Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2344
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Full Text of SB2344  100th General Assembly

SB2344enr 100TH 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 Section
510-22.31 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.31)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31)
7    Sec. 10-22.31. Special education.
8    (a) To enter into joint agreements with other school boards
9to provide the needed special educational facilities and to
10employ a director and other professional workers as defined in
11Section 14-1.10 and to establish facilities as defined in
12Section 14-1.08 for the types of children described in Sections
1314-1.02 and 14-1.03a. The director (who may be employed under a
14contract as provided in subsection (c) of this Section) and
15other professional workers may be employed by one district,
16which shall be reimbursed on a mutually agreed basis by other
17districts that are parties to the joint agreement. Such
18agreements may provide that one district may supply
19professional workers for a joint program conducted in another
20district. Such agreement shall provide that any full-time
21professional worker who is employed by a joint agreement
22program and spends over 50% of his or her time in one school
23district shall not be required to work a different teaching

 

 

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1schedule than the other professional worker in that district.
2Such agreement shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
3for administration, staff, programs, financing, housing,
4transportation, an advisory body, and the method or methods to
5be employed for disposing of property upon the withdrawal of a
6school district or dissolution of the joint agreement and shall
7specify procedures for the withdrawal of districts from the
8joint agreement as long as these procedures are consistent with
9this Section. Such agreement may be amended at any time as
10provided in the joint agreement or, if the joint agreement does
11not so provide, then such agreement may be amended at any time
12upon the adoption of concurring resolutions by the school
13boards of all member districts, provided that no later than 6
14months after August 28, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act
1596-783), all existing agreements shall be amended to be
16consistent with Public Act 96-783. Such an amendment may
17include the removal of a school district from or the addition
18of a school district to the joint agreement without a petition
19as otherwise required in this Section if all member districts
20adopt concurring resolutions to that effect. A fully executed
21copy of any such agreement or amendment entered into on or
22after January 1, 1989 shall be filed with the State Board of
23Education. Petitions for withdrawal shall be made to the
24regional board or boards of school trustees exercising
25oversight or governance over any of the districts in the joint
26agreement. Upon receipt of a petition for withdrawal, the

 

 

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1regional board of school trustees shall publish notice of and
2conduct a hearing or, in instances in which more than one
3regional board of school trustees exercises oversight or
4governance over any of the districts in the joint agreement, a
5joint hearing, in accordance with rules adopted by the State
6Board of Education. In instances in which a single regional
7board of school trustees holds the hearing, approval of the
8petition must be by a two-thirds majority vote of the school
9trustees. In instances in which a joint hearing of 2 or more
10regional boards of school trustees is required, approval of the
11petition must be by a two-thirds majority of all those school
12trustees present and voting. Notwithstanding the provisions of
13Article 6 of this Code, in instances in which the competent
14regional board or boards of school trustees has been abolished,
15petitions for withdrawal shall be made to the school boards of
16those districts that fall under the oversight or governance of
17the abolished regional board of school trustees in accordance
18with rules adopted by the State Board of Education. If any
19petition is approved pursuant to this subsection (a), the
20withdrawal takes effect as provided in Section 7-9 of this Act.
21The changes to this Section made by Public Act 96-769 apply to
22all changes to special education joint agreement membership
23initiated after July 1, 2009.
24    (b) To either (1) designate an administrative district to
25act as fiscal and legal agent for the districts that are
26parties to the joint agreement, or (2) designate a governing

 

 

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1board composed of one member of the school board of each
2cooperating district and designated by such boards to act in
3accordance with the joint agreement. No such governing board
4may levy taxes and no such governing board may incur any
5indebtedness except within an annual budget for the joint
6agreement approved by the governing board and by the boards of
7at least a majority of the cooperating school districts or a
8number of districts greater than a majority if required by the
9joint agreement. The governing board may appoint an executive
10board of at least 7 members to administer the joint agreement
11in accordance with its terms. However, if 7 or more school
12districts are parties to a joint agreement that does not have
13an administrative district: (i) at least a majority of the
14members appointed by the governing board to the executive board
15shall be members of the school boards of the cooperating
16districts; or (ii) if the governing board wishes to appoint
17members who are not school board members, they shall be
18superintendents from the cooperating districts.
19    (c) To employ a full-time director of special education of
20the joint agreement program under a one-year or multi-year
21contract. No such contract can be offered or accepted for less
22than one year. Such contract may be discontinued at any time by
23mutual agreement of the contracting parties, or may be extended
24for an additional one-year or multi-year period at the end of
25any year.
26    The contract year is July 1 through the following June

 

 

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130th, unless the contract specifically provides otherwise.
2Notice of intent not to renew a contract when given by a
3controlling board or administrative district must be in writing
4stating the specific reason therefor. Notice of intent not to
5renew the contract must be given by the controlling board or
6the administrative district at least 90 days before the
7contract expires. Failure to do so will automatically extend
8the contract for one additional year.
9    By accepting the terms of the contract, the director of a
10special education joint agreement waives all rights granted
11under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 for the duration of his or
12her employment as a director of a special education joint
13agreement.
14    (d) To designate a district that is a party to the joint
15agreement as the issuer of bonds or notes for the purposes and
16in the manner provided in this Section. It is not necessary for
17such district to also be the administrative district for the
18joint agreement, nor is it necessary for the same district to
19be designated as the issuer of all series of bonds or notes
20issued hereunder. Any district so designated may, from time to
21time, borrow money and, in evidence of its obligation to repay
22the borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds or notes for the
23purpose of acquiring, constructing, altering, repairing,
24enlarging and equipping any building or portion thereof,
25together with any land or interest therein, necessary to
26provide special educational facilities and services as defined

 

 

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1in Section 14-1.08. Title in and to any such facilities shall
2be held in accordance with the joint agreement.
3    Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a resolution
4of the board of education of the issuing district. The
5resolution may contain such covenants as may be deemed
6necessary or advisable by the district to assure the payment of
7the bonds or notes. The resolution shall be effective
8immediately upon its adoption.
9    Prior to the issuance of such bonds or notes, each school
10district that is a party to the joint agreement shall agree,
11whether by amendment to the joint agreement or by resolution of
12the board of education, to be jointly and severally liable for
13the payment of the bonds and notes. The bonds or notes shall be
14payable solely and only from the payments made pursuant to such
15agreement.
16    Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
17bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
18indebtedness of any district, including the issuing district,
19within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory
20limitation.
21    As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
22the agreement by a district to pay the bonds and notes shall be
23irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal from
24membership in the joint special education program.
25    (e) If a district whose employees are on strike was, prior
26to the strike, sending students with disabilities to special

 

 

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1educational facilities and services in another district or
2cooperative, the district affected by the strike shall continue
3to send such students during the strike and shall be eligible
4to receive appropriate State reimbursement.
5    (f) With respect to those joint agreements that have a
6governing board composed of one member of the school board of
7each cooperating district and designated by those boards to act
8in accordance with the joint agreement, the governing board
9shall have, in addition to its other powers under this Section,
10the authority to issue bonds or notes for the purposes and in
11the manner provided in this subsection. The governing board of
12the joint agreement may from time to time borrow money and, in
13evidence of its obligation to repay the borrowing, issue its
14negotiable bonds or notes for the purpose of acquiring,
15constructing, altering, repairing, enlarging and equipping any
16building or portion thereof, together with any land or interest
17therein, necessary to provide special educational facilities
18and services as defined in Section 14-1.08 and including also
19facilities for activities of administration and educational
20support personnel employees. Title in and to any such
21facilities shall be held in accordance with the joint
22agreement.
23    Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a resolution
24of the governing board. The resolution may contain such
25covenants as may be deemed necessary or advisable by the
26governing board to assure the payment of the bonds or notes and

 

 

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1interest accruing thereon. The resolution shall be effective
2immediately upon its adoption.
3    Each school district that is a party to the joint agreement
4shall be automatically liable, by virtue of its membership in
5the joint agreement, for its proportionate share of the
6principal amount of the bonds and notes plus interest accruing
7thereon, as provided in the resolution. Subject to the joint
8and several liability hereinafter provided for, the resolution
9may provide for different payment schedules for different
10districts except that the aggregate amount of scheduled
11payments for each district shall be equal to its proportionate
12share of the debt service in the bonds or notes based upon the
13fraction that its equalized assessed valuation bears to the
14total equalized assessed valuation of all the district members
15of the joint agreement as adjusted in the manner hereinafter
16provided. In computing that fraction the most recent available
17equalized assessed valuation at the time of the issuance of the
18bonds and notes shall be used, and the equalized assessed
19valuation of any district maintaining grades K to 12 shall be
20doubled in both the numerator and denominator of the fraction
21used for all of the districts that are members of the joint
22agreement. In case of default in payment by any member, each
23school district that is a party to the joint agreement shall
24automatically be jointly and severally liable for the amount of
25any deficiency. The bonds or notes and interest thereon shall
26be payable solely and only from the funds made available

 

 

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1pursuant to the procedures set forth in this subsection. No
2project authorized under this subsection may require an annual
3contribution for bond payments from any member district in
4excess of 0.15% of the value of taxable property as equalized
5or assessed by the Department of Revenue in the case of
6districts maintaining grades K-8 or 9-12 and 0.30% of the value
7of taxable property as equalized or assessed by the Department
8of Revenue in the case of districts maintaining grades K-12.
9This limitation on taxing authority is expressly applicable to
10taxing authority provided under Section 17-9 and other
11applicable Sections of this Act. Nothing contained in this
12subsection shall be construed as an exception to the property
13tax limitations contained in Section 17-2, 17-2.2a, 17-5, or
14any other applicable Section of this Act.
15    Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
16bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
17indebtedness of any district within the meaning of any
18constitutional or statutory limitation.
19    As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
20the obligation of a district to pay its proportionate share of
21the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes as
22required in this Section shall be a general obligation of the
23district payable from any and all sources of revenue designated
24for that purpose by the board of education of the district and
25shall be irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal
26from membership in the joint special education program.

 

 

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1    (g) A member district wishing to withdraw from a joint
2agreement may obtain from its school board a written resolution
3approving the withdrawal. The withdrawing district must then
4present a written petition for withdrawal from the joint
5agreement to the other member districts within such timelines
6designated by the joint agreement. A member district wishing to
7withdraw from a joint agreement under this subsection (g) must
8present to its school board and the other member districts
9evidence that it has a comprehensive plan for educating a wide
10range of students with disabilities, including a full continuum
11of support and services, and that it has an appropriate plan
12for educating all currently enrolled students with
13disabilities upon withdrawal from the joint agreement. Upon
14approval by school board written resolution of all of the
15remaining member districts, the petitioning member district
16shall be withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the
17following July 1 and shall notify the State Board of Education
18of the approved withdrawal in writing. If the petition for
19withdrawal is not approved and the petitioning member district
20is a part of a Class II county school unit outside of a city of
21500,000 or more inhabitants, the petitioning member district
22may appeal the disapproval decision to the trustees of schools
23of the township that has jurisdiction and authority over the
24withdrawing district. If a withdrawing district is not under
25the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of a
26township, a hearing panel shall be established by the chief

 

 

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1administrative officer of the intermediate service center
2having jurisdiction over the withdrawing district. The hearing
3panel shall be made up of 3 persons who have a demonstrated
4interest and background in education. Each hearing panel member
5must reside within an educational service region of 2,000,000
6or more inhabitants but not within the withdrawing district and
7may not be a current school board member or employee of the
8withdrawing district or hold any county office. None of the
9hearing panel members may reside within the same school
10district. The hearing panel shall serve without remuneration;
11however, the necessary expenses, including travel, attendant
12upon any meeting or hearing in relation to these proceedings
13must be paid. If the trustees of schools of the township having
14jurisdiction and authority over the withdrawing district or the
15hearing panel established by the chief administrative officer
16of the intermediate service center having jurisdiction over the
17withdrawing district approves the petition for withdrawal,
18then the petitioning member district shall be withdrawn from
19the joint agreement effective the following July 1 and shall
20notify the State Board of Education of the approved withdrawal
21in writing.
22    (g-5) This subsection (g-5) applies to school districts
23located in whole or part in a county with a population
24exceeding 5,000,000 inhabitants and joint agreements involved
25in a withdrawal under subsection (g) of this Section effective
26on July 1, 2018. A student attending a school under a joint

 

 

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1agreement program in the school year immediately prior to the
2effective date of the school district withdrawing from the
3agreement shall be permitted to remain placed in the joint
4agreement program if the student is a resident of the
5withdrawing school district, the joint agreement maintains the
6program, the student's individualized education program team
7makes a determination that the program is the most appropriate
8program to meet the student's needs, and the student remains
9age appropriate for the program. A student shall be permitted
10to attend the joint agreement program under this subsection
11(g-5) regardless of whether the joint agreement bylaws prohibit
12attendance from non-member district students. If a student from
13the withdrawing district attends the joint agreement's
14program, the withdrawing district shall be responsible for the
15per capita cost of the student's attendance as calculated under
16Section 14-7.01 of this Code, plus a per student share of fees
17that would have been paid to the joint agreement for membership
18and administrative costs associated with educating the student
19in the joint agreement's program, and transportation of the
20student to the joint agreement's program. For purposes of this
21subsection (g-5), the per student share of fees that would have
22been paid to the joint agreement for membership and
23administrative costs associated with educating a student in the
24joint agreement's program shall be negotiated between the
25withdrawing school district and the joint agreement program no
26later than August 1, 2018. If the withdrawing school district

 

 

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1and the joint agreement program fail to come to a negotiated
2agreement on or before August 1, 2018, the State Board of
3Education shall determine the per student share of fees at its
4next regularly scheduled meeting. This subsection (g-5) does
5not apply to any student who moves outside of the boundaries of
6a school district that is or was a member of a special
7education joint agreement involved in a withdrawal effective on
8July 1, 2018. No interpretations or precedent for future
9actions with other joint agreements or school districts may be
10taken as a result of this subsection (g-5). This subsection
11(g-5) is inoperative on and after July 1, 2026.
12    (h) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 96-783
13apply to withdrawals from or dissolutions of special education
14joint agreements initiated after August 28, 2009 (the effective
15date of Public Act 96-783).
16    (i) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (g), and (h) of this
17Section or any other provision of this Code to the contrary, an
18elementary school district that maintains grades up to and
19including grade 8, that had a 2014-2015 best 3 months' average
20daily attendance of 5,209.57, and that had a 2014 equalized
21assessed valuation of at least $451,500,000, but not more than
22$452,000,000, may withdraw from its special education joint
23agreement program consisting of 6 school districts upon
24submission and approval of the comprehensive plan, in
25compliance with the applicable requirements of Section 14-4.01
26of this Code, in addition to the approval by the school board

 

 

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1of the elementary school district and notification to and the
2filing of an intent to withdraw statement with the governing
3board of the joint agreement program. Such notification and
4statement shall specify the effective date of the withdrawal,
5which in no case shall be less than 60 days after the date of
6the filing of the notification and statement. Upon receipt of
7the notification and statement, the governing board of the
8joint agreement program shall distribute a copy to each member
9district of the joint agreement and shall initiate any
10appropriate allocation of assets and liabilities among the
11remaining member districts to take effect upon the date of the
12withdrawal. The withdrawal shall take effect upon the date
13specified in the notification and statement.
14(Source: P.A. 99-729, eff. 8-5-16; 100-66, eff. 8-11-17.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.