§ 34-18 — Powers of the board

The board shall exercise general supervision and jurisdiction over the public education and the public school system of the city, and, except as otherwise provided by this Article, shall have power: 1. To make suitable provision for the establishment and maintenance throughout the year or for such portion thereof as it may direct, not less than 9 months and in compliance with Section 10-19.05, of schools of all grades and kinds, including normal schools, high schools, night schools, schools for defectives and delinquents, parental and truant schools, schools for the blind, the deaf, and persons with physical disabilities, schools or classes in manual training, constructural and vocational teaching, domestic arts, and physical culture, vocation and extension schools and lecture courses, and all other educational courses and facilities, including establishing, equipping, maintaining and operating playgrounds and recreational programs, when such programs are conducted in, adjacent to, or connected with any public school under the general supervision and jurisdiction of the board; provided that the calendar for the school term and any changes must be submitted to and approved by the State Board of Education before the calendar or changes may take effect, and provided that in allocating funds from year to year for the operation of all attendance centers within the district, the board shall ensure that supplemental general State aid or supplemental grant funds are allocated and applied in accordance with Section 18-8, 18-8.05, or 18-8.15. To admit to such schools without charge foreign exchange students who are participants in an organized exchange student program which is authorized by the board. The board shall permit all students to enroll in apprenticeship programs in trade schools operated by the board, whether those programs are union-sponsored or not. No student shall be refused admission into or be excluded from any course of instruction offered in the common schools by reason of that student's sex. No student shall be denied equal access to physical education and interscholastic athletic programs supported from school district funds or denied participation in comparable physical education and athletic programs solely by reason of the student's sex. Equal access to programs supported from school district funds and comparable programs will be defined in rules promulgated by the State Board of Education in consultation with the Illinois High School Association. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, neither the board of education nor any local school council or other school official shall recommend that children with disabilities be placed into regular education classrooms unless those children with disabilities are provided with supplementary services to assist them so that they benefit from the regular classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's regular education class register; 2. To furnish lunches to pupils, to make a reasonable charge therefor, and to use school funds for the payment of such expenses as the board may determine are necessary in conducting the school lunch program; 3. To co-operate with the circuit court; 4. To make arrangements with the public or quasi-public libraries and museums for the use of their facilities by teachers and pupils of the public schools; 5. To employ dentists and prescribe their duties for the purpose of treating the pupils in the schools, but accepting such treatment shall be optional with parents or guardians; 6. To grant the use of assembly halls and classrooms when not otherwise needed, including light, heat, and attendants, for free public lectures, concerts, and other educational and social interests, free of charge, under such provisions and control as the principal of the affected attendance center may prescribe; 7. To apportion the pupils to the several schools; provided that no pupil shall be excluded from or segregated in any such school on account of his color, race, sex, or nationality. The board shall take into consideration the prevention of segregation and the elimination of separation of children in public schools because of color, race, sex, or nationality. Except that children may be committed to or attend parental and social adjustment schools established and maintained either for boys or girls only. All records pertaining to the creation, alteration or revision of attendance areas shall be open to the public. Nothing herein shall limit the board's authority to establish multi-area attendance centers or other student assignment systems for desegregation purposes or otherwise, and to apportion the pupils to the several schools. Furthermore, beginning in school year 1994-95, pursuant to a board plan adopted by October 1, 1993, the board shall offer, commencing on a phased-in basis, the opportunity for families within the school district to apply for enrollment of their children in any attendance center within the school district which does not have selective admission requirements approved by the board. The appropriate geographical area in which such open enrollment may be exercised shall be determined by the board of education. Such children may be admitted to any such attendance center on a space available basis after all children residing within such attendance center's area have been accommodated. If the number of applicants from outside the attendance area exceed the space available, then successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. The board of education's open enrollment plan must include provisions that allow low-income students to have access to transportation needed to exercise school choice. Open enrollment shall be in compliance with the provisions of the Consent Decree and Desegregation Plan cited in Section 34-1.01; 8. To approve programs and policies for providing transportation services to students. Nothing herein shall be construed to permit or empower the State Board of Education to order, mandate, or require busing or other transportation of pupils for the purpose of achieving racial balance in any school; 9. Subject to the limitations in this Article, to establish and approve system-wide curriculum objectives and standards, including graduation standards, which reflect the multi-cultural diversity in the city and are consistent with State law, provided that for all purposes of this Article courses or proficiency in American Sign Language shall be deemed to constitute courses or proficiency in a foreign language; and to employ principals and teachers, appointed as provided in this Article, and fix their compensation. The board shall prepare such reports related to minimal competency testing as may be requested by the State Board of Education and, in addition, shall monitor and approve special education and bilingual education programs and policies within the district to ensure that appropriate services are provided in accordance with applicable State and federal laws to children requiring services and education in those areas; 10. To employ non-teaching personnel or utilize volunteer personnel for: (i) non-teaching duties not requiring instructional judgment or evaluation of pupils, including library duties; and (ii) supervising study halls, long distance teaching reception areas used incident to instructional programs transmitted by electronic media such as computers, video, and audio, detention and discipline areas, and school-sponsored extracurricular activities. The board may further utilize volunteer nonlicensed personnel or employ nonlicensed personnel to assist in the instruction of pupils under the immediate supervision of a teacher holding a valid educator license, directly engaged in teaching subject matter or conducting activities; provided that the teacher shall be continuously aware of the nonlicensed persons' activities and shall be able to control or modify them. The general superintendent shall determine qualifications of such personnel and shall prescribe rules for determining the duties and activities to be assigned to such personnel; 10.5. To utilize volunteer personnel from a regional School Crisis Assistance Team (S.C.A.T.), created as part of the Safe to Learn Program established pursuant to Section 25 of the Illinois Violence Prevention Act of 1995, to provide assistance to schools in times of violence or other traumatic incidents within a school community by providing crisis intervention services to lessen the effects of emotional trauma on individuals and the community; the School Crisis Assistance Team Steering Committee shall determine the qualifications for volunteers; 11. To provide television studio facilities in not to exceed one school building and to provide programs for educational purposes, provided, however, that the board shall not construct, acquire, operate, or maintain a television transmitter; to grant the use of its studio facilities to a licensed television station located in the school district; and to maintain and operate not to exceed one school radio transmitting station and provide programs for educational purposes; 12. To offer, if deemed appropriate, outdoor education courses, including field trips within the State of Illinois, or adjacent states, and to use school educational funds for the expense of the said outdoor educational programs, whether within the school district or not; 13. During that period of the calendar year not embraced within the regular school term, to provide and conduct courses in subject matters normally embraced in the program of the schools during the regular school term and to give regular school credit for satisfactory completion by the student of such courses as may be approved for credit by the State Board of Education; 14. To insure against any loss or liability of the board, the former School Board Nominating Commission, Local School Councils, the Chicago Schools Academic Accountability Council, or the former Subdistrict Councils or of any member, officer, agent, or employee thereof, resulting from alleged violations of civil rights arising from incidents occurring on or after September 5, 1967 or from the wrongful or negligent act or omission of any such person whether occurring within or without the school premises, provided the officer, agent, or employee was, at the time of the alleged violation of civil rights or wrongful act or omission, acting within the scope of his or her employment or under direction of the board, the former School Board Nominating Commission, the Chicago Schools Academic Accountability Council, Local School Councils, or the former Subdistrict Councils; and to provide for or participate in insurance plans for its officers and employees, including, but not limited to, retirement annuities, medical, surgical and hospitalization benefits in such types and amounts as may be determined by the board; provided, however, that the board shall contract for such insurance only with an insurance company authorized to do business in this State. Such insurance may include provision for employees who rely on treatment by prayer or spiritual means alone for healing, in accordance with the tenets and practice of a recognized religious denomination; 15. To contract with the corporate authorities of any municipality or the county board of any county, as the case may be, to provide for the regulation of traffic in parking areas of property used for school purposes, in such manner as is provided by Section 11-209 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; 16. In this paragraph 16: "Direct admissions information" means a student's name, home address, birth date, telephone number, email address, cumulative grade point average, and high school. "Directory information" means a high school student's name, home address, birth date, and telephone number. "Public institution of higher education" has the meaning given to that term in the Board of Higher Education Act. (a) To provide, on an equal basis and consistent with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act, access to a high school campus and student directory information to the official recruiting representatives of the armed forces of Illinois and the United States, to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and to public institutions of higher education for the purposes of informing students of educational and career opportunities if the board has provided such access to persons or groups whose purpose is to acquaint students with educational or occupational opportunities available to them. The board is not required to give greater notice regarding the right of access to recruiting representatives than is given to other persons and groups. (a-5) To provide, on an equal basis and consistent with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act, access to student direct admissions information to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the purpose of the direct admission program. (b) If a student or his or her parent or guardian submits a signed, written request to the high school before the end of the student's sophomore year (or if the student is a transfer student, by another time set by the high school) that indicates that the student or his or her parent or guardian does not want the student's directory information to be provided to official recruiting representatives, to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and to public institutions of higher education under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph 16, the high school may not provide access to the student's directory information to these recruiting representatives, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and public institutions of higher education. The high school shall notify its students and their parents or guardians of the provisions of this subparagraph (b). (b-5) If a student who is 18 years of age or older or the parent or guardian of a student under 18 years of age submits a signed, written or electronic consent that indicates that the student or his or her parent or guardian does permit the student's direct admissions information to be provided, the high school shall provide the student's direct admissions information to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall provide template opt-in language to those school districts maintaining grades 10 through 12, which shall be made available on the Commission's website no later than June 30, 2025. The template opt-in language shall specify that if the student or the student's parent or guardian provides consent, the student's direct admissions information will be sent to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the direct admissions information may, as needed for the administration of the direct admission program under the Public University Direct Admission Program Act, be redisclosed to the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, public universities for which the student qualifies under the direct admission program, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois at Chicago if the student qualifies under Section 20 of the Public University Direct Admission Program Act, the community college district where the student resides, and, if applicable, a third party that operates a statewide student application portal. The template opt-in language shall also specify that direct admissions information may not be redisclosed to any other individual or entity unless the opt-in language notifies the student or the student's parent or guardian of such redisclosure and the student or the student's parent or guardian consents to the redisclosure. The high school shall notify its students and their parents or guardians of the provisions of this subparagraph (b-5) and, at the time of school registration or at other appropriate times prior to the end of a student's junior year, give its students and their parents or guardians the option for the student information to be shared for the purpose of the direct admission program. (c) A high school may require official recruiting representatives of the armed forces of Illinois and the United States to pay a fee for copying and mailing a student's directory information in an amount that is not more than the actual costs incurred by the high school. (d) Information received by an official under this Section may be used only to provide information to students concerning educational and career opportunities. Information may not be released to a person who is not involved in recruiting students for the armed forces of Illinois or the United States or providing educational opportunity information for the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, or public institutions of higher education. (e) By July 1, 2026 and each July 1 thereafter, the school district shall make student directory information electronically accessible for official recruiting representatives of the armed forces of Illinois or the United States, to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and to public institutions of higher education; (f) By July 1, 2026 and each July 1 thereafter, the school district shall make student direct admissions information electronically accessible through a secure, centralized data system to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the purpose of the direct admission program. (g) The Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the State Board of Education may adopt any rules necessary to administer this paragraph 16. 17. (a) To sell or market any computer program developed by an employee of the school district, provided that such employee developed the computer program as a direct result of his or her duties with the school district or through the utilization of school district resources or facilities. The employee who developed the computer program shall be entitled to share in the proceeds of such sale or marketing of the computer program. The distribution of such proceeds between the employee and the school district shall be as agreed upon by the employee and the school district, except that neither the employee nor the school district may receive more than 90% of such proceeds. The negotiation for an employee who is represented by an exclusive bargaining representative may be conducted by such bargaining representative at the employee's request. (b) For the purpose of this paragraph 17: (1) "Computer" means an internally programmed, general purpose digital device capable of automatically accepting data, processing data and supplying the results of the operation. (2) "Computer program" means a series of coded instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a computer, which causes the computer to process data in order to achieve a certain result. (3) "Proceeds" means profits derived from the marketing or sale of a product after deducting the expenses of developing and marketing such product; 18. To delegate to the general superintendent of schools, by resolution, the authority to approve contracts and expenditures in amounts of $35,000 or less; 19. Upon the written request of an employee, to withhold from the compensation of that employee any dues, payments, or contributions payable by such employee to any labor organization as defined in the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Under such arrangement, an amount shall be withheld from each regular payroll period which is equal to the pro rata share of the annual dues plus any payments or contributions, and the board shall transmit such withholdings to the specified labor organization within 10 working days from the time of the withholding; 19a. Upon receipt of notice from the comptroller of a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more, a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or a housing authority of a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more that a debt is due and owing the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority by an employee of the Chicago Board of Education, to withhold, from the compensation of that employee, the amount of the debt that is due and owing and pay the amount withheld to the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority; provided, however, that the amount deducted from any one salary or wage payment shall not exceed 25% of the net amount of the payment. Before the Board deducts any amount from any salary or wage of an employee under this paragraph, the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority shall certify that (i) the employee has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing to dispute the debt that is due and owing the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority and (ii) the employee has received notice of a wage deduction order and has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing to object to the order. For purposes of this paragraph, "net amount" means that part of the salary or wage payment remaining after the deduction of any amounts required by law to be deducted and "debt due and owing" means (i) a specified sum of money owed to the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority for services, work, or goods, after the period granted for payment has expired, or (ii) a specified sum of money owed to the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority pursuant to a court order or order of an administrative hearing officer after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust, judicial review; 20. The board is encouraged to employ a sufficient number of licensed school counselors to maintain a student/counselor ratio of 250 to 1. Each counselor shall spend at least 75% of his work time in direct contact with students and shall maintain a record of such time; 21. To make available to students vocational and career counseling and to establish 5 special career counseling days for students and parents. On these days representatives of local businesses and industries shall be invited to the school campus and shall inform students of career opportunities available to them in the various businesses and industries. Special consideration shall be given to counseling minority students as to career opportunities available to them in various fields. For the purposes of this paragraph, minority student means a person who is any of the following: (a) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment). (b) Asian (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam). (c) Black or African American (a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa). (d) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race). (e) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands). Counseling days shall not be in lieu of regular school days; 22. To report to the State Board of Education the annual student dropout rate and number of students who graduate from, transfer from, or otherwise leave bilingual programs; 23. Except as otherwise provided in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or other applicable State or federal law, to permit school officials to withhold, from any person, information on the whereabouts of any child removed from school premises when the child has been taken into protective custody as a victim of suspected child abuse. School officials shall direct such person to the Department of Children and Family Services or to the local law enforcement agency, if appropriate; 24. To develop a policy, based on the current state of existing school facilities, projected enrollment, and efficient utilization of available resources, for capital improvement of schools and school buildings within the district, addressing in that policy both the relative priority for major repairs, renovations, and additions to school facilities and the advisability or necessity of building new school facilities or closing existing schools to meet current or projected demographic patterns within the district; 25. To make available to the students in every high school attendance center the ability to take all courses necessary to comply with the Board of Higher Education's college entrance criteria effective in 1993; 26. To encourage mid-career changes into the teaching profession, whereby qualified professionals become licensed teachers, by allowing credit for professional employment in related fields when determining point of entry on the teacher pay scale; 27. To provide or contract out training programs for administrative personnel and principals with revised or expanded duties pursuant to this Code in order to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to perform their duties; 28. To establish a fund for the prioritized special needs programs, and to allocate such funds and other lump sum amounts to each attendance center in a manner consistent with the provisions of part 4 of Section 34-2.3. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require any additional appropriations of State funds for this purpose; 29. (Blank); 30. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any other law to the contrary, to contract with third parties for services otherwise performed by employees, including those in a bargaining unit, and to lay off those employees upon 14 days' written notice to the affected employees. Those contracts may be for a period not to exceed 5 years and may be awarded on a system-wide basis. The board may not operate more than 30 contract schools, provided that the board may operate an additional 5 contract turnaround schools pursuant to item (5.5) of subsection (d) of Section 34-8.3 of this Code, and the governing bodies of contract schools are subject to the Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act; 31. To promulgate rules establishing procedures governing the layoff or reduction in force of employees and the recall of such employees, including, but not limited to, criteria for such layoffs, reductions in force or recall rights of such employees and the weight to be given to any particular criterion. Such criteria shall take into account factors, including, but not limited to, qualifications, certifications, experience, performance ratings or evaluations, and any other factors relating to an employee's job performance; 32. To develop a policy to prevent nepotism in the hiring of personnel or the selection of contractors; 33. (Blank); and 34. To establish a Labor Management Council to the board comprised of representatives of the board, the chief executive officer, and those labor organizations that are the exclusive representatives of employees of the board and to promulgate policies and procedures for the operation of the Council. The specifications of the powers herein granted are not to be construed as exclusive, but the board shall also exercise all other powers that may be requisite or proper for the maintenance and the development of a public school system, not inconsistent with the other provisions of this Article or provisions of this Code which apply to all school districts. In addition to the powers herein granted and authorized to be exercised by the board, it shall be the duty of the board to review or to direct independent reviews of special education expenditures and services. The board shall file a report of such review with the General Assembly on or before May 1, 1990.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 103-8, eff. 1-1-24; 104-15, eff. 6-30-25; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25.)