Illinois Districts: Missing Legal Obligations

PA 99-0922Lead in water law

20+ ELBilingual trigger

42 USC 11432McKinney-Vento

5 ILCS 120Open Meetings Act

ISSUE 1: LEAD IN DRINKING WATER — PA 99-0922

Mandatory — Largely UnenforcedIllinois law requires testing for lead in drinking water in ALL prekindergarten through 5th grade school facilities constructed on or before January 1, 2000. Results must be reported. Mitigation is required if levels exceed action thresholds. There is NO central public database showing which districts have tested, which have not, and which have elevated levels not yet mitigated.

Legal citation: Public Act 99-0922 (enacted 2016), codified in 105 ILCS 5/2-3.12 and IDPH rules

What is missing: District-by-district testing status, results, and mitigation actions

FOIA to ISBE: All lead-in-water testing reports submitted by school districts 2016-present

FOIA to each district: All lead testing results and mitigation plans for each pre-2000 building

Why it matters: Children in pre-2000 Illinois school buildings may be drinking lead-contaminated water today. No public database exists to find out.

Chicago vs. DownstateChicago Public Schools conducted a major lead testing initiative after PA 99-0922. Downstate compliance is far less consistent. Rural districts with older buildings, fewer resources, and less public scrutiny are the highest-risk population — exactly the districts least likely to have conducted testing and remediation.

ISSUE 2: CARL PERKINS V — CTE EQUITY

The Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Public Law 115-224, enacted 2018) requires that Career and Technical Education programs be accessible to all students regardless of race, income, gender, or disability. Illinois receives federal Carl Perkins funds and must submit a state plan to the US Department of Education.

The Data Already Shows the GapThe statewide equity analysis shows a 9.1-point dual credit access gap between white and minority students. Carl Perkins V requires states and districts to address these gaps with evidence-based interventions documented in local CTE plans. No Illinois school district has been sanctioned for CTE equity gaps under Carl Perkins in the review period. The gap is documented. The law requires action. No action has been taken.

Legal citation: Carl Perkins V, Public Law 115-224, Section 134 (local plan requirements)

District obligation: Local application must include equity plan for special populations including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, and single parents

State plan: Illinois CTE State Plan on file with US DOE — publicly available at ed.gov

What is missing: District-by-district CTE equity plan compliance; dual credit enrollment disaggregated by race and income per district

FOIA to ISBE: All district Carl Perkins local plans, 2019-present; any compliance reviews or corrective action plans issued to districts

ISSUE 3: MCKINNEY-VENTO — HOMELESS LIAISON INDEPENDENCE

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)) requires every school district to designate a local homeless education liaison who must be able to act independently on behalf of homeless students.

94% of Districts Use the IASB Boilerplate — Which Is Structurally Non-CompliantThe IASB McKinney-Vento policy template assigns the liaison role to the 'building principal or designee.' The building principal's school enrollment, funding, and performance metrics depend on the same decisions the liaison is supposed to make independently on behalf of homeless students. This is a structural conflict of interest. Federal law requires independence. The boilerplate provides the appearance of compliance without the substance.

Legal citation: 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) — McKinney-Vento; ESSA Title IX Part A

Illinois mirror: 105 ILCS 45/1-5 — requires designation but does not specify independence standards

Enforcement gap: ROEs are supposed to monitor MV compliance. None conducted proactive independence checks in review period.

D230 status: McKinney-Vento liaison not publicly named on website. 72 homeless students identified (1.0% of enrollment). Inferred to be Lisa Shulman (Director of Pupil Personnel Services).

What to FOIA: Written McKinney-Vento liaison designation for each district — name, title, and whether they have supervisory authority over the principal whose enrollment counts they affect.

ISSUE 4: OPEN MEETINGS ACT — EXECUTIVE SESSION ABUSE

Illinois school boards use executive (closed) sessions under 5 ILCS 120/2(c). The Open Meetings Act lists specific, narrow exemptions. Boards routinely cite boilerplate exemptions without specifying which subsection applies or why.

The D230 PatternD230 board agendas show executive sessions at 56 of 132 meetings analyzed (42%). While executive sessions are legal, the frequency and the boilerplate language used suggest routine use for items that may not qualify under the specific exemptions cited. The typical agenda language: 'To consider the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee or legal counsel' — which technically covers nearly any personnel topic.

FOIA to request: executive session minutes and audio recordings (5 ILCS 120/2.06(a) requires verbatim recordings be kept for 18 months and minutes indefinitely)

FOIA to request: listing of all executive session agenda items 2015-present and the specific 2(c) exemption cited for each

PAC complaint trigger: if district destroys executive session recordings before 18 months, file immediately

ISSUE 5: BILINGUAL EDUCATION TRIGGER — 105 ILCS 5/14C-3

When 20 or more English Learner students of the same non-English language background are enrolled at the same grade level in the same school, Illinois law (105 ILCS 5/14C-3) requires the district to provide a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program in that language. This is not discretionary.

Compliance GapMany Illinois school districts with growing Spanish-speaking EL populations have never formally assessed whether they meet the 20-student threshold at individual schools. ISBE does not proactively audit TBE program compliance. Districts with EL populations above 5-7% at individual schools almost certainly have buildings that trigger the TBE requirement — but may never have implemented a qualifying program.

D230 EL rate: 7.6% proficiency in ELA (critically low). EL enrollment distributed across 3 high schools. TBE threshold analysis required per building.

FOIA to each district: Count of EL students by language background by school building for each year 2015-present; documentation of any TBE program assessment or implementation; ISBE letters regarding TBE compliance.

Illinois Statewide School District Compliance and Equity Audit 2026 | auditor@illinoisschooldistrict.org | IllinoisSchoolDistrict.org

OMA Section	Exemption	Common Abuse
2(c)(1)	Personnel	Used for any discussion of employees — even general policy discussions
2(c)(2)	Collective bargaining	Used when any labor topic is mentioned, even after contract is settled
2(c)(11)	Litigation	Used when litigation is merely possible, not pending or imminent
2(c)(21)	Security	Used for any discussion of building access, facilities
Multiple	Stacked citations	Board cites 2+ exemptions for a single item — making it impossible to challenge any one