Education Reform Bill to Promote School Success

The Ensuring Success in School Act (ESSA)

Issue

Students who are parents, expectant parents, or the victims of domestic or sexual violence face barriers to school success and school completion.  Rape victims report being ignored by school officials, or worse, expelled from school. Domestic violence victims report being subjected to intrusive "investigations" that blame them for violence.  Parenting and expectant students report being encouraged by school staff to leave school.  Parenting students report that they are disenrolled when they miss too many days of school as a result of childcare related issues.

Background

A coalition of youth, education, and violence advocates, spearheaded by the Shriver Center, drafted a bill to promote school success and safety for Illinois students who are expectant parents, parents, or the victims of domestic or sexual violence. The Ensuring Success in School Act (ESSA), Illinois H.B. 3615, promotes successful school completion by:

  • enabling expectant and parenting students as well as student victims of domestic or sexual violence to succeed in school

  • providing guidance to school districts when a student is a victim of sexual or domestic violence

  • encouraging the safe and meaningful involvement of parents of students

H.B. 3615 was introduced in the House of Representatives, 94th Illinois General Assembly, by Representative Karen A. Yarbrough in 2005.

Unfortunately, the stakeholders involved were unable to come to an agreement on the bill and H.B. 3615 remained at a standstill in the 94th GA.  However, the negotiations that came out of H.B. 3615 were conducive to promoting ongoing research, discussion, and debate on the issues related to ESSA, ultimately leading to the current status of the legislation.

Current Status

The Ensuring Success in Schools Act (ESSA), H. B. 1330, was introduced into the House of Representatives, 95th Illinois General Assembly, by Representative Karen A. Yarbrough in 2007.

As initially introduced, ESSA proposed to (1) ensure that youth who are parents, expectant parents, or the victims of domestic or sexual violence are identified by schools in a manner respectful of their privacy and safety, treated with dignity and regard, and provided the protection, instruction, and related support services necessary to enable them to meet State educational standards and successfully attain a high school diploma; (2) ensure that Illinois school-level staff and policymakers understand and are sensitive to the needs and characteristics of such youth; (3) afford protections in a school setting to a population of youth who have historically been stigmatized and discriminated against; and (4) promote best practices in Illinois' schools.

During the legislative process, H.B. 1330 was amended to change the legislation from a law to a mandated task force. 

In 2007, H.B. 1330 was signed into law by the 95th Illinois General Assembly, requiring the State Board of Education to convene an Ensuring Success in School Task Force. The Task Force is to develop policies, procedures, and protocols to be adopted by school districts for addressing the educational and related needs of children and youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence to ensure their ability to stay in school, stay safe while in school, and successfully complete their education. It also sets forth the duties and membership of the task force.

Following are some of the duties associated with Task Force participation:

  • examine barriers to school attendance, safety, and school completion for youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence

  • conduct discovery on relevant research and effective policies and protocols adopted within the state and elsewhere

  • conduct meetings and public hearings in geographically diverse locations throughout state of Illinois to gain input from advocates and stakeholders

  • produce a report regarding Task Force’s findings to the Illinois General Assembly on or before January 1, 2009

  • recommend new legislation or rules developed by the Task Force

The ESSA Task Force legislation also provides that school personnel who work with pupils must attend an in-service training program to be conducted by persons with expertise in domestic and sexual violence and the needs of expectant and parenting youth at least once every 2 years.

ESSA Resources


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List of organizations that support ESSA (information)