State Representative Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, has introduced new legislation aimed at reducing costly, outdated and duplicative reporting requirements on Illinois school districts.
Specifically, House Resolution 726 calls for the Illinois State Board of Education to study (1) areas in which data collecting may be streamlined to eliminate inefficiencies in the data reporting system for local school districts; (2) areas in which data collecting may be streamlined so that school districts are not required to report the same data multiple times to meet different State and federal requirements; and (3) areas in which data collecting is not required by State or federal mandates so that school districts are not required to report data that is not used to improve the educational outcomes of students and schools.
“I am looking to make it easier on students, parents, teachers and administrators to truly reflect the progress our K-12 schools are making,” Keicher said. “I spoke to the State Board of Education this week and they welcome the opportunity to simplify and unify the reports they are generating because some data points are outdated, some mandates aren’t in alignment with the data collected and some data is duplicative. Our mutual goal is to save time and effort to be more focused on outcomes that matter.”
Brent O’Daniell, Superintendent of Genoa-Kingston CUSD #424 offered his perspective on the issue:
“While collecting data is pertinent at the local, state and federal levels, a streamlined process reduces administrative time and costs,” O’Daniell said. “Reducing administrative and central office burdens allows for more time to be allocated to educating our students and serving our staff. These are the reasons that I and the Genoa Kingston CUSD #424 support HR0726. We should strive to spend as much money and time on education as possible, and not on administrative tasks like collecting the same data multiple ways for multiple reasons.”
House Resolution 726 is awaiting assignment to committee for a hearing.