(a) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation, is authorized to award competitive grants on an annual basis under a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Grant Program. The goal of this grant program is to promote school safety and healthy learning environments by providing schools with additional resources to implement restorative interventions and resolution strategies as alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and to address the full range of students' intellectual, social, emotional, physical, psychological, and moral developmental needs.

(b) To receive a grant under this program, a school district must submit with its grant application a plan for implementing evidence-based and promising practices that are aligned with the goal of this program. The application may include proposals to (i) hire additional school support personnel, including, but not limited to, restorative justice practitioners, school psychologists, school social workers, and other mental and behavioral health specialists; (ii) use existing school-based resources, community-based resources, or other experts and practitioners to expand alternatives to exclusionary discipline, mental and behavioral health supports, wraparound services, or drug and alcohol treatment; and (iii) provide training for school staff on trauma-informed approaches to meeting students' developmental needs, addressing the effects of toxic stress, restorative justice approaches, conflict resolution techniques, and the effective utilization of school support personnel and community-based services. For purposes of this subsection, "promising practices" means practices that present, based on preliminary information, potential for becoming evidence-based practices.

(a) In this Section:

"Psychostimulant medication" means medication that produces increased levels of mental and physical energy and alertness and an elevated mood by stimulating the central nervous system.

"Psychotropic medication" means psychotropic medication as defined in Section 1-121.1 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code [405 ILCS 5/1-121.1].

(b) Each school board must adopt and implement a policy that prohibits any disciplinary action that is based totally or in part on the refusal of a student's parent or guardian to administer or consent to the administration of psychotropic or psychostimulant medication to the student.

The policy must require that, at least once every 2 years, the in-service training of certified school personnel and administrators include training on current best practices regarding the identification and treatment of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the application of non-aversive behavioral interventions in the school environment, and the use of psychotropic or psychostimulant medication for school-age children.

(c) This Section does not prohibit school medical staff, an individualized educational program team, or a professional worker (as defined in Section 14-1.10 of this Code [105 ILCS 5/14-1.10]) from recommending that a student be evaluated by an appropriate medical practitioner or prohibit school personnel from consulting with the practitioner with the consent of the student's parents or guardian.

Each school board shall prohibit the use of tobacco on school property by any school personnel, student, or other person when such property is being used for any school purposes. The school board may not authorize or permit any exception to or exemption from the prohibition at any place or at any time, including without limitation outside of school buildings or before or after the regular school day or on days when school is not in session. "School purposes" include but are not limited to all events or activities or other use of school property that the school board or school officials authorize or permit on school property, including without limitation all interscholastic or extracurricular athletic, academic, or other events sponsored by the school board or in which pupils of the district participate. For purposes of this Section "tobacco" shall mean cigarette, cigar, or tobacco in any other form, including smokeless tobacco which is any loose, cut, shredded, ground, powdered, compressed or leaf tobacco that is intended to be placed in the mouth without being smoked.

It shall also be the responsibility of the principal to utilize resources of proper law enforcement agencies when the safety and welfare of students and teachers are threatened by illegal use of drugs and alcohol, by illegal use or possession of weapons, or by illegal gang activity.

School boards are empowered to adopt a policy to authorize school officials to request the assistance of law enforcement officials for the purpose of conducting reasonable searches of school grounds and lockers for illegal drugs, including searches conducted through the use of specially trained dogs.

(a) In this Section:

"Drug" means "cannabis" as defined under subsection (a) of Section 3 of the Cannabis Control Act [720 ILCS 550/3], "narcotic drug" as defined under subsection (aa) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act [720 ILCS 570/102], or "methamphetamine" as defined under Section 10 of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act [720 ILCS 646/10].

"School" means any public or private elementary or secondary school.

(b) Upon receipt of any written, electronic, or verbal report from any school personnel regarding a verified incident involving drugs in a school or on school owned or leased property, including any conveyance owned, leased, or used by the school for the transport of students or school personnel, the superintendent or his or her designee, or other appropriate administrative officer for a private school, shall report all such drug-related incidents occurring in a school or on school property to the local law enforcement authorities immediately and to the Department of State Police in a form, manner, and frequency as prescribed by the Department of State Police.

(c) The State Board of Education shall receive an annual statistical compilation and related data associated with drug-related incidents in schools from the Department of State Police. The State Board of Education shall compile this information by school district and make it available to the public.

"Support services" include alcohol and drug rehabilitation; individual, group, and family counseling; mentoring; tutoring; school physicals; health and nutrition education; classroom aides; career counseling; child care; and any other social, health, or supplemental service approved as part of the Student Success Plan that is required by students for their academic success.

Teachers and other employees of school districts may intervene to help students or their family members who appear to have problems with alcohol and other drugs by encouraging them to seek an assessment and treatment. School personnel who intervene shall have immunity from civil liability in accordance with the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Intervenor and Reporter Immunity Law [745 ILCS 35/1 et seq.]. School personnel shall not be subject to disciplinary action by the school because of an intervention and may not be prohibited by school policy from intervening.

The Board of Education shall prohibit the use of tobacco on school property when such property is being used for any school purposes. Neither the board nor the local school council may authorize or permit any exception to or exemption from the prohibition at any place or at any time, including without limitation outside of school buildings or before or after the regular school day or on days when school is not in session. "School purposes" include but are not limited to all events or activities or other use of school property that the school board or school officials authorize or permit on school property, including without limitation all interscholastic or extracurricular athletic, academic or other events sponsored by the school board or in which pupils of the district participate. For purposes of this Section "tobacco" shall mean cigarette, cigar, or tobacco in any other form, including smokeless tobacco which is any loose, cut, shredded, ground, powdered, compressed or leaf tobacco that is intended to be placed in the mouth without being smoked.

The board shall specify in its formal job description for principals, and from and after July 1, 1990 shall specify in the 4 year performance contracts for use with respect to all principals, that his or her primary responsibility is in the improvement of instruction. A majority of the time spent by a principal shall be spent on curriculum and staff development through both formal and informal activities, establishing clear lines of communication regarding school goals, accomplishments, practices and policies with parents and teachers. The principal, with the assistance of the local school council, shall develop a school improvement plan as provided in Section 34-2.4 [105 ILCS 5/34-2.4] and, upon approval of the plan by the local school council, shall be responsible for directing implementation of the plan. The principal, with the assistance of the professional personnel leadership committee, shall develop the specific methods and contents of the school's curriculum within the board's system-wide curriculum standards and objectives and the requirements of the school improvement plan. The board shall ensure that all principals are evaluated on their instructional leadership ability and their ability to maintain a positive education and learning climate. It shall also be the responsibility of the principal to utilize resources of proper law enforcement agencies when the safety and welfare of students and teachers are threatened by illegal use of drugs and alcohol, by illegal use or possession of weapons, or by illegal gang activity.

It is the duty of the principal of a public elementary or secondary school, or his or her designee, and the chief administrative officer of a private elementary or secondary school or a public or private community college, college, or university, or his or her designee, to report to the municipal police department or office of the county sheriff of the municipality or county where the school is located violations of Section 5.2 of the Cannabis Control Act [720 ILCS 550/5.2], violations of Section 401 [720 ILCS 570/401] and subsection (b) of Section 407 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act [720 ILCS 570/407], and violations of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act [720 ILCS 646/1 et seq.] occurring in a school, on the real property comprising any school, on a public way within 1,000 feet of a school, or in any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school to transport students to or from school or a school related activity within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident.

In conjunction with Section 10-20 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10-20] and Section 3 of the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act [20 ILCS 2405/3], the Department, under its administrative authority, prohibits the use of all tobacco products on State School property. For purposes of this Section, tobacco products shall mean cigarette, cigar, or tobacco in any other form, including smokeless tobacco, which is loose, cut, shredded, ground, powdered, compressed or leaf tobacco. The prohibition against the use of tobacco products is to include school personnel, students, or other persons when on State School property. No exception to this prohibition will be permitted, including all events or activities before or after the regular school day and on days when the State School is not in session.