IL HB5285

Amends Section 34-8.1 of the School Code to establish standards and procedures for principal eligibility, including requirements that criteria be "clear, specific, explicit, and objective."

Requires school boards to maintain a public database of candidates eligible to serve as principals, with quarterly notice and updates within 10 days of quarter-end.

Mandates that boards establish grievance and hearing procedures for candidates deemed ineligible to serve as principal, with hearings conducted by State Board of Education-trained evaluators.

Specifies that performance-based ineligibility requires either an unsatisfactory summative evaluation or 2 or more basic or lower evaluations within 7 school years, with protections for first-time principals showing improvement.

Requires boards to prevent discrimination based on conscious or implicit bias related to race, color, national origin, or unrelated disabilities, and to provide candidates with written score reports, evidence-based rationales, and remediation support.