Rep. Will Davis

Maddy summaryThis Illinois House resolution designates September 2024 as National Scarring Alopecia Awareness Month to highlight a rare form of permanent hair loss. The bill aims to educate medical professionals, hair stylists, and the public about the condition, which causes irreversible follicle damage and currently lacks FDA-approved treatments. By increasing awareness, the legislation seeks to reduce the stigma and emotional impact associated with the disease while encouraging advocacy efforts. A copy of the resolution will be presented to the Scarring Alopecia Foundation as a gesture of support.

Directs the Professional Review Panel and the Illinois State Board of Education to conduct the analysis and financial modeling required to evaluate the implications of implementing the recommended maximum caseloads for school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, school nurses, and speech-language pathologists working in schools. Requests the Professional Review Panel and the Illinois State Board of Education to submit their findings in a written report to the General Assembly and Governor by December 31, 2025.

Amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code. Provides that, for the purpose of calculating the limiting rate for levy year 2023, the last preceding aggregate extension base for Homewood School District No. 153 in Cook County shall be $19,535,377. Effective immediately.

Directs the Professional Review Panel and the Illinois State Board of Education to conduct the analysis and financial modeling required to evaluate the implications of implementing the recommended $22 minimum hourly rate for employees providing educational support services. The analyses should include the district impact of incremental increases beginning with $20 in school year 2025-2026, $21 in school year 2026-2027, and $22 in school year 2027-2028. The Professional Review Panel and the Illinois State Board of Education should include their findings in a written report to the General Assembly and Governor by December 31, 2024.

Declares May 10, 2024 as Provider Appreciation Day in the State of Illinois. Encourages all residents of Illinois to recognize child care providers, the importance of their work, and the immeasurable value they bring to communities.

Encourages the utilization of small, diverse, and veteran-owned firms, as M/WBE and DBE programs have demonstrated success in promoting economic opportunity, equity and access. Supports federal DBE standards and programs to ensure the success of the Illinois Department of Transportation's DBE Program. Urges Congress to take action to protect the USDOT DBE program and M/WBE and DBE programs overall.

Urges the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to include certain measures in its upcoming Medicaid Managed Care Organization Request for Proposal (RFP) to ensure a robust, equitable, and inclusive procurement process.

Congratulates the Honorable Michael Christopher Fountain, Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States, on serving as a crucial link to the bilateral relationship between The Bahamas and the United States for over a decade. Wishes him continued success while conducting his consular duties.

Urges the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to continue taking appropriate action to facilitate equitable access to adolescent and adult vaccinations, including establishing appropriate programs and initiatives to raise public awareness on the importance of adolescent and adult vaccinations. Urges the IDPH to continue working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in-state healthcare providers, and patients to implement an effective and actionable state immunization strategy that includes adult immunizations. Urges the IDPH to continue increasing community resilience to communicable and other emerging disease threats. Urges the IDPH to continue determining goals on which to center the immunization plan. Urges the IDPH to continue exploring federal funding opportunities and partnerships to support vaccine awareness and access programs aligned with the goals established in the state immunization strategy.

Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. Provides that the resident district for a student who, as a result of the student's medically complex status resides exclusively at a full-time residential care facility, shall be the school district in which the residential facility is located if the residential facility provides the student with a regular fixed night-time residence for reasons other than placement in a specific school district and the student is not enrolled in a school district outside the district in which the residential facility is located. Provides that as a resident of the district in which the residential facility is located, the educational costs for a student shall be provided directly by the State Board of Education and shall be calculated based on the applicable per diem rate provided by the Illinois Purchased Care Review Board, with such per diem rate being based solely upon the audited submission of the cost financial report for the residential facility for special education students during the applicable school year. Provides that a residential facility shall submit monthly invoices to the State Board of Education for the education costs of a student in a residential facility. Provides that the State Board of Education shall ensure that a representative of the resident school district of the student in a residential facility attend and participate in an individualized education program meeting for the student and shall proffer a nonpublic facility placement contract for each student and the school district shall immediately execute and return the nonpublic facility placement contract to the residential facility. Provides that for a student in a residential facility, an educational surrogate shall be appointed who shall have authority to execute an individualized education program in the place of the student's parent or guardian on behalf of the student. Provides for restrictions on withholding payment to a residential facility. Provides that the provisions apply only to a special education student who lives at and relies on a residential facility as the student's overnight residence but who has not been enrolled by the student's parent or guardian in a school district. Effective immediately.