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Privatization/Subcontracting and the Law

One of the greatest issues facing ESPs today is privatization. A wide variety of companies and corporations are attempting to take over virtually all of the work traditionally performed by school district employees, from teaching to providing student transportation to cooking meals to cleaning and maintaining school buildings and grounds, and more. The National Education Association is strongly opposed to privatization because of the threat it poses to the quality of education, the accountability of public schools to the communities they serve and to the well being of children in school.

HB 1347 – PUBLIC ACT 095-0241

In 2007, the Illinois Education Association achieved a major victory in providing job protection for all ESP employees. This major achievement will make the subcontracting of ESP employees much more difficult for school district employers. Following is the exact text of Public Act 095-0241 introduced as House Bill 1347. Copy this text and review this information with your IEA UniServ Director at an Executive Board meeting of your Association. MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO KNOW THIS LAW.  

Public Act 095-0241
HB1347 Enrolled

LRB095 09063 NHT 29254 b
     
AN ACT concerning education.    
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,    
represented in the General Assembly:    
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section    
10-22.34c as follows:    
(105 ILCS 5/10-22.34c)    
Sec. 10-22.34c. Third party non-instructional services.    
(a) A Notwithstanding any other law of this State, nothing in    
this Code prevents a board of education may enter from entering    
into a contract with a third party for non-instructional    
services currently performed by any employee or bargaining unit    
member or lay from laying off those educational support    
personnel employees upon 90 30 days written notice to the    
affected employees , provided that:    
(1) a contract must not be entered into and become    
effective during the term of a collective bargaining    
agreement, as that term is set forth in the agreement,    
covering any employees who perform the non-instructional    
services;    
(2) a contract may only take effect upon the expiration    
of an existing collective bargaining agreement;    
(3) any third party that submits a bid to perform the    
non-instructional services shall provide the following:    
 
(A) evidence of liability insurance in scope and    
amount equivalent to the liability insurance provided    
by the school board pursuant to Section 10-22.3 of this    
Code;    
(B) a benefits package for the third party’s    
employees who will perform the non-instructional    
services comparable to the benefits package provided    
to school board employees who perform those services;    
(C) a list of the number of employees who will    
provide the non-instructional services, the job    
classifications of those employees, and the wages the    
third party will pay those employees;    
(D) a minimum 3-year cost projection, using    
generally accepted accounting principles and which the    
third party is prohibited from increasing if the bid is    
accepted by the school board, for each and every    
expenditure category and account for performing the    
non-instructional services;    
(E) composite information about the criminal and    
disciplinary records, including alcohol or other    
substance abuse, Department of Children and Family    
Services complaints and investigations, traffic    
violations, and license revocations or any other    
licensure problems, of any employees who may perform    
the non-instructional services, provided that the    
individual names and other identifying information of    
employees need not be provided with the submission of    
the bid, but must be made available upon request of the    
school board; and    
(F) an affidavit, notarized by the president or    
chief executive officer of the third party, that each    
of its employees has completed a criminal background    
check as required by Section 10-21.9 of this Code    
within 3 months prior to submission of the bid,    
provided that the results of such background checks    
need not be provided with the submission of the bid,    
but must be made available upon request of the school    
board.    
(4) a contract must not be entered into unless the    
school board provides a cost comparison, using generally    
accepted accounting principles, of each and every    
expenditure category and account that the school board    
projects it would incur over the term of the contract if it    
continued to perform the non-instructional services using    
its own employees with each and every expenditure category    
and account that is projected a third party would incur if    
a third party performed the non-instructional services;    
(5) review and consideration of all bids by third    
parties to perform the non-instructional services shall    
take place in open session of a regularly scheduled school    
board meeting, unless the exclusive bargaining    
representative of the employees who perform the    
non-instructional services, if any such exclusive    
bargaining representative exists, agrees in writing that    
such review and consideration can take place in open    
session at a specially scheduled school board meeting;    
(6) a minimum of one public hearing, conducted by the    
school board prior to a regularly scheduled school board    
meeting, to discuss the school board’s proposal to contract    
with a third party to perform the non-instructional    
services must be held before the school board may enter    
into such a contract; the school board must provide notice    
to the public of the date, time, and location of the first    
public hearing on or before the initial date that bids to    
provide the non-instructional services are solicited or a    
minimum of 30 days prior to entering into such a contract,    
whichever provides a greater period of notice;    
(7) a contract shall contain provisions requiring the    
contractor to offer available employee positions pursuant    
to the contract to qualified school district employees    
whose employment is terminated because of the contract; and    
(8) a contract shall contain provisions requiring the    
contractor to comply with a policy of nondiscrimination and    
equal employment opportunity for all persons and to take    
affirmative steps to provide equal opportunity for all    
persons.    
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, a board    
of education may enter into a contract, of no longer than 3    
months in duration, with a third party for non-instructional    
services currently performed by an employee or bargaining unit    
member for the purpose of augmenting the current workforce in    
an emergency situation that threatens the safety or health of    
the school district’s students or staff, provided that the    
school board meets all of its obligations under the Illinois    
Educational Labor Relations Act.    
(c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act    
of the 95th General Assembly are not applicable to    
non-instructional services of a school district that on the    
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General    
Assembly are performed for the school district by a third    
party.    
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)    
Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding    
Section 8.31 as follows:    
(30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)    
Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8    
of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the    
implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of    
the 95th General Assembly.    
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon    
becoming law.    
       

Effective Date: 8/17/2007

Floor Actions

Date

 Action

8/17/2007

 Public Act . . . . . . . . .095-0241