Public Act 101-0133
 
HB2205 EnrolledLRB101 07683 AXK 52731 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
34-230 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-230)
    Sec. 34-230. School action public meetings and hearings.
    (a) By October 1 of each year, the chief executive officer
shall prepare and publish guidelines for school actions. The
guidelines shall outline the academic and non-academic
criteria for a school action. These guidelines shall be created
with the involvement of local school councils, parents,
educators, and community organizations. These guidelines, and
each subsequent revision, shall be subject to a public comment
period of at least 21 days before their approval.
    (b) The chief executive officer shall announce all proposed
school actions to be taken at the close of the current academic
year consistent with the guidelines by December 1 of each year.
    (c) On or before December 1 of each year, the chief
executive officer shall publish notice of the proposed school
actions.
        (1) Notice of the proposal for a school action shall
    include a written statement of the basis for the school
    action, an explanation of how the school action meets the
    criteria set forth in the guidelines, and a draft School
    Transition Plan identifying the items required in Section
    34-225 of this Code for all schools affected by the school
    action. The notice shall state the date, time, and place of
    the hearing or meeting. For a school closure only, 8 months
    after notice is given, the chief executive officer must
    publish on the district's website a full financial report
    on the closure that includes an analysis of the closure's
    costs and benefits to the district.
        (2) The chief executive officer or his or her designee
    shall provide notice to the principal, staff, local school
    council, and parents or guardians of any school that is
    subject to the proposed school action.
        (3) The chief executive officer shall provide written
    notice of any proposed school action to the State Senator,
    State Representative, and alderman for the school or
    schools that are subject to the proposed school action.
        (4) The chief executive officer shall publish notice of
    proposed school actions on the district's Internet
    website.
        (5) The chief executive officer shall provide notice of
    proposed school actions at least 30 calendar days in
    advance of a public hearing or meeting. The notice shall
    state the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting.
    No Board decision regarding a proposed school action may
    take place less than 60 days after the announcement of the
    proposed school action.
    (d) The chief executive officer shall publish a brief
summary of the proposed school actions and the date, time, and
place of the hearings or meetings in a newspaper of general
circulation.
    (e) The chief executive officer shall designate at least 3
opportunities to elicit public comment at a hearing or meeting
on a proposed school action and shall do the following:
        (1) Convene at least one public hearing at the
    centrally located office of the Board.
        (2) Convene at least 2 additional public hearings or
    meetings at a location convenient to the school community
    subject to the proposed school action.
    (f) Public hearings shall be conducted by a qualified
independent hearing officer chosen from a list of independent
hearing officers. The general counsel shall compile and publish
a list of independent hearing officers by November 1 of each
school year. The independent hearing officer shall have the
following qualifications:
        (1) he or she must be a licensed attorney eligible to
    practice law in Illinois;
        (2) he or she must not be an employee of the Board; and
        (3) he or she must not have represented the Board, its
    employees or any labor organization representing its
    employees, any local school council, or any charter or
    contract school in any capacity within the last year.
    The independent hearing officer shall issue a written
report that summarizes the hearing and determines whether the
chief executive officer complied with the requirements of this
Section and the guidelines.
    The chief executive officer shall publish the report on the
district's Internet website within 5 calendar days after
receiving the report and at least 15 days prior to any Board
action being taken.
    (g) Public meetings shall be conducted by a representative
of the chief executive officer. A summary of the public meeting
shall be published on the district's Internet website within 5
calendar days after the meeting.
    (h) If the chief executive officer proposes a school action
without following the mandates set forth in this Section, the
proposed school action shall not be approved by the Board
during the school year in which the school action was proposed.
(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11;
97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1133, eff. 11-30-12.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.