Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5918
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Full Text of HB5918  99th General Assembly

HB5918enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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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 Sections
527A-9 and 27A-11.5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
7    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
8    (a) For charters granted before the effective date of this
9amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, a A charter may be
10granted for a period not less than 5 and not more than 10
11school years. For charters granted on or after the effective
12date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, a
13charter shall be granted for a period of 5 school years. For
14charters renewed before the effective date of this amendatory
15Act of the 99th General Assembly, a A charter may be renewed in
16incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years. For charters
17renewed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
18of the 99th General Assembly, a charter may be renewed in
19incremental periods not to exceed 10 school years; however, the
20Commission may renew a charter only in incremental periods not
21to exceed 5 years. Authorizers shall ensure that every charter
22granted on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
23of the 99th General Assembly includes standards and goals for

 

 

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1academic, organizational, and financial performance. A charter
2must meet all standards and goals for academic, organizational,
3and financial performance set forth by the authorizer in order
4to be renewed for a term in excess of 5 years but not more than
510 years. If an authorizer fails to establish standards and
6goals, a charter shall not be renewed for a term in excess of 5
7years. Nothing contained in this Section shall require an
8authorizer to grant a full 10-year renewal term to any
9particular charter school, but an authorizer may award a full
1010-year renewal term to charter schools that have a
11demonstrated track record of improving student performance.
12    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
13local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
14shall contain:
15        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
16    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
17    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
18    initial approved charter proposal; and
19        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
20    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
21    for the charter school that is understandable to the
22    general public and that will allow comparison of those
23    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
24    in a format required by the State Board.
25    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
26school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,

 

 

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1clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
2following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
3of this law:
4        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
5    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
6    charter.
7        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
8    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
9    standards identified in the charter.
10        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
11    fiscal management.
12        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
13    charter school was not exempted.
14    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
15Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter
16school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to
17revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to
18the local school board or the Commission, whichever is
19applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a
20timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or
21the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If
22the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering
23entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement
24the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the
25chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in
26situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or

 

 

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1education of the charter school's students is at risk, the
2revocation shall take place at the end of a school year.
3Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly
4shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that
5is less than 2 years in duration.
6    (d) (Blank).
7    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
8revoke or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
9Commission and the State Board. The Commission may reverse a
10local board's decision if the Commission finds that the charter
11school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with
12this Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the students
13it is designed to serve. The Commission may condition the
14granting of an appeal on the acceptance by the charter school
15of funding in an amount less than that requested in the
16proposal submitted to the local school board. Final decisions
17of the Commission shall be subject to judicial review under the
18Administrative Review Law.
19    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
20the Commission on appeal reverses a local board's decision or
21if a charter school is approved by referendum, the Commission
22shall act as the authorized chartering entity for the charter
23school. The Commission shall approve the charter and shall
24perform all functions under this Article otherwise performed by
25the local school board. The State Board shall determine whether
26the charter proposal approved by the Commission is consistent

 

 

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1with the provisions of this Article and, if the approved
2proposal complies, certify the proposal pursuant to this
3Article. The State Board shall report the aggregate number of
4charter school pupils resident in a school district to that
5district and shall notify the district of the amount of funding
6to be paid by the State Board to the charter school enrolling
7such students. The Commission shall require the charter school
8to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that shall be
9deemed sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05
10notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
11regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
12State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
13district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
14charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
15school.
16    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
17Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
18student enrollment for each of its charter schools.
19    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
20State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
21or State aid attributable to a student with a disability
22attending the school.
23(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14.)
 
24    (105 ILCS 5/27A-11.5)
25    Sec. 27A-11.5. State financing. The State Board of

 

 

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1Education shall make the following funds available to school
2districts and charter schools:
3        (1) From a separate appropriation made to the State
4    Board for purposes of this subdivision (1), the State Board
5    shall make transition impact aid available to school
6    districts that approve a new charter school or that have
7    funds withheld by the State Board to fund a new charter
8    school that is chartered by the Commission. The amount of
9    the aid shall equal 90% of the per capita funding paid to
10    the charter school during the first year of its initial
11    charter term, 65% of the per capita funding paid to the
12    charter school during the second year of its initial term,
13    and 35% of the per capita funding paid to the charter
14    school during the third year of its initial term. This
15    transition impact aid shall be paid to the local school
16    board in equal quarterly installments, with the payment of
17    the installment for the first quarter being made by August
18    1st immediately preceding the first, second, and third
19    years of the initial term. The district shall file an
20    application for this aid with the State Board in a format
21    designated by the State Board. If the appropriation is
22    insufficient in any year to pay all approved claims, the
23    impact aid shall be prorated. However, for fiscal year
24    2004, the State Board of Education shall pay approved
25    claims only for charter schools with a valid charter
26    granted prior to June 1, 2003. If any funds remain after

 

 

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1    these claims have been paid, then the State Board of
2    Education may pay all other approved claims on a pro rata
3    basis. Transition impact aid shall be paid beginning in the
4    1999-2000 school year for charter schools that are in the
5    first, second, or third year of their initial term.
6    Transition impact aid shall not be paid for any charter
7    school that is proposed and created by one or more boards
8    of education, as authorized under the provisions of Public
9    Act 91-405.
10        (2) From a separate appropriation made for the purpose
11    of this subdivision (2), the State Board shall make grants
12    to charter schools to pay their start-up costs of acquiring
13    educational materials and supplies, textbooks, electronic
14    textbooks and the technological equipment necessary to
15    gain access to and use electronic textbooks, furniture, and
16    other equipment or materials needed during their initial
17    term. The State Board shall annually establish the time and
18    manner of application for these grants, which shall not
19    exceed $250 per student enrolled in the charter school.
20        (3) The Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund is created
21    as a special fund in the State treasury. Federal funds,
22    such other funds as may be made available for costs
23    associated with the establishment of charter schools in
24    Illinois, and amounts repaid by charter schools that have
25    received a loan from the Charter Schools Revolving Loan
26    Fund shall be deposited into the Charter Schools Revolving

 

 

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1    Loan Fund, and the moneys in the Charter Schools Revolving
2    Loan Fund shall be appropriated to the State Board and used
3    to provide interest-free loans to charter schools. These
4    funds shall be used to pay start-up costs of acquiring
5    educational materials and supplies, textbooks, electronic
6    textbooks and the technological equipment necessary to
7    gain access to and use electronic textbooks, furniture, and
8    other equipment or materials needed in the initial term of
9    the charter school and for acquiring and remodeling a
10    suitable physical plant, within the initial term of the
11    charter school. Loans shall be limited to one loan per
12    charter school and shall not exceed $750 $250 per student
13    enrolled in the charter school. A loan shall be repaid by
14    the end of the initial term of the charter school. The
15    State Board may deduct amounts necessary to repay the loan
16    from funds due to the charter school or may require that
17    the local school board that authorized the charter school
18    deduct such amounts from funds due the charter school and
19    remit these amounts to the State Board, provided that the
20    local school board shall not be responsible for repayment
21    of the loan. The State Board may use up to 3% of the
22    appropriation to contract with a non-profit entity to
23    administer the loan program.
24        (4) A charter school may apply for and receive, subject
25    to the same restrictions applicable to school districts,
26    any grant administered by the State Board that is available

 

 

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1    for school districts.
2(Source: P.A. 98-739, eff. 7-16-14.)