in Indian Prairie District 204

This web site provides information on legislation affecting the schools for the benefit of residents and interested employees of Indian Prairie School District 204. Informed citizens may utilize the links provided to learn more about legislation as well as contact their elected officials who serve the Naperville, Aurora, and Bolingbrook communities. It is your government. Stay involved.

The 30 schools in Indian Prairie School District 204 are located in several legislative districts. All the schools are in the 13th Congressional District (Judy Biggert) but some residents live in the 14th (J. Dennis Hastert).

The schools are located in state legislative districts as follows:

42^nd House and 83^rdSenate:

Neuqua Valley, Crone, Gregory, Scullen, Builta, Clow, Fry, Graham, Kendall, Patterson, Spring Brook, Welch, and Wheatland.

21st House and 41^st Senate:

Waubonsie Valley, Indian Plains, Granger, Hill, Still, Brookdale, Brooks, Cowlishaw, Georgetown, Gombert, Longwood, May Watts, McCarty, Prairie Children, Steck, White Eagle, and Young.

The schools also are located in municipal boundaries: Aurora, Naperville, and Bolingbrook. They are affected by city ordinances, zoning decisions, and other municipal actions.

Legislative Redistricting Update:

The State and Congressional legislative districts were redrawn, and you will be voting in the primary for candidates from the new districts. As of February 25, the redistricting map is still in litigation.

The following schools Indian Prairie District 204 schools are in

state legislative #84

state senate #42

U.S. Congress #13

Builta, Graham, Fry, White Eagle

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All the rest plus the DEC are in

state legislative #96

state senate #48

U.S. Congress #13.

These districts are not necessarily the same for the families who are in that school attendance area. For example, in the far northwest along Butterfield Road in District 204, some will be in House 95 and in Senate 48. In the southwestern area some will be in House 85 and Senate 43.

When we lobby for District 204, we will contact those elected from Senate 48, 42, and 43 and from House 96, 84, 85, and 95.

Residents may find their new districts by going to this web address and clicking on "Find New Districts": http://www.elections.state.il.us/

DuPage County Elections Information: 630-682-7440

Will County Elections Information: 815-740-4615

Issues

State

The State of Illinois recently enacted a number of laws affecting schools on the following topics: school personnel and life saving skills; adding Hispanics to the list of specific ethnic groups to be studied in teaching history of the U.S.; allowing schools to enforce the term of suspension/expulsion of a student who transfers in during such a penalty; having judicial orders of child protection forwarded to schools within 24 hours of issuance; providing DCFS reports of child abuse to schools within 10 days of completion; requiring school board policies on bullying; expanding options for employing teacher interns; allowing schools to permit self-administered asthma medication under certain conditions; revising the teacher retirement system health insurance program and contributions; and extending the Safe to Learn Grant program.

To read more about recent school legislation or find the full text, see this link to the Illinois Principals' Association web site for updates: http://www.ilprincipals.org/legislative.html

The Illinois State Board of Education provides information on state and federal legislation and other educational policy issues at http://www.isbe.state.il.us/gov-relations/

Federal

Congress and the President were in contention this fall over the size of the total federal budget, tax cuts, and how to use the federal budget surplus. The main educational item facing Congress was reauthorization of the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act). This affects both the federal programs and the amount of federal aid the states and local schools will receive. For the 2000-2001year the federal budget contained a significant increase for funding Special Education (IDEA funding). Special Education became a federal initiative with the passage of Public Law 94-142 over a quarter century ago. At that time the federal government promised to contribute 40% of the average cost. Funding has NEVER reached that level, rising at most to 17%. Congress has the chance to reach 40% over several years. The language to make funding mandatory was part of the reauthorization of ESEA that went to a House/Senate conference committee. The mandatory services required by IDEA are exceeding the ability of local school districts to pay for them. That forces the reallocation of funds from the rest of local budgets. Mandates should be funded. In this case it means mandatory federal funding of IDEA. The bill that finally passed in late December did not contain mandatory funding, but the showdown vote was very close.

On December 18 the U.S. Senate passed 87-10 H.R. 1 (the "No Child Left Behind Act"), which renews and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

This is the legislation mandates annual testing for all students in grades three through eight. It also provides greater local flexibility in how non-Title I federal funds may be used.

The full text of the conference report, the final form of H.R. 1 that will be sent to the President, can be found at this web address:

ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp107/hr334.txt

This lengthy document (several hundred pages) contains not only the new law and its changes, but also the narrative text which explains the compromises made by the House and Senate conferees in each section of H.R. 1.

KEY MEASURES IN THE CONFERENCE REPORT

TESTING

The bill requires that all states develop and administer annual proficiency tests in reading and math for all students in grades 3 through 8. These tests must align with each state,s current academic content standards.

Test data will be used to measure the performance of each school; data will also be disaggregated by race, gender, income, and other criteria to measure and compare the performance of groups.

States will receive $400 million to help design and administer the tests.

A sample of students in every state will be required to take the 4th and 8th grade National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in math and reading every year to verify the results of the statewide assessments that all students are required to take. The federal government will cover the cost of state participation in NAEP. No federal rewards or sanctions will be based on the NAEP.

States will be required to provide parents with annual report cards detailing the school,s performance and their child,s progress in key subject areas.

ACCOUNTABILITY

States will be required to establish a definition of student proficiency using a variety of indicators. The definition of proficiency may be based on either the scores of the state,s lowest-achieving demographic group or the scores of its lowest-achieving schools, whichever would require a higher threshold.

States are required to raise the bar gradually, in equal increments, with the requirement that 100 percent proficiency be reached within 12 years. The bar must be raised at least once every three years.

Schools that have not met state-defined adequate yearly progress goals for two consecutive years will be identified by districts as needing improvement. Immediately after identification, these schools would receive technical assistance to improve performance and to develop a two-year plan to increase performance. These schools would also be eligible to receive federal funds for school improvement.

Parents with a child in a school that has been identified as needing improvement would be allowed to transfer their child to a better-performing public or charter school immediately after the school is designated failing.

If a school identified as needing improvement has not made adequate yearly progress after three consecutive years, the district must continue to offer public school choice to all students in that school and provide low achieving students within the school approximately $500-$1,000 for additional educational services including tutoring, after school services, and summer school programs. Parents would be able to select private, church-related, and religiously affiliated organizations to provide these services to students.

A school identified as needing improvement that fails to make adequate progress after four consecutive years would be subject to reconstitution, hiring of a private management contractor, conversion to a charter school, or staff restructuring.

To be taken out of corrective action, a school needs to demonstrate adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years.

TEACHER QUALITY

The bill prohibits mandatory national teacher testing and certification.

Beginning with the first school year after the bill is enacted, each local school receiving federal Title I funds will be required to ensure that all teachers hired and teaching in a program supported by those funds are fully qualified.

States will be required to submit a plan to ensure that every teacher in the state is fully qualified to teach in his or her subject area by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

States and local school districts will be allowed to use funds for teacher testing and merit pay. The bill also allows states to use ESEA funds to develop alternative routes to teacher certification.

READING

The bill provides funding to support "proven methods of reading instruction backed by scientific research."

FLEXIBILITY

The bill allows all states and local school districts to transfer up to 50 percent of the federal non-Title I funding they receive to programs and services of their choice (within certain broad guidelines). Allocation of funds would be determined by states and local school officials and would not require the approval of the U.S. Department of Education.

Let your legislators hear from you on the impact of proposed legislation. Your calls, faxes, and emails make a difference.

To learn more about federal education issues, see http://nassp.org/government_relations/ , http://www.naesp.org/govt.htm , and for full text of bills, voting records, and more see http://thomas.loc.gov .

Local

Zoning is an issue that can affect local schools. Different developments produce different tax revenues as well as fewer or more students. For example, commercially zoned property does not result in more students, whereas residential zoning and allowable density do. The dispute in Naperville, Illinois, over whether to rezone undeveloped Sector G is a prime example of how actions by municipal government can upset planning by school and park districts. School districts need a blend of commercial and residential property to provide a solid tax base to support our children's education.

Another area of local government action that can affect schools is a local truancy ordinance. Some cities have and others are now considering such ordinances as well as parental responsibility laws. No-smoking ordinances aimed at the sale or possession of cigarettes to minors have also been considered at the municipal level. Recent state law expanded the coverage of intergovernmental agreements between school districts and police departments on the sharing of information regarding violations by minors. Check to see the status of updates in those agreements in your district.

Your Connection to Elected Officials

Information on how to contact your elected officials is provided below. Email links are convenient and fast. Email is read though not always answered by legislators. Of highest impact are personal meetings, phone calls, letters, and faxes. Let your elected officials know that you are interested in their decisions affecting our schools.

SEN. CHRISTOPHER J. LAUZEN, R - 21^ST, Aurora

Springfield: 613B Capitol Bldg., 62706; (217) 782-0052; Fax (217) 782-0116

District: 52 West Downers Place, Aurora 60506; (630) 264-2334; Fax (630) 264-1566

E-mail: admin@lauzen.com

Years served: 1993-present

Legislative assignments: Committees on Commerce & Industry (Chairman); Revenue(Vice Chairman); Appropriations; Highway Improvement Task Force.

Biography: Certified public accountant (CPA); B.S., cum laude, management science and English, Duke University; MBA, Harvard Business School; elected delegate, 1996 White House Conference on Small Business; member, Illinois Economic Development Commission; married (wife, Sarah), has four children.

SEN. ED PETKA, R - 42^{nd -}Plainfield

Majority Whip

Springfield: 122 Capitol Bldg., 62706; (217) 782-0422

District: 501 N. Division, P.O. Box 188, Plainfield 60544; (815) 436-5577; Fax (815) 436-8065

Years served: 1987-93 (House); 1993-present (Senate)

Legislative assignments: Committees on Executive Appointments (Co-Chairman); Executive(Vice Chairman); Insurance & Pensions; Judiciary; Majority Whip

Biography: Attorney; born March 10, 1943, in Chicago; B.A., Southern Illinois University; J.D., John Marshall Law School; former president of Illinois State's Attorneys Association; appointed to Criminal Justice Committee, National Conference of State Legislatures; married (wife, Phyllis), has four children.

REP. MARY LOU COWLISHAW, R - 41st, Naperville

Springfield: 2016-H Stratton Bldg., 62706; (217) 782-6507

District: 552 S. Washington St., Ste. 119, Naperville 60540; (630) 355-4113; Fax (630) 355-2847

Years served: 1983-present

Legislative assignments: Committees on Aging; Appropriations-Higher Education; Committee of the Whole; Elementary & Secondary Education (Spokesperson); Mental Health & Patient Abuse; Public Utilities.

Biography: Full-time state legislator; born Feb. 20, 1932, in Rockford; B.S., journalism, University of Illinois; graduate studies, Northwestern University; numerous awards, including "Golden Apple" award four times from Illinois Assn. of School Boards; namesake of Mary Lou Cowlishaw Elementary School in Naperville; married (husband, Wayne), has three children and six grandchildren.

REP. BRENT HASSERT, R - 83^rd - Romeoville

Springfield: 2135-O Stratton Bldg., 62706; (217) 782-4179; (217) 782-1275

District: 1413 Sherman Rd., Ste. 60, Romeoville 60446; (630) 739-7063; (815) 886-9300;Fax (630) 739-4055

Email: hassert@housegop.state.il.us

Years served: 1993-present

Legislative assignments: Committees on Conservation & Land Use; Committee of the Whole; Environment & Energy (Spokesperson); Electric Utility Deregulation; Executive; Financial Institutions; Labor.