Capitol Watch
Below you will find links to detailed information about the status of current education-related bills in the Legislature. Click on the bill number to access the Illinois General Assembly website containing full text and all actions associated with the bill. Those bills identified with an asterisk* are IEA initiatives.
| Bill # (current status of bill can be found by clicking on the bill #) | Description | Position | Topic | Fact Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repeals the 3% salary limitation applied to TRS and SURS participants and reverts it back to the previous limit of 6% | Support | Other | ||
| Re-inserts language that established the five-hour instructional school day | Support | Other | ||
| Provides that a school district's decision to allow a student to take a portion of a driver education course through a distance learning program must be determined on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the student's driver education teacher and the student's parent or guardian; defines "distance learning program" | Support | Driver Education | ||
| Provides that on July 1, 2020, the State Charter School Commission is abolished and the terms of all members end. Provides that all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and pending business of the Commission are transferred to the State Board of Education on that date. | Support | Charter Schools | Fact Sheet | |
| Sets the minimum starting salary for a teacher in Illinois at $40,000 | Support | Other | ||
| Creates the Family and Medical Leave Act | Support | Other | ||
| Creates the Paid Family Leave Act | Support | Other | ||
| Creates the Paid Family Leave Act | Support | Other | ||
| Removes the basics skills test for licensure. Allows each school district to pay a student teacher. Allows for the reimbursement of Ed TPA fees if employed by a Tier 1 school for a minimum of one year. | Support | Other | ||
| Provides that on July 1, 2020, the State Charter School Commission is abolished and the terms of all members end. Provides that all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and pending business of the Commission are transferred to the State Board of Education on that date. | Support | Charter Schools | Fact Sheet | |
| Would require commercial driving schools which have been subcontracted by a school district to adhere to the same guidelines, practices and observations as outlined in PERA as driver education instructors employed by the school district | Support | Driver Education | ||
| Creates Risk Assessment Protocol Teams for school districts. Outlines the authority to create the teams, makeup of these teams, and responsibilities for the teams. This legislation also expands the county sales tax expenditure to include school health and safety personnel. | Support | Threat Assessment | ||
| Creates the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act. Provides that to raise mental health awareness on college campuses, each public college or university in this State must complete specified tasks. Provides that the board of trustees of each public college or university must designate an expert panel to develop and implement policies and procedures. | Support | Higher Ed | ||
| Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In the provision defining “eligible employment” for the purpose of allowing a teacher to return to teaching in subject shortage areas without impairing his or her retirement status or retirement annuity, changes the ending date of the employment from no later than June 30, 2019 to no later than June 30, 2021. | Support | Pensions | ||
| Fair Tax - Proposes to amend the Revenue Article of the Illinois Constitution. Removes a provision that provides that a tax on income shall be measured at a non-graduated rate. | Support | Revenue | ||
| Property Tax Freeze - Amends the Invest in Kids Act | Oppose | Revenue | ||
| Would allow members that are employed by a special education cooperative to have their accumulated sick leave from multiple employers within IMRF to be counted toward their annuity. The amount shall not exceed 240 days. | Support | Pensions | ||
| Provides important privacy protections for public employees, affirms key collective bargaining rights and clarifies voluntary employee dues deduction procedures | Support | Other | ||
| Re-establishes a pathway for paraprofessional candidates to gain licensure through taking a test of basic skills coupled with having earned a high school diploma | Support | Other | ||
| Pushes the implementation date for three-day reporting requirements for student IEP meetings to July 1, 2020. This will allow school districts, school staff and parents time to determine the proper procedures and resources needed in order to best educate students in need of an IEP. | Support | Other | ||
| Defunds private school tuition program - The current budget proposal doesn’t full fund K-12 education so the diversion of state dollars to private schools further impacts the goal of fully funding our public schools | Support | School Funding | ||
| Would insert language into existing statute prohibiting an employer from demoting an employee based on his or her use of Workers’ Compensation | Support | Other | ||
| Would insert language into existing statute prohibiting an employer from demoting an employee based on his or her use of Workers’ Compensation | Support | Other | ||
| Decreases the number of hours required to be eligible for FMLA. This will allow our support personnel and higher education professionals the ability to tend to their health concerns or the health concerns of family members. | Support | FMLA | ||
| Decreases the number of hours required to be eligible for FMLA. This will allow our support personnel and higher education professionals the ability to tend to their health concerns or the health concerns of family members. | Support | FMLA | ||
| Creates an income tax credit for qualified teachers equal to 50% of the tuition costs incurred at a public university in the State. To be qualified, a teacher must have: graduated from a public university in Illinois, be employed as a public school teacher after Dec. 31, 2020, and be employed for 5 consecutive years as a public school teacher. | Support | Other | ||
| Requires schools to place contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and for the Crisis Text Line on the back of student identification cards. The hope is to alleviate the stigma for students wanting to reach out for help. | Support | Other | ||
| Requires schools to place contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and for the Crisis Text Line on the back of student identification cards. The hope is to alleviate the stigma for students wanting to reach out for help. | Support | Other | ||
| Allows the same rights for special ed teachers that current teachers and support personnel have regarding seniority rights. If a special ed co-op dissolves and becomes part of a school district, those members would retain their seniority rights. | Support | Other | ||
| Allows the same rights for special ed teachers that current teachers and support personnel have regarding seniority rights. If a special ed co-op dissolves and becomes part of a school district, those members would retain their seniority rights. | Support | Other | ||
| Establishes a minimum threshold salary for all adjunct professors throughout the state of Illinois | Support | Higher Ed | ||
| Lowers the number of Governor appointed TRS Trustees from 7 to 5. This reduction in non-member appointments gives active and annuitant contributors to the system a majority on the TRS Board of Trustees. | Support | Pensions | ||
| Gives active TRS participants the option to purchase up to 2 years of private/parochial school service credit, with stipulations | Support | Pensions | ||
| Gives active TRS participants the option to purchase up to 2 years of private/parochial school service credit, with stipulations | Support | Pensions |