Patricia Reid Lindner

March 2006

It is evident from the many referenda on the ballot that there is a great interest in education in the 50 th district. I want to take this opportunity to provide you with information about some of the many educational initiatives currently before the Illinois House of Representatives.

Our most pressing issue is getting the Governor to disclose how he plans to disperse the $400M education budget. As a member of the Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee, I have participated in many hearings to discuss the State Board of Education budget. I have, however, yet to be informed of how the Governor plans to allocate the funds between collar counties, Chicago , suburban Cook County and downstate schools. As you probably already know, the Governor has discussed assigning some of the funds for optional preschool in our elementary education program. Although I think that this is a laudable goal, I do not think it should be considered when we are not even able to fund general state aid and mandated categoricals. This is all of grave concern to me because of the many schools in the 50 th district that are struggling with their budgets due to growth issues.

The House has already passed our bills on to the Senate, so we are currently considering Senates education bills. There are many interesting bills and proposals before us.

SB 2795 is the Governor's school district reorganization initiative. The reorganization of school districts is a highly debated issue. Even though reorganization could save on superintendent salaries and building costs and possibly lead to a lower tax rate, not all citizens want to relinquish their local districts. The changes in the Governor's initiative are permissive because there are no mandatory provisions for districts to consolidate and voter approval is required. The Governor's plan, if passed, would merge four of the eight current approvable reorganizations methods into a single method to allow for mergers of school districts that were not previously authorized. The bill would also eliminate the minimum Equalized Assessed Valuation and population requirements for the formation of unit districts and school district combinations. It would create a stair-step mechanism so that consolidating school districts could reduce the maximum levy gradually in order to recognize the benefits of their consolidation.

SB 860 would amend the School Code to require the State Board of Education to establish a new principal mentoring program. Research has shown that student achievement is directly related to the quality of leadership in the school. This bill calls for a mentor program whereby first-year principals could learn from more experienced principals, resulting in better leadership for the students.

We are also considering clean-up language and changes to the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Act, SB 2235. This is a new program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education to recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators to become effective teachers in hard-to-staff teaching positions. This bill would allow school districts to pay participants in the program for their student teaching services. This would help to expand the program in order to meet the goal of 1,000 teachers in order to insure that hard-to-staff schools are attracting quality teachers.

SB 2630 amends the School Code to provide that each school district may make suitable provisions for instruction in bullying prevention in all grades and include instruction in the courses of study regularly taught therein. It also provides that a school board may collaborate with a community-based agency whose goal is to prevent sexual violence. It allows the State Board of Education to assist in the development of instructional materials and teacher training in relation to bullying prevention. I am very interested in this bill because I have received calls from parents and teachers concerned about bullying. I collaborated with a teacher in my district to create legislation that called for school boards to create a bullying protocol. This bill passed into law several years ago and I am happy to see an expanded interest in the subject. We must insure that our children are safe so they are able to learn while at school.

In addition to these bills, the State Board of Education is submitting proposed rules to the Joint Commission on Administration Rules. The Board is proposing a restriction on schools participating in the National School Lunch Program beginning with the 2006-2007 school year. The proposal would restrict the sale of certain food and beverages to students in grade 8 or below before and during the regular school day. The proposed rules outline food items that may be sold to students in or outside of food service areas except for during scheduled meal periods.

As you can see, we are reviewing many bills and proposals concerning various aspects of education. We are scheduled to adjourn in early April, so please contact my district office as soon as possible if you have thoughts on these or any other issues.



							Lindner's Opinions
							Lindner's Opinions
						March 2006 It is evident from the many referenda on the ballot that there is a great interest in education in the 50 th district. I want to take this opportunity to provide you with information about some of the many educational initiatives currently before the Illinois House of Representatives. Our most pressing issue is getting the Governor to disclose how he plans to disperse the $400M education budget. As a member of the Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee, I have participated in many hearings to discuss the State Board of Education budget. I have, however, yet to be informed of how the Governor plans to allocate the funds between collar counties, Chicago , suburban Cook County and downstate schools. As you probably already know, the Governor has discussed assigning some of the funds for optional preschool in our elementary education program. Although I think that this is a laudable goal, I do not think it should be considered when we are not even able to fund general state aid and mandated categoricals. This is all of grave concern to me because of the many schools in the 50 th district that are struggling with their budgets due to growth issues. The House has already passed our bills on to the Senate, so we are currently considering Senates education bills. There are many interesting bills and proposals before us. SB 2795 is the Governor's school district reorganization initiative. The reorganization of school districts is a highly debated issue. Even though reorganization could save on superintendent salaries and building costs and possibly lead to a lower tax rate, not all citizens want to relinquish their local districts. The changes in the Governor's initiative are permissive because there are no mandatory provisions for districts to consolidate and voter approval is required. The Governor's plan, if passed, would merge four of the eight current approvable reorganizations methods into a single method to allow for mergers of school districts that were not previously authorized. The bill would also eliminate the minimum Equalized Assessed Valuation and population requirements for the formation of unit districts and school district combinations. It would create a stair-step mechanism so that consolidating school districts could reduce the maximum levy gradually in order to recognize the benefits of their consolidation. SB 860 would amend the School Code to require the State Board of Education to establish a new principal mentoring program. Research has shown that student achievement is directly related to the quality of leadership in the school. This bill calls for a mentor program whereby first-year principals could learn from more experienced principals, resulting in better leadership for the students. We are also considering clean-up language and changes to the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Act, SB 2235. This is a new program administered by the Illinois State Board of Education to recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators to become effective teachers in hard-to-staff teaching positions. This bill would allow school districts to pay participants in the program for their student teaching services. This would help to expand the program in order to meet the goal of 1,000 teachers in order to insure that hard-to-staff schools are attracting quality teachers. SB 2630 amends the School Code to provide that each school district may make suitable provisions for instruction in bullying prevention in all grades and include instruction in the courses of study regularly taught therein. It also provides that a school board may collaborate with a community-based agency whose goal is to prevent sexual violence. It allows the State Board of Education to assist in the development of instructional materials and teacher training in relation to bullying prevention. I am very interested in this bill because I have received calls from parents and teachers concerned about bullying. I collaborated with a teacher in my district to create legislation that called for school boards to create a bullying protocol. This bill passed into law several years ago and I am happy to see an expanded interest in the subject. We must insure that our children are safe so they are able to learn while at school. In addition to these bills, the State Board of Education is submitting proposed rules to the Joint Commission on Administration Rules. The Board is proposing a restriction on schools participating in the National School Lunch Program beginning with the 2006-2007 school year. The proposal would restrict the sale of certain food and beverages to students in grade 8 or below before and during the regular school day. The proposed rules outline food items that may be sold to students in or outside of food service areas except for during scheduled meal periods. As you can see, we are reviewing many bills and proposals concerning various aspects of education. We are scheduled to adjourn in early April, so please contact my district office as soon as possible if you have thoughts on these or any other issues.