|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT regarding charter schools.
| |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 27A-5 as follows:
| |||||||||||||||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| |||||||||||||||||||
8 | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| |||||||||||||||||||
12 | authorized under the laws of this
the State of Illinois .
| |||||||||||||||||||
13 | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
| |||||||||||||||||||
19 | school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | |||||||||||||||||||
24 | Act.
| |||||||||||||||||||
25 | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | |||||||||||||||||||
26 | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | |||||||||||||||||||
27 | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| |||||||||||||||||||
28 | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | |||||||||||||||||||
29 | Meetings Act.
| |||||||||||||||||||
30 | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | |||||||||||||||||||
31 | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | |||||||||||||||||||
32 | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||||||
2 | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||||||
3 | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||||||
4 | instructional materials, and student activities.
| ||||||
5 | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | ||||||
6 | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | ||||||
7 | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | ||||||
8 | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | ||||||
9 | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | ||||||
10 | school.
| ||||||
11 | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||||||
12 | this Article and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt from | ||||||
13 | all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
| ||||||
14 | governing public
schools and local school board policies, | ||||||
15 | except the following:
| ||||||
16 | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | ||||||
17 | regarding criminal
background investigations of applicants | ||||||
18 | for employment;
| ||||||
19 | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | ||||||
20 | regarding discipline of
students;
| ||||||
21 | (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||||||
22 | Tort Immunity Act;
| ||||||
23 | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||||||
24 | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||||||
25 | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| ||||||
26 | (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| ||||||
27 | (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and
| ||||||
28 | (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | ||||||
29 | report cards.
| ||||||
30 | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||||||
31 | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||||||
32 | university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||||||
33 | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||||||
34 | school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||||||
35 | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||||||
36 | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||||||
2 | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||||||
3 | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| ||||||
4 | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | ||||||
5 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| ||||||
6 | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | ||||||
7 | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| ||||||
8 | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | ||||||
9 | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||||||
10 | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | ||||||
11 | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | ||||||
12 | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | ||||||
13 | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | ||||||
14 | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | ||||||
15 | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | ||||||
16 | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | ||||||
17 | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | ||||||
18 | of a State college or university or public community college
| ||||||
19 | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| ||||||
20 | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | ||||||
21 | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | ||||||
22 | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | ||||||
23 | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | ||||||
24 | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | ||||||
25 | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | ||||||
26 | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| ||||||
27 | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | ||||||
28 | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| ||||||
29 | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||||||
30 | grade level.
| ||||||
31 | (Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03.)
|