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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Section 17-105.1 as follows:
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6 | (40 ILCS 5/17-105.1)
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7 | Sec. 17-105.1. Employer. "Employer": The Board of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Education and , with respect to persons hired before the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Assembly, a
charter school as defined under the provisions of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | Section 27A-5 27a-5 of the School
Code.
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12 | (Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98.)
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13 | Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | 27A-11 and 27A-11.5 as follows:
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15 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-11)
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16 | Sec. 27A-11. Local financing.
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17 | (a) For purposes of the School Code, pupils enrolled in a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | charter school
shall be included in the pupil enrollment of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | school district within which
the
pupil resides. Each charter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | school (i) shall determine the school district in
which each | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | pupil who is enrolled in the charter school resides,
(ii) shall
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1 | report the aggregate number of pupils resident of a school | ||||||
2 | district who are
enrolled in the charter school to the school | ||||||
3 | district in which those pupils
reside, and (iii) shall maintain | ||||||
4 | accurate records of daily attendance that
shall be deemed | ||||||
5 | sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8 notwithstanding
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6 | any other requirements of that Section regarding hours of | ||||||
7 | instruction and
teacher certification.
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8 | (b) Except for a charter school established by referendum | ||||||
9 | under Section
27A-6.5, as part of a charter school contract, | ||||||
10 | the charter school shall receive a combination of and the
local
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11 | school board shall agree on funding and other any services to | ||||||
12 | be provided by the
school district to the charter school as | ||||||
13 | provided in this Section . Funding
Agreed funding that a charter | ||||||
14 | school is to receive from the local school
board for a school | ||||||
15 | year shall be paid in
equal quarterly installments with the | ||||||
16 | payment of the
installment for the first quarter being made not | ||||||
17 | later than July 1, unless the
charter establishes a different | ||||||
18 | payment schedule.
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19 | All services centrally or otherwise provided by the school | ||||||
20 | district
including, but not limited to, rent, food services, | ||||||
21 | custodial services,
maintenance,
curriculum, media services, | ||||||
22 | libraries, transportation, and warehousing shall be
subject to
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23 | negotiation between a charter school and the local school board | ||||||
24 | and paid
for out
of the revenues negotiated pursuant to this | ||||||
25 | subsection (b); provided that the
local school board shall not | ||||||
26 | attempt, by negotiation or otherwise, to obligate
a charter |
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1 | school to provide pupil transportation for pupils for whom a | ||||||
2 | district
is not required to provide transportation under the | ||||||
3 | criteria set forth in
subsection (a)(13) of Section 27A-7.
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4 | The In no event shall the funding must be 100% less than | ||||||
5 | 75% or more than
125% of the
school district's operating | ||||||
6 | expenses per pupil per capita student tuition multiplied by
the
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7 | number of students residing in the district who are enrolled in | ||||||
8 | the charter
school.
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9 | It is the intent of the General Assembly that funding and | ||||||
10 | service agreements
under this subsection (b) shall be neither a | ||||||
11 | financial incentive nor a
financial disincentive to the | ||||||
12 | establishment of a charter school.
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13 | The charter school may set and collect reasonable fees. | ||||||
14 | Fees collected
from students enrolled at a charter school shall | ||||||
15 | be retained
by the charter school.
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16 | (c) Upon submission of the requisite documentation to the | ||||||
17 | State Board, the per capita Notwithstanding subsection (b) of | ||||||
18 | this Section, the proportionate share
of State and federal | ||||||
19 | resources generated by students with disabilities or staff
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20 | serving them shall be directed to charter schools enrolling | ||||||
21 | those students by
their school districts or administrative | ||||||
22 | units. The proportionate share of
moneys generated under other | ||||||
23 | federal or State categorical aid programs shall likewise be
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24 | directed to charter schools serving students eligible for that | ||||||
25 | aid.
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26 | (d) The governing body of a charter school is authorized to |
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1 | accept
gifts,
donations, or grants of any kind made to the | ||||||
2 | charter school and to expend or
use gifts, donations, or grants | ||||||
3 | in accordance with the conditions prescribed by
the donor; | ||||||
4 | however, a gift, donation, or grant may not be accepted by the
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5 | governing body if it is subject to any condition contrary to | ||||||
6 | applicable law or
contrary
to the terms of the contract between | ||||||
7 | the charter school and the local school
board. Charter schools | ||||||
8 | shall be encouraged to solicit and utilize community
volunteer | ||||||
9 | speakers and other instructional resources when providing | ||||||
10 | instruction
on the Holocaust and other historical events.
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11 | (e) (Blank).
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12 | (f) The State Board shall provide technical assistance to
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13 | persons and groups
preparing or revising charter applications.
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14 | (g) At the non-renewal or revocation of its charter, each
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15 | charter school
shall refund to the local board of education all | ||||||
16 | unspent funds.
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17 | (h) A charter school is authorized to incur temporary, | ||||||
18 | short
term debt to
pay operating expenses in anticipation of | ||||||
19 | receipt of funds from the local
school board.
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20 | (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-757, eff. 8-14-98; | ||||||
21 | 91-407, eff.
8-3-99.)
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22 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-11.5)
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23 | Sec. 27A-11.5. State financing. The State Board of | ||||||
24 | Education shall make
the following funds available to school | ||||||
25 | districts and charter schools:
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1 | (1) From a separate appropriation made to the State | ||||||
2 | Board for purposes
of this subdivision (1), the State Board | ||||||
3 | shall make transition impact aid
available to school | ||||||
4 | districts that approve a new charter school or that have
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5 | funds withheld by the State Board to fund a new charter | ||||||
6 | school that is
chartered by the State Board. The amount of | ||||||
7 | the aid shall equal 90% of the per
capita funding paid to | ||||||
8 | the charter school during the first year of its initial
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9 | charter term, 65% of the per capita funding paid to the | ||||||
10 | charter school during
the second year of its initial term, | ||||||
11 | and 35% of the per capita funding paid to
the charter | ||||||
12 | school during the third year of its initial term. This | ||||||
13 | transition
impact aid shall be paid to the local school | ||||||
14 | board in equal quarterly
installments, with the payment of | ||||||
15 | the installment for the first quarter being
made by August | ||||||
16 | 1st immediately preceding the first, second, and third | ||||||
17 | years of
the initial term. The district shall file an | ||||||
18 | application for this aid with the
State Board in a format | ||||||
19 | designated by the State Board. If the appropriation is
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20 | insufficient in any year to pay all approved claims, the | ||||||
21 | impact aid shall be
prorated.
However, for fiscal year | ||||||
22 | 2004, the State Board of Education shall
pay approved | ||||||
23 | claims only for charter schools with a valid charter | ||||||
24 | granted
prior to June 1, 2003. If any funds remain after | ||||||
25 | these claims have
been paid, then the State Board of | ||||||
26 | Education may pay all other approved
claims on a pro rata |
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1 | basis.
Transition impact aid shall be paid beginning in the | ||||||
2 | 1999-2000
school year for charter schools that are in the | ||||||
3 | first, second, or third year of
their initial term. | ||||||
4 | Transition impact aid shall not be paid for any charter
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5 | school that is
proposed and created by one or more boards | ||||||
6 | of education, as authorized under
the provisions of Public | ||||||
7 | Act 91-405.
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8 | (2) From a separate appropriation made for the purpose | ||||||
9 | of this subdivision
(2), the State Board shall make grants | ||||||
10 | to charter schools to pay their start-up
costs of acquiring | ||||||
11 | educational materials and supplies, textbooks, furniture,
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12 | and other equipment needed during their initial term. The | ||||||
13 | State Board shall
annually establish the time and manner of | ||||||
14 | application for these grants, which
shall not exceed $250 | ||||||
15 | per student enrolled in the charter school.
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16 | (3) The Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund is created | ||||||
17 | as a special
fund in the State treasury. Federal funds, | ||||||
18 | such other funds as may be made
available for costs | ||||||
19 | associated with the establishment of charter schools in
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20 | Illinois, and amounts repaid by charter schools that have | ||||||
21 | received a loan from
the Charter Schools Revolving Loan | ||||||
22 | Fund shall be deposited into the Charter
Schools Revolving | ||||||
23 | Loan Fund, and the moneys in the Charter Schools Revolving
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24 | Loan Fund shall be appropriated to the State Board and used | ||||||
25 | to provide
interest-free loans to charter schools. These | ||||||
26 | funds shall be used to pay
start-up costs of acquiring |
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1 | educational materials and supplies, textbooks,
furniture, | ||||||
2 | and other equipment needed in the initial term of the | ||||||
3 | charter school
and for acquiring and remodeling a suitable | ||||||
4 | physical plant, within the initial
term of the charter | ||||||
5 | school. Loans shall be limited to one loan per charter
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6 | school and shall not exceed $250 per student enrolled in | ||||||
7 | the charter school. A
loan shall be repaid by the end of | ||||||
8 | the initial term of the charter school.
The State Board may | ||||||
9 | deduct amounts necessary to repay the loan from funds due
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10 | to the charter school or may require that the local school | ||||||
11 | board that
authorized the charter school deduct such | ||||||
12 | amounts from funds due the charter
school and remit these | ||||||
13 | amounts to the State Board, provided that the local
school | ||||||
14 | board shall not be responsible for repayment of the loan. | ||||||
15 | The State
Board may use up to 3% of the appropriation to | ||||||
16 | contract with a non-profit
entity to administer the loan | ||||||
17 | program.
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18 | (4) A charter school may apply for and receive, subject | ||||||
19 | to the same
restrictions applicable to school districts, | ||||||
20 | any grant administered by the
State Board that is available | ||||||
21 | for school districts. | ||||||
22 | (5) From a separate appropriation made for the purpose | ||||||
23 | of this subdivision (5), the State Board shall make direct | ||||||
24 | payments to charter schools on a per capita basis for each | ||||||
25 | categorical otherwise available to a local school board for | ||||||
26 | students enrolled in the charter school. The State Board |
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1 | shall make these payments to the local school board as | ||||||
2 | otherwise provided in this Article. These payments may be | ||||||
3 | offset by a corresponding reduction in the amount of | ||||||
4 | categorical grants to the local school board of the | ||||||
5 | district where the eligible student resides. | ||||||
6 | (6) For the purpose of recognizing educational | ||||||
7 | excellence and expanding the benefits of charter schools, | ||||||
8 | the State Board, from a separate appropriation made for the | ||||||
9 | purpose of this subdivision (6), shall make direct grants | ||||||
10 | of up to 25% of the per capita grants to charter schools | ||||||
11 | whose performance is superior. | ||||||
12 | The State Board shall annually establish the time and | ||||||
13 | manner of application for these grants. | ||||||
14 | (Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 93-21, eff. 7-1-03.)
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15 | Section 15. The School Construction Law is amended by | ||||||
16 | changing Section 5-25 as follows:
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17 | (105 ILCS 230/5-25)
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18 | Sec. 5-25. Eligibility and project standards.
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19 | (a) The State Board of Education shall establish | ||||||
20 | eligibility standards for
school construction project grants | ||||||
21 | and debt service grants. These standards
shall include minimum | ||||||
22 | enrollment requirements for eligibility for school
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23 | construction project grants of 200 students for elementary | ||||||
24 | districts, 200
students for high school districts, and 400 |
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1 | students for unit districts. The
State Board of Education shall | ||||||
2 | approve a district's eligibility for a school
construction | ||||||
3 | project grant or a debt service grant pursuant to the | ||||||
4 | established
standards.
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5 | (a-5) In determining the amount of school construction | ||||||
6 | project grants and debt service grants, the State Board of | ||||||
7 | Education shall review an application from a charter school | ||||||
8 | under Article 27A of the School Code independently from the | ||||||
9 | application of the authorizing school board and shall dedicate | ||||||
10 | and direct a reasonable portion of these grants towards the | ||||||
11 | needs of those students enrolled in applicant charter schools | ||||||
12 | that are eligible for the grants. | ||||||
13 | (b) The Capital Development Board shall establish
project | ||||||
14 | standards for all school construction project grants provided | ||||||
15 | pursuant
to this Article. These standards shall include space | ||||||
16 | and capacity standards as
well as the determination of | ||||||
17 | recognized project costs that shall be eligible
for State | ||||||
18 | financial assistance and enrichment costs that shall not be | ||||||
19 | eligible
for State financial assistance.
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20 | (c) The State Board of Education and the Capital | ||||||
21 | Development Board shall
not establish standards that | ||||||
22 | disapprove or otherwise establish limitations
that restrict | ||||||
23 | the eligibility of a school district with a population | ||||||
24 | exceeding
500,000 for a school construction project grant based | ||||||
25 | on the fact that any or
all of the school construction project | ||||||
26 | grant will be used to pay debt service
or to make lease |
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1 | payments, as authorized by subsection (b) of Section 5-35 of
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2 | this Law.
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3 | (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 91-38, eff. 6-15-99.)
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4 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
5 | becoming law.
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