School Law Briefing A Publication of Ancel,
Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Krafthefer, P.C.
Number 4--Summer 1997
To view this edition in PDF format, click here.
A Guide to Surviving The School Board Elections
School Board Workshop: 17 “Must-Have”
Board Policies
Firm News and Associate Profile
A Guide to Surviving
The School Board Elections
Even though we’re still enjoying Chicagoland’s
“summer” weather, the time has come to begin preparing for the
November 4, 1997 school elections. If you are a candidate, there are actions
you must take NOW to run for office. If you are a secretary of a school
board, your responsibilities as local election official will commence shortly.
This article will remind candidates and board secretaries of their responsibilities
related to the approaching elections. The first part of this article highlights
the steps candidates must take to get on the ballot. The second part summarizes
board secretaries’ responsibilities related to the filing and ballot
certification process.
I. WHAT ALL CANDIDATES NEED TO KNOW
Candidates must be careful to comply with all of the applicable laws
related to the circulation and filing of nomination papers in order to have
their names appear on the ballot. Often, a simple mistake can result in
a candidate getting “knocked off the ballot” by an objector. A
candidate must be keenly aware of many details including the following:
Who May Run
To qualify to run for office, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen; a
resident of the district for at least one year; at least 18 years old; and
a registered voter.
When to File
Nomination petitions must be filed August 18 through August 25, 1997.
Where to File
Nomination papers must be filed with the Board secretary during regular
business hours. Candidates must also file a statement of economic interests
with the County Clerk’s Office, unless they have already done so for
the same school district previously in 1997.
What to File
All candidates must file a statement of candidacy, circulated petition
sheets and a receipt from the County Clerk’s office indicating that
they have filed a statement of economic interests. At the candidates’
option, they may also file a loyalty oath and an affidavit that they will
comply with the Fair Campaign Practices Act. When filing, be mindful that
all nomination papers must be the same size and fastened together in book
form. Further, candidates must file original nomination papers—not
copies. Also note that nomination papers cannot be withdrawn, altered or
supplemented after they have been filed.
Statement of Candidacy
Candidates must include information about themselves and the offices
they seek on the statement of candidacy. We recommend that the candidate
information given on the statement of candidacy be identical to that given
on the circulated petition sheets. In preparing a statement of candidacy,
make sure that the candidate’s name appears as it is to appear on the
ballot and that the candidate’s name does not include any titles or
degrees such as “Dr., Rev.,” etc. Candidates may use initials,
or nicknames by which they are commonly known.
Petition Sheets
—Candidates running to be a member of a board of education must file
petitions signed by 50 registered voters or 10% of the registered voters
in the district, whichever is less.
—All the blanks on the heading of the petition must be filled in before
the petition is circulated.
—The candidate’s name must appear on the petition it is to appear
on the ballot, and should also be consistent with the name indicated on
the statement of candidacy and statement of economic interests.
—The addresses (including municipality) of the petition signers must
be included next to their signatures.
—For purposes of convenience, candidates may preprint the county or
municipality for petition signers’ addresses if all the signers are
from the same county or municipality.
—Only registered voters of the district can circulate the petition
sheets.
—Only one circulator may circulate each sheet.
—The circulator must witness the affixation of each signature on the
sheet.
—Only registered voters can sign the petition.
—Relatives cannot sign for other registered voters in their household.
—Circulators must sign the affidavits at the bottom of each sheet and
their signatures must be notarized.
—The circulated sheets must be consecutively numbered before they are
filed.
Statement of Economic Interests
All candidates who are running for office must file a statement of economic
interests with the County Clerk. Upon filing, the County Clerk’s office
will issue a receipt which the candidate must file with the Board secretary
between August 18 and August 25, 1997. Candidates should confirm that the
name, office and district specified on the statement of economic interests
are identical to those on the statement of candidacy and the petition sheets.
Loyalty Oath
At a candidate’s option, he or she may file a loyalty oath attesting
that the candidate does not support communism or the overthrow of the American
government. Candidates opting to file such oaths should file them with the
Board secretary along with the candidate’s other nominating papers.
Code of Fair Campaign Practices
Candidates may also opt to file an affidavit attesting that they intend
to govern their campaign in accordance with a “Code of Fair Campaign
Practices.” Such attestations should be filed with the County Clerk,
not with the Board secretary.
A Special Note about Campaign Financial Disclosure
Obligations
In addition to these filing requirements, candidates will have to comply
with the Campaign Financing Act when their campaigns have accepted contributions,
or expended sums, in ex-cess of $1,000.00 in total in any 12 month pe-riod.
If you are approaching this threshold, we recommend that you contact a firm
such as ours which is familiar with campaign financial disclosure requirements
to advise you about the specific requirements of the Act.
II. THE BOARD SECRETARY’S RESPONSIBILITIES AS LOCAL ELECTION
OFFICIAL
The board secretary serves as the local election official. As such, the
secretary has certain obligations related to the approaching elections.
1. Pre-Filing Responsibilities: The
board secretary may, but is not required to, have nomination papers available
for distribution to candidates. The secretary may give notice of the petition
filing period by publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation
within the district before August 8, 1997.
2. Accepting Petitions: The secretary
has the responsibility of accepting nomination papers for filing, unless
the board has designated a different person to perform such function. Section
9-10 of the School Code requires the secretary to “receive and file”
only those petitions which include a statement of candidacy, petition sheets
with the required number of signatures bearing a notarized circulator’s
affidavit on each petition sheet and a receipt from the filing of a statement
of economic interests. If the Board secretary is an incumbent school board
member seeking re-election, a disinterested person must be a witness to
the filing of his/her petition. Upon filing, we recommend that the Board
secretary should indicate the date and time that each set of nomination
papers was filed, and a receipt should be issued indicating what documentation
was received. The board secretary must give the candidates a notice of their
obligation under the Campaign Financing Act when they file their nomination
papers. The secretary must mail the notice to candidates who did not file
their nomination papers in person. The board secretary or the person designated
to receive nomination papers must be available to receive nomination papers
until 5:00 p.m. on August 25, 1997.
3. Post-Filing Notifications: The
secretary must inform each candidate of the candidate’s obligations
under the Campaign Financing Act. In addition, the secretary must provide
each candidate with a written acceptance of his/her election petitions by
August 25, 1997.
4. Simultaneous-Filing Lottery:The
order in which candidates’ names will appear on the ballot is determined
by the order in which nomination papers are filed. If more that one candidate
files petitions on the first day for filing at 8:00 a.m., the secretary
must conduct a lottery to determine ballot position. Such lottery must be
conducted no later than September 3, 1997, and must be open to the public.
The secretary must post notice of the lottery and must give each candidate
who will participate in the lottery seven days written notice of the lottery.
5. Objections: Nomination papers
accepted by the board secretary are valid and the candidate’s name
will appear on the ballot unless a valid objection is filed and sustained.
Any person seeking to file an objection to a candidate’s petition must
do so by filing an objector’s petition with the board secretary, no
later than September 2, 1997. As with candidate’s petitions, the secretary
should note the date and time of filing on the objector’s petition.
Upon the receipt of an objector’s petition, the secretary must notify
the members of the educational officers electoral board (generally, the
board president, secretary and member with the longest seniority, provided
they are not candidates) to convene a hearing on the objector’s petition.
This is accomplished by sending the original nomination papers and objections
to the educational officers electoral board chairperson by personal service
with a receipt, or by registered mail. The nomination papers and objections
must be forwarded to the chair of the electoral board by 12:00 noon of the
second business day after receipt of the objection. As a matter of practicality,
we suggest that the secretary also advise the county clerk of the candidates
who are the subjects of objections.
6. Certification: The secretary’s
final obligation with respect to the elections is to certify the names of
candidates to the county clerk by September 4, 1997, or by the date when
objections are resolved.
Because of space limitations, we cannot address each of the various
problems and situations that might arise during the course of an election
season. Nevertheless, we hope that you will find this brief framework to
be a helpful outline of your responsibilities as candidates or board secretaries.
Because it is critical to follow all of the technical requirements of the
School Code and the Election Code, we recommend that you consult with an
attorney should you have any question regarding these procedures.
Return to Table of Contents
School Board
Workshop
17 “Must-Have” School Board Policies
One of the easiest ways
to lessen your district’s exposure to liability is to carefully review
your board policies at least annually. This is essential not only to prevent
unnecessary litigation, but also to provide a district’s administration,
employees and students with a clear understanding of how the district works
and the consequences of certain actions. To assist you in that endeavor,
we have compiled a list of board polices that must be included in your manuals
pursuant to state law.
Boards of education are empowered to adopt policies that (1) are specified
in the School Code and its implementing regulations, (2) are otherwise consistent
with the law, or (3) are required or proper for the maintenance, operation,
or development of any school. Generally speaking, boards of education have
the authority to adopt policies that touch on every area of school functioning.
More specifically, the School Code and Administrative Code set forth a number
of polices that must be adopted by school boards. Importantly, Illinois
law provides that boards of education must ensure that advice and suggestions
are received from all groups affected by each policy (i.e. from teachers,
students, etc.).
Following is a list of seventeen policies that all Illinois school boards
are required by law to adopt along with a short description. You should
consult with your legal counsel for more details about the listed policies
and for sample draft policies.
1. Sex Equity/Sexual Harassment
23 Ill.Adm.Code 200.40
Boards of education must develop written policies on sex equity which
provide that discrimination on the basis of sex in the provision of programs,
activities, services, or benefits is not allowed. The policy must also guarantee
that both sexes have equal access to all educational and extracurricular
programs and activities. The policy must include a detailed written grievance
procedure for those individuals who wish to file complaints.
Sexual harassment of students is prohibited by Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972. School districts are required to have a policy in place
that addresses how sexual harassment complaints will be handled. The U.S.
Department of Education recently issued its Sexual Harassment Guidance to
be used by school districts to investigate and resolve allegations of sexual
harassment of students by employees, other students, or third parties. The
Guidance states that school districts should strongly consider adopting
sexual harassment policies, although they need not do so, as long as their
general non-discrimination policies are designed to effectively address
sexual harassment allegations.
2. Student Records
105 ILCS 10/1, et seq.;
23 Ill.Adm.Code 375.100
School boards are required to adopt detailed policies and procedures
that are in compliance with the Illinois School Student Records Act and
its implementing regulations. In addition, boards must develop policies
that specifically address the rights of students receiving special education
and related services, including the method by which information on such
students will be collected, the confidential nature of that information,
a statement that the information must be directly related to the provision
of services to the child, how the information will be used, recorded and
maintained, and whom the information will be made available to. Records
policies relating to special education students may either be contained
in the district’s general record policy or in a separate policy, at
the board’s discretion.
3. Pupil Discipline
105 ILCS 5/10-20.14; 105 ILCS 5/24-24;
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.280
School boards must establish parent-teacher advisory committees to assist
with the development of board policy guidelines on student discipline, including
school searches. The policy must be given to parents within 15 days after
the beginning of each school year or 15 days after a student transfers to
the school. This section of the School Code specifically encourages boards
to annually review their pupil discipline policies, which is good advice
given the constantly changing nature of this area of the law. Discipline
policies must provide the following: (1) that school personnel may use reasonable
force as needed to maintain safety in the schools (but that they may not
slap, paddle, keep children in physically painful positions for long periods
of time, or intentionally inflict bodily harm); (2) that a teacher may remove
a student from class for disruptive behavior; and (3) that students must
be provided with due process protections which are described in detail.
4. Waiver of School Fees
105 ILCS 5/2-3.96; 105 ILCS 5/10-20.13;
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.245
This policy must contain, at a minimum, the standards for determining
eligibility for waiving all school fees, how parents can learn about obtaining
fee waivers, and dispute resolution in the event there is some disagreement
about how the policy is applied. If your school district does not charge
any school fees, then your board must adopt a policy stating that fact.
5. Minority Recruitment
105 ILCS 5/10-20.7a
This policy must provide for the recruitment and hiring of minority
teachers, other certificated employees, and non-certificated employees such
as custodians, lunch room staff and teacher aides.
6. Student Grades
105 ILCS 5/10-20.9a
General grading policies must provide the procedure by which student
grades may be changed, provided that no grade or evaluation can be changed
without first notifying the teacher. School boards are also allowed (not
required) to adopt policies on the promotion of students; for example, that
students will not be promoted for merely social reasons.
7. Administration of Medication
105 ILCS 5/10-20.14b
A policy must be developed regarding the administration of medication
in school, including under what circumstances medication will be given.
This policy must also be given to parents within 15 days after the beginning
of each school year or after a student transfers to the school.
8. Infectious Disease
105 ILCS 5/10-21.11
This policy must be consistent with guidelines published by the State
Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. It must
include guidelines on the evaluation of students with chronic infectious
diseases on a case-by-case basis, and may include different provisions relating
to various age groups and classes of instruction, as the board finds appropriate.
9. Behavioral Interventions
105 ILCS 5/14-8.05
School boards must establish and maintain committees to develop policies
on the use of behavioral interventions for students with disabilities. Boards
of education were given until January 1, 1996, to develop such guidelines
using the State Board of Education’s Guidelines (adopted in 1994) as
a reference.
10. Absenteeism and Truancy
105 ILCS 5/26-13;
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.290
Absenteeism/truancy policies must be adopted by boards of education
consistent with State Board of Education Rules. The policy must: (1) define
valid reasons or causes for absences; (2) describe procedures to identify
the causes of unexcused absences, including interviews with the student,
parents, and school officials; and (3) identify appropriate supportive services
and resources available to truants, including parent conferences, counseling,
and community services that will assist the student.
11. Physical Education
105 ILCS 5/27-6;
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.420(p)
The Illinois School Code allows boards of education to waive enrollment
in physical education classes under certain circumstances. If boards of
education decide to make such waivers, they must have a policy in place
describing the procedures.
12. Teaching Assignments
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.420(d)
Boards of education are required to adopt and implement policies that
address how teaching assignments, study hall periods and extra duties are
determined and assigned.
13. High School Credit
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.450(c) and 1.460
School boards must adopt policies defining the board’s position
on awarding high school credit on the basis of proficiency, which can be
measured by examination, independent study, or for work completed at another
institution. Plans for earning credit outside of the public school classroom
should be approved by the principal according to established policy. The
policy must also contain information regarding institutions that provide
correspondence courses and the number of credits that the district will
apply toward graduation. The student’s permanent records must show
how the credits were earned and the examination papers (if any) should be
kept in the student’s file for three years.
14. Adult Education
23 Ill.Adm.Code 1.470
School districts must provide for the educational needs of adults under
the age of 21 who wish to re-enter high school to acquire a diploma or equivalency
certificate. School districts may offer credit through proficiency testing,
correspondence courses, military experiences, life experiences and other
non-formal educational endeavors, all of which must be set forth in a specific
board policy.
15. Revolving/Imprest Funds
23 Ill.Adm.Code 110.125
Boards of education may establish a Revolving or Imprest Fund upon board
resolution. Once established, the board must develop a policy describing
the amounts and types of payments that shall be made from the account.
16. Transportation
23 Ill.Adm.Code 275.100
School boards must institute policies and practices which promote the
safety and well-being of school bus passengers. These policies must outline
activities that are prohibited on school buses and a provision giving the
school board authority to suspend students for gross disobedience or misconduct
on a school bus, pursuant to section 5/10-22.6(b) of the School Code.
17. Pagers on School Grounds
105 ILCS 5/10-21.10
School boards must develop written standards prohibiting the use of
electronic paging devices on school property. However, the policy must also
authorize the use or possession of pagers under limited circumstances. The
policy may provide for sanctions against any student who violates the terms
of the policy.
All too often boards of education discover that a policy is out-of-date
only after a lawsuit is filed or the policy is otherwise questioned. An
annual review of board policies is strongly recommended to help fine-tune
language and ensure that the policies are amended in light of new statutes
and cases. A comprehensive policy manual that offers clear guidance to board
members, superintendents, principals, employees, and students alike is a
time-honored way to foster communication within a district and help prevent
the type of confusion that can result in litigation.
Return to Table of Contents
Associate Profile: Keri-Lyn J. Krafthefer
Keri-Lyn J. Krafthefer concentrates her school law practice in labor
and employment, tort defense and election law. In addition to representing
school districts in employment discrimination matters, she has served as
chief negotiator for several school districts during collective bargaining
and has successfully represented districts in arbitration and mediation.
Keri-Lyn has spoken before the National Public Employer’s Labor Relation
Association on Chicago public school reform and on the next wave of legislation
expected to affect Illinois public employers. Her article entitled, “Common
Errors that Get Candidates Knocked off the Ballot” was published in
the DuPage County Bar Association’s Brief. Keri-Lyn is also active
in community events in the Oak Brook area. In her spare time, she plays
the piano professionally and tours with the Chicago Bar Association’s
bar show theatre troupe.
Firm News
Keri-Lyn J. Krafthefer was recently
appointed to serve as the legislative liaison to the Chicago Bar Association’s
Election Law Committee. Part of her duties will include an analysis of the
pending legislation which seeks to change the election dates for school
elections.
Our office has been busy at the bargaining table lately. Timothy E. Guare recently wrapped up teachers’
contracts for School Districts 209 and 144. Keri-Lyn kept pace by successfully
concluding negotiations for contracts covering support staff in School District
144 and clerical employees in School District 201.
Alan M. Mullins and Tim are slated to be presenters at the IASB Joint
Conference in November. They will be speaking on employee screening and
hiring procedures.
Stewart H. Diamond, and Darcy L. Proctor of our office successfully defended
one of our School District clients in a case before the Appellate Court.
Stewart and Darcy were successful in obtaining a dismissal of the case before
the trial court, on the grounds that the Illinois Tort Immunity Act applied
to a Superintendent who was in an accident on her way to an off-campus committee
meeting of School Administrators. The Appellate Court affirmed, holding
that the Superintendent’s travel to the meeting was at least partly
for the benefit of the employer and therefore was action within the scope
of her employment at the time of the collision, thus triggering tort immunity.
On a similar note, Thomas G. DiCianni
recently won a jury verdict in a case involving the applicability of the
Tort Immunity Act to unintended uses of school property. In an unusual twist,
the judge directed that the jury would have to decide whether or not the
School intended a foot-beaten path to be used for pedestrian travel. The
jury ruled in favor of the District, and therefore, the Tort Immunity Act
barred any recovery by the plaintiff.
Return to Table of Contents
School Law Briefing is published periodically by Ancel,
Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Krafthefer, P.C., as a service to our public
education clients and friends. It is intended to provide timely information
of interest, but it is not a substitute for legal advice. Be sure to consult
with an attorney before taking action based on the contents. We welcome
comments and questions. Permission to reproduce is granted provided credit
is given to Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Krafthefer, P.C. School
Law Briefing.
Editor: Timothy E. Guare, Design: Douglas
M. Doty
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