Sen. Bill Cunningham

Filed: 5/22/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5175

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5175 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
527A-7.5, 27A-8, and 27A-9 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.5)
7    Sec. 27A-7.5. State Charter School Commission.
8    (a) A State Charter School Commission is established as an
9independent commission with statewide chartering jurisdiction
10and authority. The Commission shall be under the State Board
11for administrative purposes only.
12    (a-5) The State Board shall provide administrative support
13to the Commission as needed.
14    (b) The Commission is responsible for authorizing
15high-quality charter schools throughout this State,
16particularly schools designed to expand opportunities for

 

 

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1at-risk students, consistent with the purposes of this Article.
2    (c) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, appointed by
3the State Board. The State Board shall make these appointments
4from a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor, within 60
5days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
697th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission
7members. In making the appointments, the State Board shall
8ensure statewide geographic diversity among Commission
9members. The Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to
10the State Board within 60 days after the effective date of this
11amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior
12to the expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the
13Governor fails to timely propose a slate of candidates
14according to the provisions of this subsection (c), then the
15State Board may appoint the member or members of the
16Commission.
17    (d) Members appointed to the Commission shall collectively
18possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit
19governance, management and finance, public school leadership,
20higher education, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and
21public education law. All members of the Commission shall have
22demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public
23education, including without limitation charter schooling. At
24least 3 members must have past experience with urban charter
25schools.
26    (e) To establish staggered terms of office, the initial

 

 

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1term of office for 3 Commission members shall be 4 years and
2thereafter shall be 4 years; the initial term of office for
3another 3 members shall be 3 years and thereafter shall be 4
4years; and the initial term of office for the remaining 3
5members shall be 2 years and thereafter shall be 4 years. The
6initial appointments must be made no later than October 1,
72011.
8    (f) Whenever a vacancy on the Commission exists, the State
9Board shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the
10term.
11    (g) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics
12Act, the Commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts,
13grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private
14entity to carry out the purposes of this Article, subject to
15the terms and conditions under which they are given, provided
16that all such terms and conditions are permissible under law.
17Funds received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into
18the State Charter School Commission Fund.
19    The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a
20special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
21be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board, acting
22on behalf and with the consent of the Commission, for
23operational and administrative costs of the Commission.
24    Subject to appropriation, any funds appropriated for use by
25the State Board, acting on behalf and with the consent of the
26Commission, may be used for the following purposes, without

 

 

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1limitation: personal services, contractual services, and other
2operational and administrative costs. The State Board is
3further authorized to make expenditures with respect to any
4other amounts deposited in accordance with law into the State
5Charter School Commission Fund.
6    (g-5) Funds or spending authority for the operation and
7administrative costs of the Commission shall be appropriated to
8the State Board in a separate line item. The State
9Superintendent of Education may not reduce or modify the budget
10of the Commission or use funds appropriated to the Commission
11without the approval of the Commission.
12    (h) The Commission shall operate with dedicated resources
13and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities
14of charter school authorizing in accordance with this Article.
15The Commission may employ and fix the compensation of such
16employees and technical assistants as it deems necessary to
17carry out its powers and duties under this Article, without
18regard to the requirements of any civil service or personnel
19statute; and may establish and administer standards of
20classification of all such persons with respect to their
21compensation, duties, performance, and tenure and enter into
22contracts of employment with such persons for such periods and
23on such terms as the Commission deems desirable.
24    (i) Every 2 years, the Commission shall provide to the
25State Board and local school boards a report on best practices
26in charter school authorizing, including without limitation

 

 

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1evaluating applications, oversight of charters, and renewal of
2charter schools.
3    (j) The Commission may charge a charter school that it
4authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to
5the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing
6administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering
7authority with respect to the school. This fee must be
8deposited into the State Charter School Commission Fund.
9    (k) Any charter school authorized by the State Board prior
10to this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall have
11its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of
12the State Board, which shall then become the school's
13authorizer for all purposes under this Article. However, in no
14case shall such transfer take place later than July 1, 2012. At
15this time, all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities,
16contracts, property, records, and pending business of the State
17Board as the school's authorizer must be transferred to the
18Commission. Any charter school authorized by a local school
19board or boards may seek transfer of authorization to the
20Commission during its current term only with the approval of
21the local school board or boards. At the end of its charter
22term, a charter school authorized by a local school board or
23boards must reapply to the board or boards before it may apply
24for authorization to the Commission under the terms of this
25amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.
26    On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th

 

 

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1General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to
2matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission
3shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The
4Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to
5the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to
6matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission.
7The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the
8Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any
9proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule
10modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois
11Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider
12such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the
1397th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent
14with that intent.
15    (l) (Blank). The Commission shall have the responsibility
16to consider appeals under this Article immediately upon
17appointment of the initial members of the Commission under
18subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals pending at the time of
19initial appointment shall be determined by the Commission; the
20Commission may extend the time for review as necessary for
21thorough review, but in no case shall the extension exceed the
22time that would have been available had the appeal been
23submitted to the Commission on the date of appointment of its
24initial members. In any appeal filed with the Commission under
25this Article, both the applicant and the school district in
26which the charter school plans to locate shall have the right

 

 

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1to request a hearing before the Commission. If more than one
2entity requests a hearing, then the Commission may hold only
3one hearing, wherein the applicant and the school district
4shall have an equal opportunity to present their respective
5positions.
6(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-641, eff. 12-19-11;
797-1156, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
9    Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
10    (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school
11established by referendum under Section 27A-6.5. In evaluating
12any charter school proposal submitted to it, the local school
13board and the Commission shall give preference to proposals
14that:
15        (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental,
16    community, business, and school personnel support;
17        (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement
18    and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining those levels
19    of achievement; and
20        (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
21    proportion of at-risk children; provided that nothing in
22    the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to
23    limit the establishment of charter schools to those that
24    serve a substantial portion of at-risk children or to in
25    any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the

 

 

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1    establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve
2    other pupil populations under a nonexclusive,
3    nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
4    (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school
5by converting an existing public school or attendance center to
6charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of
7the charter school has received majority support from certified
8teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
9attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if
10applicable, from a local school council, shall be demonstrated
11by a petition in support of the charter school signed by
12certified teachers and a petition in support of the charter
13school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a
14vote of the local school council held at a public meeting. In
15the case of all other proposals to establish a charter school,
16evidence of sufficient support to fill the number of pupil
17seats set forth in the proposal may be demonstrated by a
18petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and
19guardians of students eligible to attend the charter school. In
20all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who
21initiate the proposal to establish a charter school may elect,
22in lieu of including any petition referred to in this
23subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to the local
24school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
25received the support referred to in this subsection by other
26evidence and information presented at the public meeting that

 

 

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1the local school board is required to convene under this
2Section.
3    (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal,
4the local school board shall convene a public meeting to obtain
5information to assist the board in its decision to grant or
6deny the charter school proposal. A local school board may
7develop its own process for receiving charter school proposals
8on an annual basis that follows the same timeframes as set
9forth in this Article. Final decisions of a local school board
10are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review
11Law. If a charter school applicant submits a proposal to a
12local school board outside of the process adopted by that local
13school board for receiving charter school proposals on an
14annual basis, the applicant shall not have any right to submit
15its proposal to the Commission as otherwise authorized in
16subsections (d) and (e) of this Section. Only after the local
17school board process is followed may a charter school applicant
18appeal to the Commission.
19    (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section
20shall be published in a community newspaper published in the
21school district in which the proposed charter is located and,
22if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper published in
23the county and having circulation in the school district. The
24notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than
255 days before the meeting and shall state that information
26regarding a charter school proposal will be heard at the

 

 

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1meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be posted at
2appropriate locations in the school or attendance center
3proposed to be established as a charter school, the public
4schools in the school district, and the local school board
5office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding
6a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the
7proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in
8accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of
9this Section.
10    (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school
11board shall vote, in a public meeting, to either grant or deny
12the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not
13voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public
14meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to
15the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with
16the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
17    (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under
18subsection (e) of this Section, the local school board shall
19file a report with the State Board granting or denying the
20proposal. If the local school board has approved the proposal,
21within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's report,
22the State Board shall determine whether the approved charter
23proposal is consistent with the provisions of this Article and,
24if the approved proposal complies, certify the proposal
25pursuant to Section 27A-6.
26    (g) If the charter applicant submits the proposal to the

 

 

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1Commission as authorized the local school board votes to deny
2the proposal, then the charter school applicant has 30 days
3from the date of that vote to submit an appeal to the
4Commission. In such instances or in those instances referenced
5in subsections (d), and (e), and (i) of this Section, the
6Commission shall follow the same process and be subject to the
7same timelines for review as the local school board.
8    (h) The Commission may approve a charter school proposal
9submitted to it in accordance with subsection (d), (e), or (i)
10of this Section The Commission may reverse a local school
11board's decision to deny a charter school proposal if the
12Commission finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with
13this Article and (ii) is in the best interests of the students
14the charter school is designed to serve. Final decisions of the
15Commission are subject to judicial review under the
16Administrative Review Law.
17    (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly
18authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school
19boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a
20statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the
21charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light
22of the complexities of joint administration, in which case the
23charter applicant may submit the proposal to the Commission,
24where it must be addressed in accordance with the provisions
25set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
26(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09;

 

 

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196-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
 
2    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
3    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
4    (a) For charters granted before January 1, 2017 (the
5effective date of Public Act 99-840), a charter may be granted
6for a period not less than 5 and not more than 10 school years.
7For charters granted on or after January 1, 2017 (the effective
8date of Public Act 99-840), a charter shall be granted for a
9period of 5 school years. For charters renewed before January
101, 2017 (the effective date of Public Act 99-840), a charter
11may be renewed in incremental periods not to exceed 5 school
12years. For charters renewed on or after January 1, 2017 (the
13effective date of Public Act 99-840), a charter may be renewed
14in incremental periods not to exceed 10 school years; however,
15the Commission may renew a charter only in incremental periods
16not to exceed 5 years. Authorizers shall ensure that every
17charter granted on or after January 1, 2017 (the effective date
18of Public Act 99-840) includes standards and goals for
19academic, organizational, and financial performance. A charter
20must meet all standards and goals for academic, organizational,
21and financial performance set forth by the authorizer in order
22to be renewed for a term in excess of 5 years but not more than
2310 years. If an authorizer fails to establish standards and
24goals, a charter shall not be renewed for a term in excess of 5
25years. Nothing contained in this Section shall require an

 

 

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1authorizer to grant a full 10-year renewal term to any
2particular charter school, but an authorizer may award a full
310-year renewal term to charter schools that have a
4demonstrated track record of improving student performance.
5    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
6local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
7shall contain:
8        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
9    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
10    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
11    initial approved charter proposal; and
12        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
13    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
14    for the charter school that is understandable to the
15    general public and that will allow comparison of those
16    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
17    in a format required by the State Board.
18    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
19school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
20clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
21following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
22of this law:
23        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
24    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
25    charter.
26        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward

 

 

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1    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
2    standards identified in the charter.
3        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
4    fiscal management.
5        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
6    charter school was not exempted.
7    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
8Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter
9school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to
10revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to
11the local school board or the Commission, whichever is
12applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a
13timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or
14the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If
15the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering
16entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement
17the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the
18chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in
19situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or
20education of the charter school's students is at risk, the
21revocation shall take place at the end of a school year.
22Nothing in Public Act 96-105 shall be construed to prohibit an
23implementation timetable that is less than 2 years in duration.
24    (d) (Blank).
25    (e) The Commission may approve an application for a charter
26submitted to it in accordance with this Article Notice of a

 

 

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1local school board's decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a
2charter shall be provided to the Commission and the State
3Board. The Commission may reverse a local board's decision if
4the Commission finds that the charter school or charter school
5proposal (i) is in compliance with this Article, and (ii) is in
6the best interests of the students it is designed to serve. The
7Commission may condition approval of a charter school
8application The Commission may condition the granting of an
9appeal on the acceptance by the charter school of funding in an
10amount less than that requested in the proposal submitted to
11the local school board. Final decisions of the Commission are
12shall be subject to judicial review under the Administrative
13Review Law.
14    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
15the Commission approves an application for a charter school
16submitted to it in accordance with this Article or on appeal
17reverses a local board's decision or if a charter school is
18approved by referendum under Section 27A-6.5 of this Code, the
19Commission shall act as the authorized chartering entity for
20the charter school. The Commission shall execute a approve the
21charter agreement and shall perform all functions under this
22Article otherwise performed by the local school board. The
23State Board shall determine whether the charter proposal
24approved by the Commission is consistent with the provisions of
25this Article and, if the approved proposal complies, certify
26the proposal pursuant to this Article. The State Board shall

 

 

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1report the aggregate number of charter school pupils resident
2in a school district to that district and shall notify the
3district of the amount of funding to be paid by the State Board
4to the charter school enrolling such students. The Commission
5shall require the charter school to maintain accurate records
6of daily attendance that shall be deemed sufficient to file
7claims under Section 18-8.05 or 18-8.15 notwithstanding any
8other requirements of that Section regarding hours of
9instruction and teacher certification. The State Board shall
10withhold from funds otherwise due the district the funds
11authorized by this Article to be paid to the charter school and
12shall pay such amounts to the charter school.
13    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
14Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
15student enrollment for each of its charter schools.
16    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
17State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
18or State aid attributable to a student with a disability
19attending the school.
20    (i) The Commission has no authority under subsection (e) of
21this Section to approve a charter school proposal that has been
22denied by the local school board.
23(Source: P.A. 99-840, eff. 1-1-17; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17;
24100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.".