Chicago City Wire

Nicholas K. Smith introduced HB2793 in the Illinois House on Feb. 5, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Code. Provides that, on and after September 1, 2026, all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" are considered "effective" and all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "unsatisfactory" are considered "ineffective" for the purposes of the Employment of Teachers Article. Makes other changes concerning the waiver or modification of mandates; school report cards; license suspension or revocation; contractual continued service; removal or dismissal of teachers; an optional alternative evaluative dismissal process; the content of evaluation plans; the appointment and promotion of teachers in Chicago; and alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal in Chicago. Effective immediately."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Illinois School Code to alter the evaluation and classification system for teachers. Effective immediately, teacher evaluation ratings of "excellent," "proficient," or "needs improvement" will be categorized as "effective," and "unsatisfactory" ratings as "ineffective" starting September 1, 2026. Additional changes include stipulations for the waiver or modification of mandates, processes for teacher dismissal and remediation in Chicago, and reporting requirements for school report cards. Alternative procedures for teacher evaluation may include considerations of student performance data as a significant factor. Moreover, it provides for teacher appointment and promotion alterations within Chicago schools.

Nicholas K. Smith has proposed another three bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Smith graduated from Chicago State University in 2000 with a BS.

Nicholas K. Smith is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 34th House District. He replaced previous state representative Elgie R. Sims, Jr. in 2018.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB2793	02/05/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, on and after September 1, 2026, all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" are considered "effective" and all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "unsatisfactory" are considered "ineffective" for the purposes of the Employment of Teachers Article. Makes other changes concerning the waiver or modification of mandates; school report cards; license suspension or revocation; contractual continued service; removal or dismissal of teachers; an optional alternative evaluative dismissal process; the content of evaluation plans; the appointment and promotion of teachers in Chicago; and alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal in Chicago. Effective immediately.
HB1758	01/24/2025	Amends the State Property Control Act. In a provision concerning submission of an Annual Real Property Utilization Report, changes the due date for the Report from July 31 to August 31 of each year.
HB1371	01/15/2025	Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that, if a Public Act transfers State real property to a municipality for nominal consideration and the Public Act requires the property to be used for "public purposes" without defining that term, "public purposes" means any lawful purposes when used in a Public Act with an effective date prior to, on, or after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Makes conforming changes to a Division heading.
HB1376	01/15/2025	Appropriates $6,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services for a grant to the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago for costs associated with funding equitable mortgage lending, homeownership rehabilitation and development, and homebuyer subsidies and support. Effective July 1, 2025.