HB3742 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 14518 NHT 49270 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB3742

Introduced , by Rep. Cynthia Soto

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/34-200
105 ILCS 5/34-210

Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Makes changes concerning the Educational Facility Master Plan. Provides that updates to the plan must be reviewed and approved 2 1/2 years after the approval of the initial plan (instead of requiring updates 2 1/2 years after approval). Provides that the first revision to the plan must be completed and approved on or before January 1, 2015, and the district is prohibited from completing any sale of vacant school buildings identified in the initial master plan until this first revision is approved. Requires each revision and update to the plan to include certain data and analysis. Requires the chief executive officer to prepare a summary for each school prior to approving a plan or update; specifies what the summary must include. Requires the district to hold local school council meetings, meet with its community action councils, work with a task force, the Chicago Teachers Union, and the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, and hold public hearings before the approval of a plan or update. With respect to the first revision and update to the plan, provides that the revised draft master plan must be published on or before October 1, 2014 and must be immediately followed by a public comment period of at least 15 days. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

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 Sections 34-200 and 34-210 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/34-200)

Sec. 34-200. Definitions. For the purposes of Sections 34-200 through 34-235 of this Article:

"Capital improvement plan" means a plan that identifies capital projects to be started or finished within the designated period, excluding projects funded by locally raised capital not exceeding $10,000.

"Community action council" means any of the 8 regional councils created by the district serving the areas of Austin, Bronzeville, Englewood, Far South/Roseland, East Humboldt Park, West Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, and South Shore.

"Community area" means a geographic area of the City of Chicago defined by the chief executive officer as part of the development of the educational facilities master plan.

"Space utilization" means the percentage achieved by dividing the school's actual enrollment by its design capacity.

"School closing" or "school closure" means the closing of a school, the effect of which is the assignment and transfer of all students enrolled at that school to one or more designated receiving schools.

"School consolidation" means the consolidation of 2 or more schools by closing one or more schools and reassigning the students to another school.

"Phase-out" means the gradual cessation of enrollment in certain grades each school year until a school closes or is consolidated with another school.

"School action" means any school closing; school consolidation; co-location; boundary change that requires reassignment of students, unless the reassignment is to a new school with an attendance area boundary and is made to relieve overcrowding; or phase-out.

(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-210)

Sec. 34-210. The Educational Facility Master Plan.

(a) In accordance with the schedule set forth in this Article, the chief executive officer or his or her designee shall prepare a 10-year educational facility master plan every 5 years, with updates reviewed and approved 2 1/2 years after the approval of the initial 10-year plan, with the first such educational facility master plan to be approved on or before October 1, 2013. Notwithstanding the schedule established under this Section, the first revision must be completed and approved on or before January 1, 2015, and the district is prohibited from completing any sale of vacant school buildings identified in the initial master plan until this first revision is approved.

(b) The educational facility master plan shall provide community area level plans and individual school master plans with options for addressing the facility and space needs for each facility operated by the district over a 10-year period.

(c) The data, information, and analysis that shall inform the educational facility master plan shall be published on the district's Internet website and shall include the following:

(1) a description of the district's guiding educational goals and standards;

(2) a brief description of the types of instructional programs and services delivered in each school;

(3) a description of the process, procedure, and timeline for community participation in the development of the plan;

(4) the enrollment capacity of each school and its rate of utilization;

(5) a report on the assessment of individual building and site conditions;

(6) a data table with historical and projected enrollment data by school by grade;

(7) community analysis, including a study of current and projected demographics, land usage, transportation plans, residential housing and commercial development, private schools, plans for water and sewage service expansion or redevelopment, and institutions of higher education;

(8) an analysis of the facility needs and requirements of the district; and

(9) identification of potential sources of funding for the implementation of the Educational Facility Master Plan.

(c-5) Each revision and update to the educational facility master plan must include data and analysis addressing all of the following:

(1) A school-to-school comparison of facility-investment needs and past capital investments that ranks and projects the future time frame for addressing schools' facility needs.

(2) A full inventory of the district's vacant and closed school buildings and other real estate deemed by the district to be excess or surplus, with values for each property, common street address, and proposed future re-uses or dispositions that have been recommended by the district, the public, or third parties for each.

(3) The plans developed by the community action councils.

(4) School-level master plans that project future changes in building or campus configurations and projected facility improvements, whether currently funded or not; identify the needed amount unfunded; and list all current and projected funding sources.

(5) Identification and mapping of colleges and universities in the City of Chicago and any partnerships that they may have or that have been proposed with the district's schools.

(6) A comprehensive analysis of current, planned, and projected housing and community development initiatives, including those sponsored or subsidized by government agencies, including the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, the City of Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development, the Chicago Housing Authority, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Cook County Land Bank, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or others, and by private developers that have put forth housing and community development projects.

(7) All current and future proposed charter schools, by location and charter operator, and the district's signed agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's charter pact.

(d) On or before May 1, 2013, the chief executive officer or his or her designee shall prepare and distribute for comment a preliminary draft of the Educational Facility Master Plan. The draft plan shall be distributed to the City of Chicago, the County of Cook, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Housing Authority, the Chicago Transit Authority, attendance centers operated by the district, and charter schools operating within the district. Each attendance center shall make the draft plan available to the local school council or alternative advisory body and to the parents, guardians, and staff of the school. The draft plan also shall be distributed to each State Senator and State Representative with a district in the City of Chicago, to the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and to each alderman of the City.

(d-5) At least 7 months prior to approving an educational facility master plan or update, the chief executive officer shall prepare a summary for each school to be distributed to the principal and the parents or guardians of any school attendee. This summary shall include all of the following:

(1) The school's and community's enrollment projections.

(2) The school's facility condition assessment and space utilization report and the last 5 years of past capital investments in the school.

(3) Any capital improvements for the school in the current fiscal year's capital budget and in the district's 5-year capital improvement plan.

(4) A summary of the district's master plan community area needs and proposals for the community area to which the district has assigned the school.

(5) A complete inventory of all closed and vacant school facilities in the community area to which the district has assigned the school.

(d-10) At least 7 months, but no later than 4 months, before approving an educational facility master plan or update, the district must hold at least 2 local school council meetings open to all parents of each school to review the current master plan, propose revisions, and develop and recommend a school-level master plan. The same data that accompanied the summary to parents and guardians in subsection (d-5) of this Section must be provided and presented at these local school council meetings and must be available for public inspection at each school site. The district must meet at least 2 times with its community action councils to elicit proposals for completing and revising the master plan. The district must provide each community action council with a list of all closed and vacant school facilities in its planning area and solicit proposals for the future re-use or disposition of those facilities. Community action councils must be provided with the same data provided to parents and guardians for all of the schools within their planning area. During this period, the district must work with a task force, the Chicago Teachers Union, and the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association to obtain input from educators regarding revisions to the master plan.

(e) The chief executive or his or her designee shall publish a procedure for conducting public hearings and submitting public comments on the draft plan. At least 7 months, but no later than 4 months, before approving an educational facility master plan or update, the district must hold public hearings in each of the 30 community areas defined by the district in the master plan on the current master plan and elicit the public's proposals for revisions. The district must provide the public with 30 days advance notice of the date of each hearing. The public hearing notice must specify that the district is seeking the public's proposals for the future re-use or disposition of any closed school facility in their community area.

(f) After consideration of public input on the draft plan, the chief executive officer or his or her designee shall prepare and publish a report describing the process used to incorporate public input in the development of the final plan to be recommended to the Board.

(g) The chief executive officer shall present the final plan and report to the Board for final consideration and approval.

(h) The final approved Educational Facility Master Plan shall be published on the district's website.

(h-5) The first revision and update to the Educational Facility Master Plan must be approved on or before January 1, 2015. Notwithstanding any other dates included in this Section, the revised draft master plan must be published on or before October 1, 2014 and must be immediately followed by a public comment period of at least 15 days.

(i) No later than January 1, 2016, and every 5 years thereafter, the chief executive officer or his or her designee shall prepare and submit for public comment a draft revised Educational Facility Master Plan following the procedures required for development of the original plan.

(j) This proposed revised plan shall reflect the progress achieved during the first 2 1/2 years of the Educational Facility Master Plan.

(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11; 97-1133, eff. 11-30-12.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.