HB0200eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0200 Engrossed LRB095 03754 RAS 23783 b

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 adding Section 34-18.34 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.34 new)

Sec. 34-18.34. Closure of schools.

(a) The General Assembly recognizes that a school is a major institution in a community with many resources, opportunities, and stakeholders, not the least of whom are the families with children who seek and deserve a quality education. It is the intention of the General Assembly to ensure that (i) a school is closed only at the end of a school year and only when necessary in the interests of the children to do so; (ii) the community has a voice in such decisions; and (iii) all students thereby displaced are protected.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, no school in the district may be closed except as provided in this Section. A school is eligible for closure only if closure is necessary to best serve the school-age children of that community and the board does the following:

(1) adopts and relies upon measurable criteria for school closings developed in conjunction with local school councils throughout the district;

(2) applies the criteria consistently throughout the district; and

(3) fully and timely discloses to stakeholders and the public all information relevant to the criteria, including information that tends to support or refute the fact that the criteria are met.

(c) The board must announce any recommendations for closure at least 6 months before the date of a board vote on closure. A final vote on school closure for any school proposed to be closed at the end of the school year must be taken no later than 30 days before the application deadline for entry into the district's schools of choice for the following school year.

(d) Before a vote on closure, the board must conduct 3 public hearings. The time and place of each hearing must be chosen to ensure maximum participation of the local community, school staff, and the families whose children are in attendance at the school. Information and testimony provided at these hearings, together with the information disclosed under item (3) of subsection (b) of this Section shall form the basis for the board's subsequent school closure vote.

(e) Whenever a school is scheduled for closing in accordance with this Section, the district must provide to each student to be affected by the closure, including the elementary students in feeder schools of a closing high school, the choice to enroll in another suitable school that has been determined to have met adequate yearly progress, as that term is defined in the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, for at least 2 years preceding the year in which closure is achieved. Once enrolled therein, a student shall retain the right to remain in the school selected for the duration of the school's program and must be provided, if necessary, transportation suitable for the student to permit continued attendance.

(f) Transitional services must be provided to all students displaced by closure of a school. These services must include, at a minimum, an assessment of the student's educational needs and related social needs prior to the school's closure and involvement of the parents or guardians in a child-centered process for transferring from the closing school and entering and integrating into the new receiving school. The performance of displaced students must be monitored individually and tracked to ensure that student needs are timely met. Any receiving school shall be provided adequate resources to meet the requirements of this Section.

(g) The district must prepare and publish an annual report on the impacts of school closings on both the student population reassigned as a result of a school closing and the student population in the receiving schools.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.31 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)

Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.