CSG Committee on Suggested State Legislation

This SSL draft is based on Texas law. According to a Texas legislative bill analysis, hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking,” is a natural gas drilling method in which a well is drilled vertically more than a mile deep and then extended horizontally into a targeted rock formation Fracturing fluids, consisting of water, sand, and chemical additives, are pumped at extremely high pressure down the wellbore. The fracturing fluids flow through perforated sections of the wellbore and into the surrounding formation, fracturing the rock and injecting sand into the cracks to hold them open. This process is repeated multiple times to reach maximum areas of the wellbore. The water pressure then is reduced and fluids are returned up the wellbore for disposal or for treatment and reuse, leaving the sand in place to prop open the cracks and allow the gas to flow and be collected at the surface. 

Illinois SB 7 (Public Act 097-0008) establishes new standards for teacher tenure, empowers school districts to remove poor performing teachers from the classroom, and updates regulations about teacher strikes. For example, the law states tenure can only be obtained after four years of service and a series of proficiency reviews. However, it allows for the top rated educators to be put into a fast-track for tenure after three years without having to wait for the fourth year. The Act directs the state board of education to administer a survey of learning conditions to schools statewide and to publically report about selected indicators of learning conditions resulting from the survey. 

This Act prohibits minors from using an electronic communication device, such as a cell phone, to possess, transmit or distribute a sexual image of themselves or of another minor. It includes in the definition of “cyberbullying” the use of electronic communication to transmit or distribute a sexual image of a minor. 

This Act defines a college partnership laboratory school as a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious school established by a public institution of higher education that operates a teacher education program approved by the state board of education. The Act authorizes college partnership laboratory schools to stimulate the development of innovative programs for preschool through grade 12 students and provide opportunities for innovative instruction and assessment.