HB6862 EngrossedLRB096 22143 NHT 40801 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
527A-4 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
7    Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
8    (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend
9the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan in
10effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
11subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
12provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
13disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
14religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
15education services.
16    (b) The total number of charter schools operating under
17this Article at any one time shall not exceed 120. Not more
18than 70 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any
19city having a population exceeding 500,000 and not more than 45
20charter schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder
21of the State, with not more than one charter school that has
22been initiated by a board of education, or by an
23intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of

 

 

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1education, operating at any one time in the school district
2where the charter school is located. In addition to these
3charter schools, up to but no more than 5 charter schools
4devoted exclusively to re-enrolled high school dropouts may
5operate at any one time in any city having a population
6exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the
7contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A-5 of this Code, each
8such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the
9city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875
10enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout
11charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each
12campus of the dropout charter must be operated by the same
13legal entity as that for which the charter is approved and
14certified.
15    For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board
16shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives
17under Section 27A-6 for its review and certification, based on
18the chronological order in which the submission is received by
19it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards
20when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools
21authorized to operate have been reached.
22    (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
23would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
24school to a charter school.
25    (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
26pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area

 

 

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1served by the local school board, provided that the board of
2education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
3designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of
4the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of
5education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to
6relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk
7students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may
8be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to
9attend the charter school.
10    (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local
11school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a single shared
12charter school, provided that all of the provisions of this
13Article are met as to those local school boards.
14    (f) No local school board shall require any employee of the
15school district to be employed in a charter school.
16    (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing
17within the geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a
18charter school.
19    (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in
20a charter school than there are spaces available, successful
21applicants shall be selected by lottery. However, priority
22shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the charter
23school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school
24the previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and
25priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter
26school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated

 

 

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1by the board of education in a city having a population
2exceeding 500,000. Dual enrollment at both a charter school and
3a public school or non-public school shall not be allowed. A
4pupil who is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall
5be deemed to be suspended or expelled from the public schools
6of the school district in which the pupil resides.
7Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection
8(h), any charter school with a mission exclusive to educating
9high school dropouts may restrict admission to students who are
10high school dropouts.
11    (i) (Blank).
12    (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
13contrary, a school district in a city having a population
14exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively bargain
15with an exclusive representative of its employees over
16decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under
17Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a
18charter under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of
19these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall
20have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing,
21diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights,
22guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10,
2314, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
24    (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
25contrary, if more than one school district jointly issues a
26charter to a single shared charter school operated by Aurora

 

 

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1University, then the charter school may (i) restrict attendance
2to only residents of a municipality shared by the districts and
3(ii) in lieu of a lottery, select students for enrollment based
4on admission criteria that focuses on academic proficiency in
5science and mathematics; however, in no case shall such a
6charter school discriminate on the basis of disability, race,
7creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry,
8marital status, or need for special education services in the
9establishment of its attendance boundaries or in the selection
10of students for enrollment.
11(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)