Required Public Information

Required Contact Information

Single email address for the public to communicate with the School Board — required under 50 ILCS 205/20

• schoolboard@epcusd401.org

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Required Meetings Information

Schedule of regular Board meetings for the current school year — required under 5 ILCS 120/2.02

• Link to Schedule

Public notice of all Board meetings for the current school year — required under 5 ILCS 120/2.02

• Link to Notices

Agenda of each open Board meeting for the current school year — required under 5 ILCS 120/2.02

• Link to Agendas

Official open Board meeting minutes for the current school year — required under 5 ILCS 120/2.06

• Link to Minutes

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Required Public Hearing Information

• Link to active Public Hearings

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Required Training Information

• Board members' completed leadership training - required under 105 ILCS 5/10-16a

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Required ESSER Return Information

Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan

• Link to plan

District 401 policy on bullying prevention and response — required under 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7

• Link to policy

Please see our Business Section for information related to required information.

Faith’s Law expands the criminal definition of grooming beyond electronic communications to include written communications and acts committed in person or by conduct through a third party. The law also makes it clear that mandated reporters must report suspected grooming to DCFS under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

In addition to expanding the criminal definition of grooming, Faith’s Law includes several new requirements for schools and educators intended to prevent sexual abuse and misconduct in schools. Faith’s Law adds a completely new section to the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/22-85.5) pertaining to sexual misconduct in schools. This section applies beginning July 1, 2022 and requires all school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools to develop an employee code of professional conduct policy that must be made available on the school’s website and included in any staff, student, or parent handbook. This employee code of professional conduct policy must address the following:

• Incorporate the Code of Ethics for Illinois Educators;

• Incorporate the statutory definition of “sexual misconduct” in Section 22-85.5;

• Identify expectations for maintaining professional relationships with students and appropriate staff-student boundaries, recognizing the age and developmental level of the students served, and establish guidelines for the following situations: (1) transporting a student, (2) taking or possessing a photo or a video of a student, and (3) meeting with a student or contacting a student outside of the employee’s or agent’s professional role;

• Reference employee reporting requirements under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and Title IX; and

• Reference required employee training related to child abuse and educator ethics applicable under State or federal law.

The law specifically provides that any violation of the employee code of professional conduct or failure to report a violation may subject an employee to discipline, up to and including dismissal from employment.

Faith’s Law also requires ISBE, by July 1, 2023, to create and post on its website a resource guide that will function as a centralized source of guidance about sexual abuse response and prevention for students, parents/guardians, and educators. Starting at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, school districts must annually notify parents of ISBE’s resource guide and provide copies of the guide to parents/guardians upon request or make the guide available on their website.

Need to report a concern or an incident? Call your child's school, state the reason for your call, and speak to the principal or a social worker. Anonymous reports can be made by completing the Bullying/Incident Reporting Form.

For more information about Faith's Law, visit the ISBE website.

Abused and Neglected Child ReportingEmployee Code of Professional ConductErin's LAWISBE Resource gUIDE PERSONAL Technology/Social MediaStaff Development

Please see our FOIA section for required information under 5 ILCS 140/4a & 5 ILCS 140/4b

Data summary for District 401 — required under 105 ILCS 5/27-8.1

• District 401
• John Mills Elementary
• Elmwood Elementary
• Elm Middle
• Elmwood Park High

Water test results - required under 225 ILCS 320/35.5

• District 401
• John Mills Elementary School
• Elmwood Elementary School

Notification

State law (730 ILCS 152/120g) requires Illinois schools to notify parents/guardians during school registration or parent­-teacher conferences that information about sex offenders is available to the public on the Illinois State Police website.

In addition, state law (730 ILCS 145/85) requires the Illinois State Police to make available on its website information about violent offenders against youth.

Where to Find This Information

Parents/guardians will find the above-mentioned information at these Illinois State Police links:

• Illinois Sex Offender Registry
• Illinois Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry

Pesticide Notification Registry

District 401 maintains a registry of employees, parents, guardians and community members who wish to receive written or telephonic notification two business days before the application of pesticides to District buildings and grounds.

Notifications will be posted on the District website as well as communicated via phone calls, emails and other media.

Prior notice shall not be required if there is an imminent threat to health or property.

To Be Placed on the Registry

If you wish to be added to this registry, please fill out and submit the following online form:

• District 401 Pesticide Notification Registry Request Form

Statutory and Policy Compliance

Maintaining this registry is in accordance with the Structural Pest Control Act (225 ILCS 235/), the Lawn Care Products Application and Notice Act (415 ILCS 65/) and District Policy 4:160.

Per state law, prior notice shall not be required if there is imminent threat to health or property.

District Policy

Procedures for handling pesticide notification are governed by District 401’s policy on environmental quality of buildings and grounds, which can be found in Section 4:160 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.

Link to report cards - required under 105 ILCS 5/10-17a

• District 401
• John Mills Elementary School
• Elmwood Elementary School
• Elm Middle School
• Elmwood Park High School

Information concerning operators of online services and applications used by the District — required under 105 ILCS 85/

• Link to Required Information

District 401 policy on suicide and depression awareness and prevention — required under 105 ILCS 5/2-3.166

• Link to policy

Required Information Concerning Parental Involvement

District 401 parental involvement policy for Title I programs — required under 20 USC §6318

• Link to policy

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Required Information Concerning Parental Involvement

Statement of Title I parental right to know teacher qualifications — required under 20 USC §6312e

At the start of each school year, District 401 shall notify the parents of each student attending any Title I school that they may request, and the school will provide in a timely manner, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student's classroom teachers.

Information That May Be Requested
This includes at a minimum the following information:

• Whether the student’s teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction
• Whether the student's teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived
• Whether the student's teacher is teaching in the field in which the teacher is certified
• Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications

To Learn More
For additional information about District 401's policy concerning Title I programs, please see Section 6:170 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.