SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS                                                                                           H.B. 4293 & 4294 (H-2):

                                                                                                                                  SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL

                                                                                                                                                                                          IN COMMITTEE

House Bill 4293 (as passed by the House)

House Bill 4294 (Substitute H-2 as passed by the House)

Sponsor:   Representative John Damoose (H.B. 4293)

                            Representative Brad Paquette (H.B. 4294)

House Committee:   Education

Senate Committee:   Education and Career Readiness

Date Completed:   12-7-21

CONTENT

House Bill 4293 would amend Public Act 336 of 1947, which prohibits strikes by certain public employees, to do the following:

 --     Prohibit collective bargaining between a public school employer and a bargaining representative of its employees from including decisions about the employment of an individual as a substitute teacher as specified under House Bill 4294 (H-2).

 --     Remove language pertaining to collective bargaining if a public school is placed in the State school reform/redesign school district or is placed under a chief executive officer (CEO).

 --     Remove language pertaining to a public school employer's collective bargaining duty in regard to schools operating under one of the four school intervention models implemented by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).

House Bill 4294 (H-2) would amend the Revised School Code to do the following:

 --     Allow the board of a school district or ISD, beginning on the bill's effective date and through June 30, 2022, to employ an individual without a certificate or permit who did not otherwise meet the requirements of a substitute teacher.

 --     Prescribe conditions that individual would have to meet to be employed as a substitute teacher under the bill.

 --     Prescribe conditions with respect to the compensation of an individual employed as a substitute teacher under the bill.

 --     Prohibit termination of or retaliation against an individual who declined employment or assignment as a substitute teacher based on his or her refusal.

The bills are tie-barred.

House Bill 4293

Public Act 336 of 1947 prohibits collective bargaining between a public school employer and a bargaining representative of its employees from including specified subjects. Under the bill, collective bargaining could not include decisions about the employment of an individual as a substitute teacher under Section 1233(10) of the Revised School Code (which House Bill 4293 (H-2) would add to allow a district or ISD to employ an employee of the district or ISD as a substitute teacher until June 20, 2022).

Currently, if a public school is placed in the State school reform/redesign school district or is placed under a CEO, then for the purpose of collective bargaining, the State school reform/redesign officer or CEO, as applicable, is the public school employer of the public school employees of that school for as long as the school is part of the State school reform/redesign school district or operated by the CEO. The bill would remove this language.