintain any rights accrued during his or her previous service with the school district.
PA 101-177 (effective July 31, 2019) amends the Illinois Equal Pay Act to prohibit employers from inquiring about or using prior salary, wage, or benefit information from an applicant. While this statute is likely to have a much larger impact in the private sector where salaries are more often individually-bargained, school districts should take notice of the change and be sure that their job applications forms or hiring processes do not ask for the prohibited information, including current or prior wages or salary histories, including benefits or other compensation.
PA 101-205 (effective January 1, 2020) expands the School Code's self-administration of medication provision from only asthma medication to include medications included in a student's 504, allergy, or emergency action plan.
It is also worth noting that the Governor, last year, signed PA 100-768, which requires, beginning this (2019-2020) school year, that the PERA joint committee (which is distinct from the RIF joint committee) meet annually "to assess and review the effectiveness of the district's evaluation plan for the purposes of continuous improvement of instruction and evaluation practice."