State superintendent talks swine flu

State Superintendent of Education Chris Koch was in the Northwest suburbs Thursday, visiting Illinois Honor Roll schools in Barrington Unit School District 220 and Elgin Area School District U-46. He chatted briefly with the Daily Herald about how the State Board of Education is helping districts respond to the swine flu.

Q. What kind of role does the state board of education have in responding?

A. We've sent out guidance to school districts from the Centers for Disease Control and the Illinois Department of Public Health. We will continue to communicate the state's pandemic plan, developed in 2006 for the avian flu. We'll also give guidance to districts about scheduling makeup exams, and submitting grades late, and how those things should work.

Q. If schools shut down and go over their allotted cancellation days per year, how will this be made up?

A. The state requires schools to be open for 180 days every year. Schools receive five emergency makeup days, and then can receive "Act of God" days under which a pandemic like the swine flu would fall. They must be cleared by the regional superintendent in each county, and would reduce the total number of school days for that year.

Q. Could state aid payments be affected by the swine flu?

A. State aid payments are determined by attendance numbers. Because districts have seen a lag in funds this year, in some ways, it's good timing for this type of outbreak to occur when it did, instead of in September at the start of the school year. Additionally, they have Illinois Standards Achievement Test and Prairie State Achievement Exam testing behind them.