State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel | Illinois General Assembly
State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel | Illinois General Assembly
According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. Requires each member of a board of education, on the date of his or her election to the board, to be the age of 22 (rather than 18) years or over."
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 School Boards Article of the School Code in Illinois by changing the minimum age requirement for members of a board of education. It stipulates that each board member must be 22 years or older, instead of the previous minimum age of 18, as of the date of their election. The bill maintains existing stipulations that members must be U.S. citizens, residents of Illinois, registered voters, and not have been removed from a school board or be a child sex offender as defined. Additionally, the bill allows the appointment of a student to the board in an advisory, non-voting capacity and outlines procedures for filling vacancies on the school board.
Meg Loughran Cappel has proposed another two bills since the beginning of the 104th session.
Cappel graduated from Benedictine University with a BA.
Meg Loughran Cappel is currently serving in the Illinois State Senate, representing the state's 49th Senate District. She replaced previous state senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant in 2020.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| SB1493 | 01/31/2025 | Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. Requires each member of a board of education, on the date of his or her election to the board, to be the age of 22 (rather than 18) years or over. |
| SB1492 | 01/31/2025 | Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning platted and subdivided but undeveloped property, provides that (i) beginning with the 2025 taxable year, no property's assessed value shall be reduced to less than $150 under those provisions and (ii) beginning with the 2035 taxable year, no property shall be eligible for calculation of its assessed value under those provisions for more than a 10-year period. |
| SB1231 | 01/24/2025 | Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. Allows the school district to initiate an impartial due process hearing within 14 (rather than 5) days of any written parent request for an independent educational evaluation to show that its evaluation is appropriate. Requires an independent educational evaluation at public expense to be completed within 60 school days (rather than 30 days) of a parent's written request unless the school district initiates an impartial due process hearing or the parent or school district offers reasonable grounds to show that such time period should be extended. Provides that if the due process hearing decision indicates that the parent is entitled to an independent educational evaluation, it must be completed within 60 school days (rather than 30 days) of the decision unless the parent or the school district offers reasonable grounds to show that such period should be extended. |
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