SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel championed a measure that will address background check delays at childcare facilities across Illinois.

“Illinois has been committed to setting kids up to be lifelong learners, giving youth a quality education at an early age,” said Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “We can’t do that when background checks are taking so long. We are losing qualified early education teachers.”

House Bill 4412 would allow a childcare facility, non-licensed service provider, day care center, or home-based day cares to use a third-party vendor licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for the required fingerprinting that is part of the application process for facility licensure and as a condition of employment.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel passed a measure through the Senate Licensed Activities Committee Wednesday that addresses background check delays at childcare facilities across the state.

“I continue to hear about delays with the state’s licensing process,” said Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “As we face a shortage of qualified early education teachers, we have to take the necessary steps to speed up the process.”

House Bill 4412 would allow a childcare facility, non-licensed service provider, day care center, or home-based day cares to use a third-party vendor licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for the required fingerprinting that is part of the application process for facility licensure and as a condition of employment.

Loughran Cappel’s initiative aims to reduce delays to prevent qualified applicants from losing interest and seeking employment elsewhere. Currently the background check process takes between six and 12 weeks to receive results.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel is working on a measure that would bring equity to funding for special education students by creating a fair reimbursement rate for special education day schools.

“I spent 15 years in the classroom as a special education teacher,” said Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “We have to ensure our students can receive a quality education in the least restrictive environment. This initiative would achieve equitable funding for all special needs students, no matter their placement.” 

Senate Bill 3606 would equalize the reimbursement rate received by public school districts from the Illinois State Board of Education when sending high-needs special education students to private and public special education day schools.

Under Loughran Cappel’s measure, public schools would be eligible to receive a reimbursement, regardless of where the student is sent, from ISBE for tuition costs for high-needs special education students that exceed the average cost for students not receiving special education services.

SPRINGFIELD – To address the shortage of Career and Technical Education teachers, State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel led a measure through the Senate that would allow them to be granted tenure.

“The need for CTE teachers continues to grow as more students enroll in these programs across the state,” said Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood). “We have to acknowledge the crucial work they do to educate students with hands-on learning experiences.”

Senate Bill 463 would allow CTE teachers to be granted tenure if they have a license with credentials. Under current law, teachers are required to have a Professional Educator License to be granted tenure. Loughran Cappel’s measure aims to expand the requirements to include CTE teachers.