Delivered via Email: April 8
Oppose HB2970: Notice to Remedy
Oppose House Bill 2970 (Rep. Moeller), which is scheduled for a hearing in the House Elementary & Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter Schools Committee on Wednesday, April 9 at 3 p.m. The bill creates several significant challenges for school districts in managing employee misconduct and ensuring accountability in Illinois schools.
HB2970 would allow teachers to grieve the issuance of a notice to remedy, adding procedural hurdles and potentially delaying necessary disciplinary action. By creating a new avenue to challenge these notices, the bill circumvents negotiated procedures and disrupts the balance that exists between school boards and employee unions.
The bill imposes strict requirements on how misconduct must be described in a notice, making it more difficult for administrators to address evolving or pattern-based issues and restricting their ability to manage behavior that impacts students and the school community.
HB2970 also limits the effectiveness of these notices by capping their validity at four years and requiring their automatic removal from personnel files after just three years, regardless of the nature or frequency of the misconduct. This undermines long-term accountability and weakens the progressive discipline process that many districts rely on to support improvement or take further action when needed.
The bill raises serious concerns under Faith’s Law, which is designed to protect students from educator misconduct. Shortening the timeframe for documentation and restricting what can be included in a personnel file may make it harder to identify and respond to patterns of concerning behavior, placing student safety at risk.
Please check to see if your legislator sits on the House Elementary & Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter Schools Committee and reach out and urge them to vote NO on HB2970. This legislation would weaken local control and jeopardize efforts to maintain professional standards and safe learning environments.