In accordance with Section 2-3.153 of the School Code [105
ILCS 5], each school district shall administer a climate survey on the
instructional environment within a school. The survey shall be identified and
paid for by the State Board of Education and shall provide feedback from, at a
minimum, students in grades 4 through 12 and teachers. Each school district
shall annually administer the climate survey in every public school attendance
center by a date specified by the State Superintendent of Education, and data
resulting from the instrument's administration must be provided to the State
Board of Education. The survey component that requires completion by
teachers must be administered during teacher meetings or professional
development days or at other times that would not interfere with the teachers'
regular duties or classroom instructional duties. The State
Superintendent shall publicly report on the survey indicators of learning
conditions resulting from administration of the instrument at the individual
school, district, and State levels and shall identify whether the indicators
result from an anonymous administration of the instrument. A
regional-based program, special education cooperative, district-based
alternative site or program, community-based early childhood center or program,
State-authorized laboratory school, or any other site or program deemed
appropriate and applicable by the State Board of Education may, but is not
required to, participate in the survey established under this Section.
a) Each school with students in any of grades
4 through 12 shall administer the survey to teachers and students in those
grade levels no sooner than 100 days from the start of the school year and no
later than March 31. The State Superintendent of Education shall annually
identify the survey to be used and post the specific dates of the survey's
administration by July 1 annually at
https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Educational-Supports.aspx. The Survey administration
window may not last longer than 75 days or fewer than 14 days. For the purposes
of this Section:
1) "Teacher" means any
individual who holds an educator license issued pursuant to Article 21B of the
School Code and whose primary responsibility is to provide instruction to
students at any grade level of prekindergarten through grade 12 for more than
50 percent of the school day or school year. "Teacher" does not include
paraprofessional educators, substitute teachers, tutors, instructional coaches
who do not meet the criteria specified in this subsection (a)(1), or student
teachers.
2) "School" includes any
alternative school established by the school district, including Alternative
Learning Opportunity Programs authorized under Article 13B of the School Code
operated at a location other than one of the district's schools.
b) A school district shall not
require a student or teacher to participate in the survey nor respond to each
question on the survey; however, at least 50 percent of the teachers in a
school must submit a survey in order for the school district to receive
results.
c) The climate survey's
ethical code of conduct may be found at www.isbe.net.
d) Schools with fewer than eight teachers
shall administer the survey to their student population only.
e) Survey results shall be used to meet the
requirements of Section 10-17a(2)(E) of the School Code regarding reporting, on
the State and district school report cards, 2 or more indicators from
any school climate survey. School districts using a survey instrument
identified under subsection (g), or those districts choosing to survey parents,
shall submit the results to the State Superintendent of Education no later than
May 1 for inclusion on the school report cards.
f) For purposes of Section 24A-20 of the
School Code, the survey required under Section 2-3.153 of the School Code and
this Section shall be the instrument to be used
to provide feedback to
principals on the instructional environment within a school (Section
24A-20 of the School Code). A school district may incorporate results from the
survey into the principal evaluation rubric or instrument required under 23
Ill. Adm. Code
50.320
(Professional Practice Components for Principals and Assistant
Principals).
g)
A school
district may elect to use, on a district-wide basis and at the school
district's sole cost and expense, an alternate survey of learning conditions
instrument pre-approved by the State Superintendent. (Section
2-3.153(b) of the School Code)
1) The State
Superintendent shall post annually the survey instruments authorized under this
subsection (g) no later than July 1 at
https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Educational-Supports.aspx.
2) Any school district wishing to use a
survey instrument authorized under this subsection (g) shall annually submit a
form developed for this purpose and posted at
https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Educational-Supports.aspx to the State
Superintendent no later than September 15. The form shall state, at a minimum,
the requirements for and conditions of administering a survey instrument
authorized under this subsection (g) that are stipulated at Section 2-3.153(b)
of the School Code. A school district approved under this subsection (g)(2) to
administer an alternate survey must submit to the State Board of Education the
appropriate survey data no later than May 31. The data submitted by the school
district will be used to meet the requirements of subsection (f) and for
calculating a summative designation for school accountability.
3) A school district's failure to annually
submit the form required under subsection (g)(2) shall result in the district's
being required to use the survey identified for statewide administration and
posted at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Educational-Supports.aspx.