101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB3989

 

Introduced 1/8/2020, by Rep. Kathleen Willis

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/7-04  from Ch. 122, par. 7-04
105 ILCS 5/7-1  from Ch. 122, par. 7-1
105 ILCS 5/7-4.1  from Ch. 122, par. 7-4.1
105 ILCS 5/7-6  from Ch. 122, par. 7-6

    Amends the Boundary Changes Article of the School Code. With respect to a county with a population in excess of 3,000,000 in which (i) affected students reside in a municipality with a population not exceeding 15,000, (ii) the elementary school district serving the property to be detached sends students to 2 or more high school districts, (iii) the annexing school district has a high school located in the municipality, (iv) the farthest point from the detached property to the new school is less than 4 miles, and (v) the detachment and annexation will put the entire municipality into a single high school district, provides that a hearing panel (rather than the trustees of schools of the township) shall have and perform all powers, duties, and responsibilities required under the Article to be exercised and performed by a regional board of school trustees; the petition for boundary change may be filed by a number of legal resident voters equal to at least 50% of the number of legal resident voters in the affected territory who voted in the last presidential election; and if there are no legal resident voters, the petitioners may deliver the petition by regular mail to the last taxpayer of record of real estate instead of by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of record. Allows the hearing panel to compare school and district report cards and to consider the community of interest of the petitioners and their children. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3989LRB101 15139 NHT 64281 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
57-04, 7-1, 7-4.1, and 7-6 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/7-04)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-04)
7    Sec. 7-04. Districts in educational service regions of
82,000,000 or more inhabitants.
9    (a) In all proceedings under this Article to change by
10detachment, annexation, division, dissolution, or any
11combination of those methods the boundaries of any school
12district (other than a school district organized under Article
1334) located in an educational service region of 2,000,000 or
14more inhabitants in which the regional board of school trustees
15is abolished as provided in subsection (a) of Section 6-2, the
16trustees of schools of the township that has jurisdiction and
17authority over the detaching or dissolving school district, as
18the successor under subsection (b) of Section 6-2 to the former
19regional board of school trustees with respect to all territory
20located in that school township, shall have, exercise, and
21perform all powers, duties, and responsibilities required
22under this Article to be exercised and performed in those
23proceedings by a regional board of school trustees. However, ;

 

 

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1provided that if any detaching or dissolving school district
2involved in those proceedings is not under the jurisdiction and
3authority of the trustees of schools of a township referred to
4in subsection (b) of Section 5-1 or if, in a county with a
5population in excess of 3,000,000, (i) affected students reside
6in a municipality with a population not exceeding 15,000, (ii)
7the elementary school district serving the property to be
8detached sends students to 2 or more high school districts,
9(iii) the annexing school district has a high school located in
10the municipality, (iv) the farthest point from the detached
11property to the new school is less than 4 miles, and (v) the
12detachment and annexation will put the entire municipality into
13a single high school district, then a hearing panel as
14established in this Section shall have, exercise, and perform
15all powers, duties, and responsibilities required under this
16Article to be exercised and performed in those proceedings with
17respect to the detaching or dissolving school district by a
18regional board of school trustees.
19    (a-5) As applicable, the hearing panel shall be made up of
203 persons who have a demonstrated interest and background in
21education. Each hearing panel member must reside within an
22educational service region of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants but
23not within the boundaries of a school district organized under
24Article 34 of this Code and may not be a current school board
25member of the detaching or dissolving or annexing school
26district or a current employee of the detaching or dissolving

 

 

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1or annexing school district or hold any county office. None of
2the hearing panel members may reside within the same school
3district. All 3 persons must be selected by the chief
4administrative officer of the educational service center in
5which the chief administrative officer has supervision and
6control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
7detaching or dissolving school district. The members of a
8hearing panel as established in this Section shall serve
9without remuneration; however, the necessary expenses,
10including travel, attendant upon any meeting or hearing in
11relation to a proceeding under this Article must be paid.
12    (a-10) The petition must be filed with the trustees of
13schools of the township with jurisdiction and authority over
14the detaching or dissolving school district or with the chief
15administrative officer of the educational service center in
16which the chief administrative officer has supervision and
17control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
18detaching or dissolving school district, as applicable. The
19chief administrative officer of the educational service center
20or a person designated by the trustees of schools of the
21township, as applicable, shall have, exercise, and perform all
22powers, duties, and responsibilities required under this
23Article that are otherwise assigned to regional
24superintendents of schools.
25    (b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all other
26provisions of this Article shall apply to any proceedings under

 

 

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1this Article to change the boundaries of any school district
2located in an educational service region having 2,000,000 or
3more inhabitants in the same manner that those provisions apply
4to any proceedings to change the boundaries of any school
5district located in any other educational service region;
6provided, that any reference in those other provisions to the
7regional board of school trustees shall mean, with respect to
8all territory within an educational service region containing
92,000,000 or more inhabitants that formerly was served by a
10regional board of school trustees abolished under subsection
11(a) of Section 6-2, the trustees of schools of the township
12that is the successor under subsection (b) of Section 6-2 to
13the former regional board of school trustees with respect to
14the territory included within that school township or school
15district or the hearing panel as established by this Section.
16(Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
17    (105 ILCS 5/7-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-1)
18    Sec. 7-1. Changing boundaries by detachment or
19dissolution.
20    (a) School district boundaries may be changed by
21detachment, annexation, division or dissolution or any
22combination thereof by the regional board of school trustees or
23by the State Superintendent of Education as provided in
24subsection (l) of Section 7-6.
25    The petition must be filed with and decided solely by the

 

 

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1regional board of school trustees of the region in which the
2regional superintendent of schools has supervision and
3control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the
4detaching or dissolving school district. The petition may be
5filed in any office operated by the regional superintendent
6with supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of
7this Code, of the detaching or dissolving school district.
8    A petition for boundary change must be filed by the school
9board of the detaching or dissolving district, by a majority of
10the legal resident voters in the dissolving district, or by
11two-thirds of a combination of the legal resident voters and
12the owners of record of any real estate with no legal resident
13voters in any territory proposed to be detached. However, in a
14county with a population in excess of 3,000,000 in which (i)
15affected students reside in a municipality with a population
16not exceeding 15,000, (ii) the elementary school district
17serving the property to be detached sends students to 2 or more
18high school districts, (iii) the annexing school district has a
19high school located in the municipality, (iv) the farthest
20point from the detached property to the new school is less than
214 miles, and (v) the detachment and annexation will put the
22entire municipality into a single high school district, the
23petition may be filed by a number of legal resident voters
24equal to at least 50% of the number of legal resident voters in
25the affected territory who voted in the last presidential
26election. If any of the territory proposed to be detached

 

 

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1contains real estate with no legal resident voters, petitioners
2shall deliver the petition by certified mail, return receipt
3requested, to all owners of record of any real estate with no
4legal resident voters. However, in a county with a population
5in excess of 3,000,000 in which (i) affected students reside in
6a municipality with a population not exceeding 15,000, (ii) the
7elementary school district serving the property to be detached
8sends students to 2 or more high school districts, (iii) the
9annexing school district has a high school located in the
10municipality, (iv) the farthest point from the detached
11property to the new school is less than 4 miles, and (v) the
12detachment and annexation will put the entire municipality into
13a single high school district, petitioners may deliver the
14petition by regular mail to the last taxpayer of record of the
15real estate. Proof of such delivery must be presented as
16evidence at the hearing required under Section 7-6 of this
17Code. Any owner of record (or last taxpayer of record if
18applicable) of real estate with no legal resident voters in any
19territory proposed to be detached may either sign the petition
20in person and before the circulator as described in this
21Section or return the petition with his or her notarized
22signature to be included as a petitioner. No person may sign a
23petition in the capacity of both a legal resident voter and
24owner of record (or last taxpayer of record if applicable). If
25there are no legal resident voters within the territory
26proposed to be detached, then the petition must be signed by

 

 

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1all of the owners of record (or last taxpayers of record if
2applicable) of the real estate of the territory. Legal resident
3voters shall be determined by the official voter registration
4lists as of the date the petition is filed. No signatures shall
5be added or withdrawn after the date the petition is filed. The
6length of time for signatures to be valid, before filing of the
7petition, shall not exceed 6 months. Notwithstanding any
8provision to the contrary contained in the Election Code, the
9regional superintendent of schools shall make all
10determinations regarding the validity of the petition,
11including, without limitation, signatures on the petition. If
12the regional superintendent determines that the petition is not
13in proper order or not in compliance with any applicable
14petition requirements, the regional superintendent may not
15accept the petition for filing and may return the petition to
16the petitioners. Any party who is dissatisfied with the
17determination of the regional superintendent regarding the
18validity of the petition may appeal the regional
19superintendent's decision to the regional board of school
20trustees by motion, and the motion must be heard by the
21regional board of school trustees prior to any hearing on the
22merits of the petition.
23    Petitions for detachment and dissolution shall include the
24full prayer of the petition with a general description of the
25territory at the top of each page. Each signature contained
26therein shall match the official signature and address of the

 

 

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1legal resident voters as recorded in the office of the county
2clerk or board of election commissioners, and each petitioner
3shall record the date of his or her signing. Except in
4instances of a notarized signature of an owner of record (or
5last taxpayer of record if applicable) of real estate with no
6legal resident voters in any territory proposed to be detached,
7each page of the circulated petition shall be signed by a
8circulator stating that he or she has witnessed the signature
9of each petitioner on that page. Detachment petitions
10containing 10 or fewer signatures may be notarized in lieu of a
11circulator statement. Each petition shall include an accurate
12legal description and map of the territory proposed to be
13detached. If a petition proposes to dissolve an entire
14district, then the full name and number of the district and a
15map are sufficient. Each petition shall include the names of
16petitioners; the district to be dissolved or the district from
17which the territory is proposed to be detached; the district or
18districts to which the territory is proposed to be annexed;
19evidence that the detaching or dissolving territory is compact
20and contiguous with the annexing district or districts or
21otherwise meets the requirements set forth in Section 7-4 of
22this Code; the referendum date, if applicable; and facts that
23support favorable findings for the factors to be considered by
24the regional board of school trustees pursuant to Section 7-6
25of this Code.
26    Where there is only one school building in an approved

 

 

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1operating district, the building and building site may not be
2included in any detachment proceeding.
3    Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, if,
4pursuant to a petition filed under this subsection (a), all of
5the territory of a school district is to be annexed to another
6school district, then any action by the regional board of
7school trustees in granting or approving the petition and any
8change in school district boundaries pursuant to that action is
9subject to and the change in school district boundaries may not
10be made except upon approval, at a regular scheduled election,
11in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7 of this Code, of a
12proposition for the annexation of all of the territory of that
13school district to the other school district.
14    No petition may be filed under this Section to form a new
15school district under this Article; however, such a petition
16may be filed under this Section to form a new school district
17if the boundaries of such new school district lie entirely
18within the boundaries of a military base or installation
19operated and maintained by the government of the United States.
20    (b) Any elementary or high school district with 100 or more
21of its students residing upon territory located entirely within
22a military base or installation operated and maintained by the
23government of the United States, or any unit school district or
24any combination of the above mentioned districts with 300 or
25more of its students residing upon territory located entirely
26within a military base or installation operated and maintained

 

 

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1by the government of the United States, shall, upon the filing
2with the regional board of school trustees of a petition
3adopted by resolution of the board of education or a petition
4signed by a majority of the registered voters residing upon
5such military base or installation, have all of the territory
6lying entirely within such military base or installation
7detached from such school district, and a new school district
8comprised of such territory shall be created. The petition
9shall be filed with and decided solely by the regional board of
10school trustees of the region in which the regional
11superintendent of schools has supervision and control, as
12defined by Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the school district
13affected. The regional board of school trustees shall have no
14authority to deny the detachment and creation of a new school
15district requested in a proper petition filed under this
16subsection. This subsection shall apply only to those school
17districts having a population of not fewer than 1,000 and not
18more than 500,000 residents, as ascertained by any special or
19general census.
20    The new school district shall tuition its students to the
21same districts that its students were previously attending and
22the districts from which the new district was detached shall
23continue to educate the students from the new district, until
24the federal government provides other arrangements. The
25federal government shall pay for the education of such children
26as required by Section 6 of Public Law 81-874.

 

 

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1    If a school district created under this subsection (b) has
2not elected a school board and has not become operational
3within 2 years after the date of detachment, then this district
4is automatically dissolved and the territory of this district
5reverts to the school district from which the territory was
6detached or any successor district thereto. Any school district
7created under this subsection (b) on or before September 1,
81996 that has not elected a school board and has not been
9operational since September 1, 1996 is automatically dissolved
10on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1999, and on
11this date the territory of this district reverts to the school
12district from which the territory was detached. For the
13automatic dissolution of a school district created under this
14subsection (b), the regional superintendent of schools who has
15supervision and control, as defined by Section 3-14.2 of this
16Code, of the school district from which the territory was
17detached shall certify to the regional board of school trustees
18that the school district created under this subsection (b) has
19been automatically dissolved.
20(Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/7-4.1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-4.1)
22    Sec. 7-4.1. Copies of petition. Each petition submitted
23under the provisions of Section 7-1 of this Code shall include
24proof of notice to the owners of record (or last taxpayers of
25record if applicable) of real estate with no legal resident

 

 

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1voters in any territory proposed to be detached, if applicable,
2and be accompanied by sufficient copies thereof for
3distribution to the president of the school board of each
4detaching or dissolving and annexing school district. The
5copies need not contain original signatures by the petitioners
6as is required of the original petition.
7(Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/7-6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-6)
9    Sec. 7-6. Petition filing; notice; hearing; decision.
10    (a) The secretary of the regional board of school trustees
11or his or her designee, the chief administrative officer of an
12educational service center under Section 7-04 of this Code or
13his or her designee, or the person designated by the trustees
14of schools of the township in accordance with subsection (a-10)
15of Section 7-04 of this Code, as appropriate, shall receive the
16filing of the petition, make the determination of validity in
17accordance with subsection (a) of Section 7-1 of this Section,
18publish the notice, conduct the hearing, and issue the final
19order. Upon the filing of a petition with the secretary of the
20regional board of school trustees under the provisions of
21Section 7-1 of this Code, the secretary shall cause a copy of
22such petition to be given to the president of the school board
23of each detaching or dissolving and annexing school district
24and shall cause a notice thereof to be published once in a
25newspaper having general circulation within the area of the

 

 

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1detaching or dissolving and annexing territory described in the
2petition.
3    (b) (Blank).
4    (b-5) If a petition filed under Section 7-1 of this Code
5proposes to annex all the territory of a school district to
6another school district, the petition shall request the
7submission of a proposition at a regular scheduled election for
8the purpose of voting for or against the annexation of the
9territory described in the petition to the school district
10proposing to annex that territory. No petition filed or
11election held under this Article shall be null and void,
12invalidated, or deemed in noncompliance with the Election Code
13because of a failure to publish a notice with respect to the
14petition or referendum as required under subsection (g) of
15Section 28-2 of that Code for petitions that are not filed
16under this Article or Article 11E of this Code.
17    (c) When a petition contains more than 10 signatures the
18petition shall designate a committee of 10 of the petitioners
19as attorney in fact for all petitioners, any 7 of whom may make
20binding stipulations on behalf of all petitioners as to any
21question with respect to the petition or hearing, and the
22regional board of school trustees may accept such stipulation
23in lieu of evidence or proof of the matter stipulated. The
24committee of petitioners shall have the same power to stipulate
25to accountings or waiver thereof between school districts;
26however, the regional board of school trustees may refuse to

 

 

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1accept such stipulation. Those designated as the committee of
210 shall serve in that capacity until such time as the regional
3superintendent of schools or the committee of 10 determines
4that, because of death, resignation, transfer of residency from
5the territory, or failure to qualify, the office of a
6particular member of the committee of 10 is vacant. Upon
7determination that a vacancy exists, the remaining members
8shall appoint a petitioner to fill the designated vacancy on
9the committee of 10. The appointment of any new members by the
10committee of 10 shall be made by a simple majority vote of the
11remaining designated members.
12    (d) The petition may be amended to withdraw not to exceed a
13total of 10% of the territory in the petition at any time prior
14to the hearing; provided that the petition shall after
15amendment comply with the requirements as to the number of
16signatures required on an original petition.
17    (e) The petitioners shall pay the expenses of publishing
18the notice and any transcript taken at the hearing and mailing
19the final order; and, in case of an appeal from the decision of
20the regional board of school trustees or State Superintendent
21of Education in cases determined under subsection (l) of this
22Section, the appellants shall pay the cost of preparing the
23record for appeal. The regional superintendent of schools with
24whom the petition is filed may request a deposit at the time of
25filing to cover expenses as provided in this subsection (e).
26    (f) The notice shall state when the petition was filed, the

 

 

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1description of the detaching territory or name of the
2dissolving district, the name of the annexing district, the
3prayer of the petition, and the day and time on and location in
4which the hearing upon the petition will be held, which shall
5not be more than 30 nor less than 15 calendar days after the
6publication of notice.
7    (g) Prior to the hearing, the secretary of the regional
8board of school trustees shall submit to the regional board of
9school trustees maps showing the districts involved and a
10written report of the financial and educational conditions of
11the districts involved and the probable effect of the proposed
12changes. The reports and maps submitted must be made a part of
13the record of the proceedings of the regional board of school
14trustees. A copy of the report and maps submitted must be sent
15by the secretary of the regional board of school trustees to
16the president of the school board of each detaching or
17dissolving and annexing school district not less than 5 days
18prior to the day upon which the hearing is to be held.
19    (h) On the hearing day or on a day to which the regional
20board of school trustees shall continue the hearing, the
21regional board of school trustees shall hear the petition but
22may adjourn the hearing from time to time or may continue the
23matter for want of sufficient notice or other good cause.
24    (h-5) Except for motions and briefs challenging the
25validity of a petition or otherwise challenging the
26jurisdiction of the regional board of school trustees to

 

 

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1conduct a hearing on a petition and except for motions and
2briefs related to the type of evidence the regional board of
3school trustees may consider under subsection (i) of this
4Section, no other motions, pleadings, briefs, discovery
5requests, or other like documents may be filed with the
6regional board of school trustees or served on other parties,
7and the regional board of school trustees shall have no
8authority to consider such documents, except that if a legal
9issue arises during a hearing, then the regional board of
10school trustees may, at its discretion, request briefs to be
11submitted to it on that issue.
12    (i) The regional board of school trustees shall hear
13evidence as to the school needs and conditions of the territory
14in the area within and adjacent thereto and the effect
15detachment will have on those needs and conditions and as to
16the ability of the detaching or dissolving and annexing school
17districts to meet the standards of recognition as prescribed by
18the State Board of Education, shall take into consideration the
19division of funds and assets that will result from the change
20of boundaries, and shall determine whether it is in the best
21interests of the schools of the area and the direct educational
22welfare of the pupils that such change in boundaries be
23granted. If non-high school territory is contained in the
24petition, the normal high school attendance pattern of the
25pupils must be taken into consideration. However, upon
26resolution by the regional board of school trustees, the

 

 

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1secretary thereof shall conduct the hearing upon any boundary
2petition and present a transcript of such hearing to the
3trustees, who shall base their decision upon the transcript,
4maps, and information and any presentation of counsel. In the
5instance of a change of boundaries through detachment:
6        (1) When considering the effect the detachment will
7    have on the direct educational welfare of the pupils, the
8    regional board of school trustees shall consider a
9    comparison of the school report cards for the schools of
10    the detaching and annexing districts and the school
11    district report cards for the detaching and annexing
12    districts only if there is no more than a 3% difference in
13    the minority, low-income, and English learner student
14    populations of the relevant schools of the districts.
15    However, in a county with a population in excess of
16    3,000,000 in which (i) affected students reside in a
17    municipality with a population not exceeding 15,000, (ii)
18    the elementary school district serving the property to be
19    detached sends students to 2 or more high school districts,
20    (iii) the annexing school district has a high school
21    located in the municipality, (iv) the farthest point from
22    the detached property to the new school is less than 4
23    miles, and (v) the detachment and annexation will put the
24    entire municipality into a single high school district, the
25    hearing panel established under Section 7-04 may compare
26    school and district report cards.

 

 

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1        (2) The community of interest of the petitioners and
2    their children and the effect detachment will have on the
3    whole child may be considered only if the regional board of
4    school trustees first determines that there would be a
5    significant direct educational benefit to the petitioners'
6    children if the change in boundaries were allowed. However,
7    in a county with a population in excess of 3,000,000 in
8    which (i) affected students reside in a municipality with a
9    population not exceeding 15,000, (ii) the elementary
10    school district serving the property to be detached sends
11    students to 2 or more high school districts, (iii) the
12    annexing school district has a high school located in the
13    municipality, (iv) the farthest point from the detached
14    property to the new school is less than 4 miles, and (v)
15    the detachment and annexation will put the entire
16    municipality into a single high school district, the
17    hearing panel established under Section 7-04 may consider
18    the community of interest of the petitioners and their
19    children.
20        (3) When petitioners cite an annexing district
21    attendance center or centers in the petition or during
22    testimony, the regional board of school trustees may
23    consider the difference in the distances from the detaching
24    area to the current attendance centers and the cited
25    annexing district attendance centers only if the
26    difference is no less than 10 miles shorter to one of the

 

 

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1    cited annexing district attendance centers than it is to
2    the corresponding current attendance center.
3        (4) The regional board of school trustees may not grant
4    a petition if doing so will increase the percentage of
5    minority or low-income students or English learners by more
6    than 3% at the attendance center where students in the
7    detaching territory currently attend, provided that if the
8    percentage of any one of those groups also decreases at
9    that attendance center, the regional board may grant the
10    petition upon consideration of other factors under this
11    Section and this Article.
12        (5) The regional board of school trustees may not
13    consider whether changing the boundaries will increase the
14    property values of the petitioners' property.
15    The factors in subdivisions (1) through (5) of this
16subsection (i) are applicable whether or not there are children
17residing in the petitioning area at the time the hearing is
18conducted.
19    If the regional board of school trustees grants a petition
20to change school district boundaries, then the annexing school
21district shall determine the attendance center or centers that
22children from the petitioning area shall attend.
23    (j) At the hearing, any resident in any detaching,
24dissolving, or annexing school district or any representative
25of a detaching, dissolving, or annexing school district may
26appear in person or by an attorney in support of the petition

 

 

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1or to object to the granting of the petition and may present
2evidence in support of his or her position through either oral
3or written testimony.
4    (k) At the conclusion of the hearing, the regional
5superintendent of schools as secretary to the regional board of
6school trustees shall, within 30 days, enter an order either
7granting or denying the petition. The regional superintendent
8of schools shall deliver a certified copy of the order by
9certified mail, return receipt requested, to the petitioners or
10committee of petitioners, as applicable; the president of the
11school board of each detaching or dissolving and annexing
12district; any person providing testimony in support of or
13opposition to the petition at the hearing; and any attorney who
14appears for a person. The regional superintendent of schools
15shall also deliver a copy of the order to the regional
16superintendent of schools who has supervision and control, as
17defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the annexing
18district if different from the regional superintendent of
19schools with whom the petition was filed. The regional
20superintendent of schools is not required to send a copy of the
21regional board of school trustees' order to those attending the
22hearing but not participating. The final order shall be in
23writing and include findings of fact, conclusions of law, and
24the decision to grant or deny the petition.
25    (l) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
26Section, if within 12 months after a petition is submitted

 

 

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1under the provisions of Section 7-1 of this Code the petition
2is not approved or denied by the regional board of school
3trustees and the order approving or denying that petition
4entered and a copy thereof served as provided in this Section,
5petitioners may submit a copy of the petition directly to the
6State Superintendent of Education for approval or denial. The
7copy of the petition as so submitted shall be accompanied by a
8record of all proceedings had with respect to the petition up
9to the time the copy of the petition is submitted to the State
10Superintendent of Education (including a copy of any notice
11given or published, any certificate or other proof of
12publication, copies of any maps or written report of the
13financial and educational conditions of the school districts
14affected if furnished by the secretary of the regional board of
15school trustees, copies of any amendments to the petition and
16stipulations made, accepted or refused, a transcript of any
17hearing or part of a hearing held, continued or adjourned on
18the petition, and any orders entered with respect to the
19petition or any hearing held thereon). The petitioners
20submitting the petition and record of proceedings to the State
21Superintendent of Education shall give written notice by
22certified mail, return receipt requested, to the regional board
23of school trustees and to the secretary of that board and to
24the detaching or dissolving and annexing school districts that
25the petition has been submitted to the State Superintendent of
26Education for approval or denial and shall furnish a copy of

 

 

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1the notice so given to the State Superintendent of Education.
2The cost of assembling the record of proceedings for submission
3to the State Superintendent of Education shall be the
4responsibility of the petitioners that submit the petition and
5record of proceedings to the State Superintendent of Education.
6When a petition is submitted to the State Superintendent of
7Education in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph:
8        (1) The regional board of school trustees loses all
9    jurisdiction over the petition and shall have no further
10    authority to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
11    respect to the petition.
12        (2) All jurisdiction over the petition and the right
13    and duty to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
14    respect to the petition is transferred to and shall be
15    assumed and exercised by the State Superintendent of
16    Education.
17        (3) The State Superintendent of Education shall not be
18    required to repeat any proceedings that were conducted in
19    accordance with the provisions of this Section prior to the
20    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to him,
21    but the State Superintendent of Education shall be required
22    to give and publish any notices and hold or complete any
23    hearings that were not given, held or completed by the
24    regional board of school trustees or its secretary as
25    required by this Section prior to the time jurisdiction
26    over the petition is transferred to the State

 

 

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1    Superintendent of Education.
2        (4) If so directed by the State Superintendent of
3    Education, the regional superintendent of schools shall
4    submit to the State Superintendent of Education and to such
5    school boards as the State Superintendent of Education
6    shall prescribe accurate maps and a written report of the
7    financial and educational conditions of the districts
8    affected and the probable effect of the proposed boundary
9    changes.
10        (5) The State Superintendent is authorized to conduct
11    further hearings, or appoint a hearing officer to conduct
12    further hearings, on the petition even though a hearing
13    thereon was held as provided in this Section prior to the
14    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to the
15    State Superintendent of Education.
16        (6) The State Superintendent of Education or the
17    hearing officer shall hear evidence and approve or deny the
18    petition and shall enter an order to that effect and
19    deliver and serve the same as required in other cases to be
20    done by the regional board of school trustees and the
21    regional superintendent of schools as secretary of that
22    board.
23    (m) (Blank).
24    (n) Within 10 days after service of a copy of the order
25granting or denying the petition, any person so served may
26petition for a rehearing. The petition for rehearing shall

 

 

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1specify the reason for the request. The regional board of
2school trustees shall first determine whether there is
3sufficient cause for a rehearing. If so determined, then the
4regional board of school trustees shall allow the petition to
5be heard anew in its entirety in accordance with all procedures
6in this Article. The party requesting a rehearing shall pay the
7expenses of publishing the notice and of any transcript taken
8at the hearing. The filing of a petition for rehearing shall
9operate as a stay of enforcement until the regional board of
10school trustees or State Superintendent of Education in cases
11determined under subsection (l) of this Section enters the
12final order on such petition for rehearing.
13    (o) If a petition is required under the provisions of
14subsection (b-5) of this Section to request submission of a
15proposition at a regular scheduled election for the purpose of
16voting for or against the annexation of the territory described
17in the petition to the school district proposing to annex that
18territory, and if the petition is granted or approved by the
19regional board of school trustees or by the State
20Superintendent of Education, the proposition shall be placed on
21the ballot at the next regular scheduled election.
22(Source: P.A. 99-475, eff. 1-1-16; 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.)
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.