Public Act 097-0232
 
SB2143 EnrolledLRB097 10331 NHT 50539 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 Construction Law is amended by
changing Section 5-25 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 230/5-25)
    Sec. 5-25. Eligibility and project standards.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall establish
eligibility standards for school construction project grants
and debt service grants. These standards shall include minimum
enrollment requirements for eligibility for school
construction project grants of 200 students for elementary
districts, 200 students for high school districts, and 400
students for unit districts. The total enrollment of member
districts forming a cooperative high school in accordance with
subsection (c) of Section 10-22.22 of the School Code shall
meet the minimum enrollment requirements specified in this
subsection (a). The State Board of Education shall approve a
district's eligibility for a school construction project grant
or a debt service grant pursuant to the established standards.
    For purposes only of determining a Type 40 area vocational
center's eligibility for an entity included in a school
construction project grant or a school maintenance project
grant, an area vocational center shall be deemed eligible if
one or more of its member school districts satisfy the grant
index criteria set forth in this Law. A Type 40 area vocational
center that makes application for school construction funds
after August 25, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-731)
shall be placed on the respective application cycle list. Type
40 area vocational centers must be placed last on the priority
listing of eligible entities for the applicable fiscal year.
    (b) The Capital Development Board shall establish project
standards for all school construction project grants provided
pursuant to this Article. These standards shall include space
and capacity standards as well as the determination of
recognized project costs that shall be eligible for State
financial assistance and enrichment costs that shall not be
eligible for State financial assistance.
    (c) The State Board of Education and the Capital
Development Board shall not establish standards that
disapprove or otherwise establish limitations that restrict
the eligibility of (i) a school district with a population
exceeding 500,000 for a school construction project grant based
on the fact that any or all of the school construction project
grant will be used to pay debt service or to make lease
payments, as authorized by subsection (b) of Section 5-35 of
this Law, (ii) a school district located in whole or in part in
a county that imposes a tax for school facility purposes
pursuant to Section 5-1006.7 of the Counties Code, or (iii) a
school district that (1) was organized prior to 1860 and (2) is
located in part in a city originally incorporated prior to
1840, based on the fact that all or a part of the school
construction project is owned by a public building commission
and leased to the school district or the fact that any or all
of the school construction project grant will be used to pay
debt service or to make lease payments.
    (d) A reorganized school district or cooperative high
school may use a school construction application that was
submitted by a school district that formed the reorganized
school district or cooperative high school if that application
has not been entitled for a project by the State Board of
Education and any one or more of the following happen within
the current or prior 4 2 fiscal years:
        (1) a new school district is created in accordance with
    Article 11E of the School Code;
        (2) an existing school district annexes all of the
    territory of one or more other school districts in
    accordance with Article 7 of the School Code; or
        (3) a cooperative high school is formed in accordance
    with subsection (c) of Section 10-22.22 of the School Code.
A new elementary district formed from a school district
conversion, as defined in Section 11E-15 of the School Code,
may use only the application of the dissolved district whose
territory is now included in the new elementary district and
must obtain the written approval of the local school board of
any other school district that includes territory from that
dissolved district. A new high school district formed from a
school district conversion, as defined in Section 11E-15 of the
School Code, may use only the application of any dissolved
district whose territory is now included in the new high school
district, but only after obtaining the written approval of the
local school board of any other school district that includes
territory from that dissolved district. A cooperative high
school using this Section must obtain the written approval of
the local school board of the member school district whose
application it is using. All other eligibility and project
standards apply to this Section.
(Source: P.A. 96-37, eff. 7-13-09; 96-731, eff. 8-25-09;
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1381, eff. 1-1-11; 96-1467, eff.
8-20-10; revised 9-16-10.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.