SPRINGFIELD – To better understand the prevalence of bullying and violence in Illinois schools, a new law sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) will strengthen incident reporting requirements.

“Nationwide rates of violence between students are alarming—to ensure we’re keeping our students safe, we need a deeper understanding of the issue in Illinois,” Murphy said. “The first step toward solving any problem is gathering information.”

The law requires the Illinois State Board of Education to collect data on incidents of violence that occurred on school grounds or during school-related activities that resulted in a student’s out-of-school suspension, expulsion or removal to an alternative setting.

ISBE is required to post the number of incidents recorded in each district on its public Illinois School Report Card website.

During the 2017-18 school year, an estimated 962,300 violent incidents occurred in U.S. public schools nationwide, according to the most recent School Survey on Crime and Safety administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Seventy-one percent of schools reported having at least one violent incident.

“When it comes to protecting student safety, transparency must be a priority,” Murphy said. “Stronger incident reporting requirements will help us identify problems and find solutions.”

The law, originally Senate Bill 633, was signed into law Friday. ISBE must begin publishing this data in the 2022-23 school year.

SPRINGFIELD – Parents can now enjoy the peace of mind that videos of their students at school won’t be shared with unauthorized parties under a new law sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) removing the video recording requirement from the Illinois edTPA teacher licensing assessment.

“In order to gain a teaching license, educators in training have been forced to put kids’ privacy—and in some cases, their safety—at risk,” Murphy said. “With new cybersecurity threats being discovered every day, this law ensures our students are protected.”

Under the new law, student teachers cannot be required to videotape themselves or their students in order to earn a license.

Previously, student teachers in Illinois had to record themselves and their students on video to pass the edTPA, an assessment required for their teaching license. Videos were then uploaded and sent to a third-party vendor for evaluation. The edTPA required just two short segments of video, but student teachers were encouraged to record hours of footage to choose from.

The law was sponsored in the House by State Representative Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago).

“Student teachers need to spend their training time learning how to be teachers, not learning how to be video producers,” Guzzardi said. “Our bill makes sure that sensitive student data is protected, and that teacher trainees can get away from the distraction of this high-stakes film project and back to their real work: preparing to educate the next generation.”

The law still allows teacher education programs to videotape for in-house teaching purposes, and licensed teachers and administrators can still film students in order to gain National Board Certification or for training, sporting events or promotional purposes.

“Uploading videos of children to a third-party vendor is unnecessary and potentially dangerous,” Murphy said. “There are more secure ways to assess our student teachers’ performance.”

The law, originally Senate Bill 808, was signed into law Friday and takes effect immediately.

DES PLAINES – After receiving a strong positive response during the initial two-week application period for her small business tour series, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) is extending the application deadline to give more local entrepreneurs the chance to share their stories and promote their work.

“I’m thrilled with the number of applications we received in just two weeks. I thought, why stop now?” Murphy said. “By extending the application period, we’re giving businesses more time to apply while we process the entries my office has received so far.”

Murphy hopes to visit a variety of businesses, including, but not limited to, retail shops, manufacturing businesses and businesses in the service industry – from salons to optometrists.

Business owners can submit their information at www.SenatorLauraMurphy.com/SmallBusinessTours to be considered for a tour. Once an application is received, a member of Murphy’s team will reach out with additional details.

Murphy has extended the original July 30 deadline and is now accepting applications on a rolling basis. The first round of tours will begin in August.

Those with questions can contact Murphy’s office at 847-718-1110 or www.SenatorLauraMurphy.com/contact-us.

SPRINGFIELD – Doctors trying to restore their medical licenses will have a clearer understanding of the process under a new law sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) requiring the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to publish detailed instructions on its website.

“Physicians looking to begin practicing medicine again should be able to pursue license restoration without having to wade through complicated rules and requirements,” Murphy said. “This law doesn’t change the restoration process itself, but makes it more transparent.”

The law requires IDFPR to post on its website the process for requesting a hearing on disciplinary action and the process for restoring a medical license after successful completion of a term of probation, suspension or revocation.

Illinois physicians already possess these rights, but they must often wade through complicated legal codes for information about the necessary steps. As a result, requesting a hearing or license restoration can be confusing and frustrating.

“There’s no point in subjecting physicians to wrong turns and headaches to return to the field,” Murphy said. “This law ensures IDFPR spells out the specific steps and requirements a doctor must follow to restore their license in one easily accessible location.”

The law, originally Senate Bill 1790, takes effect Jan. 1, 2022.