SB1679 EngrossedLRB099 08002 SXM 28142 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Course
5Access Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Course provider" means an entity authorized by the State
8Board to offer individual courses in person, online, or a
9combination of the 2, including, but not limited to, online
10education providers, public or private elementary and
11secondary education institutions, education service agencies,
12not-for-profit providers, postsecondary education
13institutions, and vocational or technical course providers.
14    "Eligible funded student" means any eligible participating
15student who is currently enrolled in a public school or charter
16school.
17    "Eligible participating student" means any student in
18kindergarten through grade 12 who resides in this State.
19    "Public school" means a public school or charter school.
20    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
21    "State Course Access Catalog" means the website developed
22for the State Board of Education that provides a listing of all
23courses authorized and available to students in this State,

 

 

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1detailed information about the courses to inform student
2enrollment decisions, and the ability for students to submit
3their course enrollments. The data in this Catalog shall be
4published online in an open format that may be retrieved,
5downloaded, indexed, and searched by commonly used web search
6applications. An open format shall be platform-independent,
7machine-readable, and made available to the public without
8restrictions that may impede the reuse of that information. The
9data in the Catalog shall be owned by the State Board.
10    "State Course Access Program" means the Program created
11under this Act.
 
12    Section 10. Enrollment. An eligible participating student
13may enroll in State Course Access Program courses.
14    An eligible funded student may enroll in State Course
15Access Program courses only if the courses the eligible funded
16student wants to enroll in are not offered at the eligible
17funded student's school.
18    An eligible funded student may enroll in State Course
19Access Program courses that are funded by the Program up to the
20following levels, unless additional courses are approved by the
21school where they are enrolled:
22        (1) 2016-2017 school year: Students attending a public
23    school who choose to participate in the State Course Access
24    Program and entering the school year with credits equal to
25    the junior or senior level of high school may take up to 2

 

 

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1    courses per semester.
2        (2) 2017-2018 school year: Students attending a public
3    school who choose to participate in the State Course Access
4    Program and entering the school year with credits equal to
5    the sophomore, junior, or senior level of high school may
6    take up to 2 courses per semester.
7        (3) 2018-2019 school year and all school years
8    thereafter: Students attending a public school who choose
9    to participate in the State Course Access Program and
10    entering grades 9 through 12 may take up to 2 courses per
11    semester.
12    The families of eligible funded students and other eligible
13participating students may pay to enroll in State Course Access
14Program courses above the levels specified under Section 50 of
15this Act.
16    Public and charter schools where eligible funded students
17are enrolled full time may review enrollment requests to ensure
18courses are academically appropriate, logistically feasible,
19keep the student on track for an on-time graduation, and do not
20extend a student beyond a full-time course load. The public and
21charter schools may only reject enrollment requests for not
22doing so.
23    The public and charter schools must complete the review and
24denial process within 5 days of the student enrolling in the
25course.
26    Public and charter schools shall inform students and

 

 

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1families at the time of denial of their right to appeal any
2enrollment denials in State Course Access Program courses to
3the school board, which shall provide a final enrollment
4decision within 7 calendar days.
 
5    Section 15. Provider authorization process. The State
6Board shall:
7        (1) Establish an authorization process for course
8    providers that may include multiple opportunities for
9    submission each year.
10        (2) Not later than 90 calendar days from the initial
11    submission date, authorize course providers that:
12            (A) meet the criteria established under Section 20
13        of this Act; and
14            (B) provide courses that offer the instructional
15        rigor and scope required under Section 25 of this Act.
16        (3) Not later than 90 calendar days from the initial
17    submission date, provide a written explanation to any
18    course providers that are denied. If a course provider is
19    denied authorization, the provider may apply again in the
20    future. If a course provider is denied authorization 3
21    times, the provider will no longer be able to apply.
22        (4) Publish the process established under Section 20 of
23    this Act, including any deadlines and any guidelines
24    applicable to the submission and authorization process for
25    providers.

 

 

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1    If the State Board determines that there are insufficient
2funds available for evaluating and authorizing course
3providers, it may charge applicant providers a fee up to, but
4no greater than, the amount of the costs in order to ensure
5that evaluation occurs. The State Board shall establish and
6publish a fee schedule for purposes of this Section.
 
7    Section 20. Course provider criteria. To be authorized to
8offer a course through the State Course Access Program, a
9provider must:
10        (1) Comply with all applicable anti-discrimination
11    provisions and applicable State and federal student data
12    privacy provisions, including, but not limited to, the
13    federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
14        (2) Provide an assurance that all online information
15    and resources for online or blended courses are fully
16    accessible for students of all abilities, including that:
17            (A) all of the courses submitted for approval are
18        reviewed to ensure they meet legal accessibility
19        standards;
20            (B) the provider has created and promulgated an
21        Accessibility Online Public and Charter Schools
22        Policy;
23            (C) the provider has designated a Section 504
24        Coordinator and a Grievance Policy, and issued annual
25        notifications;

 

 

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1            (D) the provider has policies and activities to
2        ensure their organizational and course websites meet
3        accessibility requirements; and
4            (E) the provider has no gateway exam or test where
5        a specific score is required to participate in the
6        Program courses beyond completion of prerequisite
7        coursework or demonstrated mastery of prerequisite
8        material.
9        (3) Demonstrate either:
10            (A) prior evidence of delivering quality outcomes
11        for students, as demonstrated by completion rates,
12        student level growth, proficiency, or other
13        quantifiable outcomes; or
14            (B) for course providers applying to offer a
15        subject or grade level for the first time, provide a
16        detailed justification, in a manner determined by the
17        State Board, of how their organization's subject
18        matter, instructional, and technical expertise will
19        allow public and charter schools to produce successful
20        outcomes for students.
21        (4) Ensure instructional and curricular quality
22    through a detailed curriculum and student performance
23    accountability plan that aligns with and measures student
24    attainment of relevant State academic standards or other
25    relevant standards in courses without State academic
26    standards.

 

 

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1        (5) Provide assurances that the course provider shall
2    provide electronically, in a manner and format determined
3    by the State Board, a detailed student record of
4    enrollment, performance, completion, and grading
5    information with the school systems where eligible
6    participating students are enrolled full time.
7    Additional criteria developed by the State Board shall be
8used to evaluate providers, and may include International
9Association for K-12 Online Learning, National Standards for
10Quality Online Teaching, National Standards for Quality Online
11Courses, Southern Regional Education Board, AdvancED, or other
12nationally recognized third party quality standards.
 
13    Section 25. Course quality reviews. The State Board shall
14establish a course review and approval process. The process may
15be implemented by the State Board or by an entity designated by
16the State Board.
17    In order to be approved and added to the State Course
18Access Catalog, a course must:
19        (1) Be one of the following types:
20            (A) a course that satisfies high school graduation
21        requirements;
22            (B) a course identified by the State Board as
23        necessary for college-readiness;
24            (C) an Advanced Placement or International
25        Baccalaureate course;

 

 

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1            (D) a music or arts course;
2            (E) a STEM course;
3            (F) a foreign language course;
4            (G) a dual credit course that allows students to
5        earn college credit or other advanced credit; or
6            (H) a vocational or technical course, including
7        apprenticeships and High School Career Exploration and
8        Readiness courses.
9        (2) Be, at a minimum, the equivalent in instructional
10    rigor and scope to a course that is provided in a
11    traditional classroom setting.
12        (3) Be aligned to relevant State academic standards or
13    industry standards.
14        (4) Possess an assessment component for determining
15    student proficiency and student growth where applicable.
16        (5) Be designed and implemented consistently with
17    criteria established by the International Association for
18    K-12 Online Learning (INACOL) National Standards for
19    Quality Online Teaching and INACOL National Standards for
20    Quality Online Courses, the Southern Regional Education
21    Board, or AdvancED or with other nationally or
22    industry-recognized third party quality standards.
23        (6) Be taught by a teacher who holds a professional
24    educator license under Article 21B of the School Code.
25    A course provider other than the Illinois Virtual School
26may offer an online course only if the Illinois Virtual School

 

 

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1decides to not offer the course via the State Course Access
2Catalog.
 
3    Section 30. Provider and course monitoring and
4reauthorization. The initial authorization of the course
5provider and approved courses shall be for a period of 3 years.
6Providers must annually report, in such a manner as directed by
7the State Board:
8        (1) student enrollment data;
9        (2) student outcomes, growth measures when available,
10    proficiency rates, and completion rates for each subject
11    area and grade level; and
12        (3) student and parental feedback on overall
13    satisfaction and quality.
14    After the second year of the initial authorization period,
15the State Board shall conduct a thorough review of the course
16provider's activities and the academic performance of the
17students enrolled in courses offered by the course provider.
18    If the performance of the students enrolled in courses
19offered by the course provider does not meet agreed-upon
20performance standards at any time, the course provider shall be
21placed on probation and shall be required to submit a plan for
22improvement. The State Board shall determine the terms of
23probation, including, but not limited to, the results the
24course provider must achieve to return to good standing. Course
25providers shall have a minimum of 60 days to achieve the

 

 

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1results indicated in their terms of probation. The State Board
2shall, at its sole discretion, determine if the course provider
3has met the specified results required for the course provider
4to return to good standing. If a course provider fails to
5return to good standing within the timeframe cited in its terms
6of probation, the State Board may terminate its status as a
7course provider. Course providers terminated as a result of
8being put on probation may not reapply to become a course
9provider for 2 years from the time the State Board revoked its
10status.
11    After the initial 3-year authorization period, the State
12Board may reauthorize the course provider for additional
13periods of up to 5 years after thorough review of the course
14provider's activities and the achievement of students enrolled
15in courses offered by the course provider.
16     The State Board may exclude a course provided by an
17authorized provider at any time if the State Board determines
18that:
19        (A) the course is no longer adequately aligned with the
20    State academic standards;
21        (B) the course no longer provides a detailed and
22    quality curriculum and accountability plan; or
23        (C) the course fails to deliver outcomes as measured by
24    course completion, proficiency, or student academic growth
25    on State or nationally accepted assessments.
 

 

 

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1    Section 35. Interstate course reciprocity. The State Board
2may enter into a reciprocity agreement with other states for
3the purpose of authorizing and approving high quality providers
4and courses for the State Course Access Program and the
5operation of the State Course Access Catalog.
 
6    Section 40. Responsibilities of the State Board.
7    (a) The State Board shall:
8        (1) Publish the criteria required under Section 20 of
9    this Act for courses that may be offered through the State
10    Course Access Program.
11        (2) Be responsible for creating the State Course Access
12    Catalog.
13        (3) Publish a link to the Catalog in a prominent
14    location on the State Board's website, which includes a
15    listing of courses offered by authorized providers
16    available through the Program, a detailed description of
17    the courses, and any available student completion and
18    outcome data.
19        (4) Establish and publish a timeframe or specific dates
20    by which students are able to withdraw from a course
21    provided through the Program without the student, public
22    and charter schools, or course provider incurring a
23    penalty.
24        (5) Maintain on its official website in a prominent
25    location an informed choice report. Each report under this

 

 

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1    Section must:
2            (A) be updated within 30 calendar days of
3        additional provider authorizations;
4            (B) describe each course offered through the
5        Program and include information such as course
6        requirements and the school year calendar for the
7        course, including any options for continued
8        participation outside of the standard school year
9        calendar;
10            (C) include student and parental comments and
11        feedback as detailed under Section 35 of this Act; and
12            (D) be published online in an open format that can
13        be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched by
14        commonly used web search applications. An open format
15        is one that is platform-independent, machine-readable,
16        and made available to the public without restrictions
17        that would impede the reuse of that information.
18    (b) The State Board shall submit an annual report on the
19Program and the participation of entities to the Governor, the
20Chairperson and Minority Spokesperson of the Education
21Committee of the Senate, and the Chairperson and Minority
22Spokesperson of the Elementary and Secondary Education
23Committee of the House of Representatives. The report shall at
24a minimum include the following information:
25        (1) The annual number of students participating in
26    courses authorized under this Act and the total number of

 

 

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1    courses students are enrolled in.
2        (2) The number of authorized providers.
3        (3) The number of authorized courses and the number of
4    students enrolled in each course.
5        (4) The number of courses available by subject.
6        (5) The number of students enrolled in courses by
7    subject.
8        (6) Student outcome data, including completion rates,
9    student learning gains, student performance on State or
10    nationally accepted assessments, by subject and grade
11    level by provider. This outcome data should be published in
12    a manner that protects student privacy.
13    The State Board shall note any data that are not yet
14available at the time of publication and when these data will
15become available and include these data in future reports.
16    The report and underlying data shall be published online in
17an open format that can be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and
18searched by commonly used web search applications. An open
19format is one that is platform-independent, machine-readable,
20and made available to the public without restrictions that
21would impede the reuse of that information.
 
22    Section 45. Responsibilities of the local school district.
23    (a) A public school shall:
24        (1) State, in writing to the State Board, whether it
25    wants to participate in the State Course Access Program

 

 

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1    during the 2016-2017 school year.
2        (2) Provide information by letter or email to students
3    and parents at home and by at least 2 other means, such as
4    community flyers, newspaper postings, student report
5    cards, or other methods.
6        (3) Publish information and eligibility guidelines on
7    the school and school district's web sites.
8    (b) Each local school system shall establish policies and
9procedures whereby, for each eligible participating student,
10credits earned through the course provider shall appear on each
11student's official transcript and count fully toward the
12requirements of any approved Illinois diploma.
13    (c) The State Board shall adopt rules necessary to
14implement this Section, including, but not limited to, the
15requirements of school governing authorities or local school
16systems whose students enroll in courses offered by authorized
17course providers.
18    (d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent a
19school entity from establishing its own online course or
20program in accordance with this Act.
 
21    Section 50. Funding.
22    (a) Per-course tuition shall be determined as follows:
23        (1) The course provider shall receive per-course
24    tuition for each eligible funded student at a fair and
25    reasonable rate negotiated by the State Board and the

 

 

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1    course provider that is inclusive of all required course
2    materials and transportation expenses. Course providers
3    are only responsible for providing transportation for
4    students who are enrolled in a free or reduced-price lunch
5    program. Transfers of course payments shall be made by the
6    State Board on behalf of the responsible school district in
7    which the student resides to the authorized course
8    provider.
9        (2) The course provider shall receive payment from the
10    State Board only for the courses in which an eligible
11    funded student is enrolled. The remaining funds for each
12    student shall remain with the local school system in which
13    the student is enrolled full time.
14        (3) The course provider shall accept the amount
15    specified in this Section as total tuition and fees for the
16    eligible funded student.
17        (4) The course provider may charge tuition to any other
18    eligible participating student up to an amount determined
19    by the course provider and State Board.
20    (b) Payment of tuition to course providers shall be based
21upon student success and made as follows:
22        (1) Fifty percent of the amount of tuition to be paid
23    or transferred to the course provider shall be transferred
24    upon student enrollment in a course, and 50% shall be
25    dependent upon student success in the course.
26        (2) Student success may, in the 2016-2017 school year,

 

 

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1    be measured based on course completion, but the State Board
2    may create new measures of student success by the 2017-2018
3    school year for use in courses where externally validated
4    measures are available. These measures of student
5    outcomes, based on either proficiency or growth, shall
6    include results from independent end-of-course exams,
7    Advanced Placement exams, International Baccalaureate
8    exams, receipt of industry-recognized credentials, receipt
9    of credit from institutions of higher education, or other
10    externally validated measures.
11        (3) Partial payments for delayed completions shall be
12    determined as follows: If a student does not successfully
13    complete a course according to the published course length
14    in which the course provider has received the first payment
15    pursuant to this Section, the provider shall receive 75% of
16    the tuition that is dependent upon student success, as
17    defined in Section 30 of this Act, only if the student
18    completes and receives credit for the course within one
19    additional semester.
 
20    Section 900. The School Code is amended by changing Section
2127A-5 as follows:
 
22    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
23    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
24    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,

 

 

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1nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
2school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
3corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
4authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
5    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
6by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
7school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
8on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
9General Assembly, in all new applications to establish a
10charter school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
11operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
12The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
1393rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
14or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
15Act.
16    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
17a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and
18instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with
19their teachers at remote locations and with students
20participating at different times.
21    From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a
22moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
23virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
24school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
25moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
26virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to

 

 

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1April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
2school with virtual-schooling components already approved
3prior to April 1, 2013.
4    On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to
5the General Assembly a report on the effect of
6virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on
7student performance, the costs associated with
8virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall
9include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
10    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
11its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
12provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
13shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
14Meetings Act.
15    (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
16health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
17under the laws of the State of Illinois.
18    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
19charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
20charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
21instructional materials, and student activities.
22    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
23management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
24not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
25charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
26outside, independent contractor retained by the charter

 

 

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1school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of
2public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of
3operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer
4and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form
5990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
6Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for
7proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer
8may require quarterly financial statements from each charter
9school.
10    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
11this Article; the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act; all
12federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools
13that pertain to special education and the instruction of
14English language learners, referred to in this Code as
15"children of limited English-speaking ability"; and its
16charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State laws
17and regulations in this Code governing public schools and local
18school board policies; however a charter school is not exempt
19from , except the following:
20        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding
21    criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
22    Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent
23    Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for
24    employment;
25        (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this Code regarding
26    discipline of students;

 

 

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1        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
2    Tort Immunity Act;
3        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
4    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
5    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
6        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
7        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
8        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report
9    cards;
10        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
11    and
12        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
13    prevention; .
14        (10) (9) Section 2-3.162 2-3.160 of this the School
15    Code regarding student discipline reporting; and .
16        (11) The Course Access Act.
17    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
18is declaratory of existing law.
19    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
20school district, the governing body of a State college or
21university or public community college, or any other public or
22for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
23school building and grounds or any other real property or
24facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
25for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
26maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,

 

 

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1activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
2perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
3However, a charter school that is established on or after the
4effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
5Assembly and that operates in a city having a population
6exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
7manage or operate the school during the period that commences
8on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
9General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005
10school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this
11Section, a school district may charge a charter school
12reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
13grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
14school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
15the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
16contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
17of a State college or university or public community college
18shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
19    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
20by converting an existing school or attendance center to
21charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
22deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
23agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
24costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
25facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
26to negotiation between the charter school and the local school

 

 

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1board and shall be set forth in the charter.
2    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
3grade level.
4    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
5then the Commission charter school is its own local education
6agency.
7(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12;
897-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14;
998-669, eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff.
101-1-15; 98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; revised
1110-14-14.)
 
12    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
131, 2016.