As a member of the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools, you are entitled to receive the Electronic Report distributed monthly during the school year. The purpose of this Report is to provide brief synopses of developments with the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools, legislative updates, and information of interest to our nonpublic school administrators. Additional information may be obtained by following the hyperlinks that are imbedded throughout the Report. This is the final issue for the 2007-08 school year.

Attached is the 2008-09 membership application for ICNS. The dues remain at $50.00. Download the form, attach your check and send it to ICNS, Attention Judy Wolf, 2301 South Wolf Road, Hillside, Illinois 60162.

SCHOOL SAFETY BLOCK GRANT

The School Safety Block Grant allocation has been distributed to recognized nonpublic schools that completed the required application for 2007-08. Each school received $35.88 per attending student to help pay for health and safety measures or textbooks.

Please remember the attendance data for this school year will have to be submitted after this year’s completion but before July 1, 2008. Hopefully, schools have adjusted to keeping the attendance in the correct format, so that data can be submitted in a timely fashion. Next year, schools will receive their allotments in two payments, one in October and the second in April.

ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE NEWS

The legislature is in session for a stretch run through May that was designed to lead to adjournment for the year. However, with state politics as dysfunctional as ever, no one really expects the legislature to complete its work anytime soon. Unlike last year, there is not a lot of legislative activity designed to profoundly impact our schools.

To date, there are no active legislative initiatives designed to reduce the tuition tax credit, exclude our schools from the School Safety Block Grant, or target any of the other programs that serve nonpublic schools or their families. This does not necessarily preclude any effort of this kind in the future, but it is a positive sign that perhaps our gains are being solidified.

Both ISBE and the Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budgets fund programs important to our schools at last year’s levels: $75 million for the School Safety Block Grant; $42 million for the Textbook Loan Program; and $11 million for the Parent Transportation Reimbursement Program.

A few bills that ICNS is monitoring that if enacted may impact our schools.

House Bill 4441 (4 Year Olds Attend Kindergarten) – This legislation seeks to allow children who have attended preschool and will attain the age of 5 on or before December 31 of the 2008-2009 school term to attend kindergarten and all subsequent grades. Currently, a child must attain age 5 on or before September 1 or, in the case of Chicago, the school age for kindergarten pupils may not be fixed at under 4 years. This legislation passed the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and awaits floor consideration.

House Bill 5000 (Children’s Low-Cost Laptop Act) – This legislation requires ISBE to provide for the administration of a low-cost laptop pilot project whereby low-cost laptop computers are provided to each student, teacher, and relevant administrator in a participating elementary school or district and the use of open-source educational software and computer skills training is implemented. The manner in which the bill is written leaves open the possibility of nonpublic schools participating in the pilot program, although it is currently contingent upon state funding not included in the proposed budget. The bill passed the full House and now awaits Senate consideration.

Senate Bill 2699 (Law Enforcement Drill) – This legislation amends the School Safety Drill Act to change from recommended to mandatory one law enforcement drill each year. Local law enforcement agencies will be required to contact the school to request participation in the drill and will certify its completion afterwards. The bill passed the Senate Executive Committee and awaits floor consideration.

Health Exams: Last year, legislation passed revising the School Code such that a health examination was required before entering 6th grade (as opposed to 5th grade). So the question is do students entering 6th grade next school year, each of whom had a physical exam before 5th grade, need another physical exam? The answer is NO. ISBE has decided not to enforce the 6th grade requirement for these students and the Illinois Department of Public Health is expected to shortly publish an emergency rule exempting those students entering 6th grade next year. On top of that, legislation is moving through the General Assembly that would also exempt those students. Short and sweet: next year's 6th graders will not be required to undergo a physical exam (provided they had an exam for 5th grade).

Vision Exams: A new law effective January 1, 2008, requires that all children enrolling in kindergarten in a public, private or parochial school and any student enrolling for the first time in a public, private or parochial school shall have an eye exam. For now, we take this to mean only students entering kindergarten, or otherwise school for the first time, need the exam.

Otherwise, this is what we know about the vision exam requirement:

Each such child is to present proof of having been examined by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches or a licensed optometrist within the previous year before October 15 of the school year. If the child fails to present proof by October 15, the school may hold the child’s report card until either (a) the child presents proof of a completed eye examination or (ii) the child presents proof that any eye examination will take place within 60 days after October 15.
This requirement may be waived for children who show an undue burden or a lack of access to a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches who provides eye examinations or to a licensed optometrist. Moreover, parents or legal guardians who object to eye examinations on religious grounds shall not be required to submit their children to the examination if such parents or legal guardians present to the appropriate local school authority a signed statement of objection, detailing the grounds for the objection.
Each public, private and parochial school is required to give notice of this eye examination requirement to the parents and guardians of students. Every school shall report to the State Board of Education by June 30 (beginning 2009) the number of children who have received the required eye examination, indicating, of those who have not received the required eye examination, the number of children who are exempt from the eye examination on religious grounds, the number of children who have received a waiver, and the total number of children in noncompliance with the eye examination requirement.

ISBE has created documents for a proof of examination and a waiver form that can be used for this coming school year. A copy of the State of Illinois Eye Examination Report can be accessed at: http://www.isbe.net/pdf/eye_exam_form_IOA.pdf. A copy of the Eye Examination Waiver can be accessed at: http://www.isbe.net/pdf/eye_exam_waiver.pdf.

School Calendar: Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the Nonpublic School Application for Recognition and Calendar will be moving from paper forms to a web-based application and calendar. The ISBE programmers are creating both items for IWAS. Currently, neither item is available in IWAS and will not be until late spring or early summer. Therefore, the normal submission deadlines will be extended this first year.

(Legislative information provided by Zach Wichmann, Associate Director for Education, Catholic Conference of Illinois)

EDUCATION IN THE NEWS

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has issued a new report on urban Catholic schools. According to the study, over 1,300 Catholic schools have closed since 1990, and most of them have been in cities. The closings have affected some 300,000 students and have cost taxpayers more than $20 billion “to accommodate the additional students that public schools have had to absorb.” A teaser in the executive summary asks a few provocative questions: “Is this a crisis worth addressing? Are further closures inevitable, or can church leaders, parishioners, philanthropists and/or public policymakers reverse these trends? Should they try?” The report offers some responses. It also presents findings from a national survey on Catholic schools and spotlights several success stories on how schools have expanded in Wichita, Memphis, and Denver. http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?id=383

IOWA EXTENDS STATE STANDARDS TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Iowa legislators have expanded the state's core curriculum standards not only to all public schools, but to state-accredited private schools as well. The move was supported by the state's Catholic schools, although a Christian schools lobbyist expressed concern, saying, "What we're most nervous about is the precedent it sets for state-government control of private school classrooms." However, Iowa education department spokeswoman Elaine Watkins-Miller noted that while the standards do "speak to skills and concepts," the curriculum has "flexibility that allows private schools to continue to teach the curriculum they are teaching." Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (5/6)

ARIZONA SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAMS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The Arizona Republic, May 16
The Arizona Court of Appeals has decided it is unconstitutional for the state to give parents money to help pay private-school tuition for their disabled or foster children. The 2006 law violates the state Constitution's ban on using public money to aid private schools, the panel said. "The tuition payments aid parents, not schools," said attorney Tim Keller, who argued to save the tuition payments, known as vouchers. "The intent of the legislation was to help families get their disadvantaged children the best education available." Keller heads the Institute for Justice's Arizona chapter and plans to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROVIDES UPDATES ON EQUITABLE SERVICES FOR NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS REGARDING NCLB AND I.D.E.A.

A recent conference on equitable services was held in Chicago with two representatives from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Non-Public Education/Office of Innovation and Improvement. Several keys items were stressed:

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (I.D.E.A.):

Under I.D.E.A., federal funds are provided to Local Education Agencies (LEA) for children with various disabilities. “Parentally-placed private school children with disabilities” are able to receive services from the school district in which the private school is located (not when the children reside).
Non-public schools should be actively working with their local school district to identify eligible children with disabilities (“child find”) who need “special education services in order to make academic progress.”
The LEAs are required to have on-going “timely and meaningful consultation” with the non-public schools in their district in order to receive their federal funds.
Ultimately, the federal funds are controlled by the LEAs (no federal dollars go directly to the non-public schools), but equitable special education services are to be made available to private school students.

For more information, visit www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/index.html. and download the excellent new pamphlet Provisions Related to Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools. Printed quantities may be ordered from www.edpubs.ed.gov.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB):

There are 12 programs funded under NCLB that provide “equitable services” for non-public schools. These include Titles I – VI & IX with such programs as Reading First, Technology, Professional Development, English Language Learners, and Safe & Drug Free Schools.
Most of the participation requirements of I.D.E.A. are also requirements for NCLB programs (LEA where the private school is located, “timely and meaningful consultation,” etc.)

Again, visit www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/nonpublic/index.html for more information and order printed quantities of the NCLB Benefits to Private School Students and Teachers pamphlet from www.edpubs.ed.gov.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions, comments or need information related to our efforts in supporting nonpublic schools, feel free to communicate with us by sending an e-mail to ICNS