SB1956eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
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1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
5 27A-4 and 27A-5 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
9 the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan in
10 effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
11 subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
12 provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
13 disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
14 religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
15 education services.
16     (b) The total number of charter schools operating under
17 this Article at any one time shall not exceed 60. Not more than
18 30 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any city
19 having a population exceeding 500,000; not more than 15 charter
20 schools shall operate at any one time in the counties of
21 DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of Cook
22 County that is located outside a city having a population
23 exceeding 500,000, with not more than one charter school that

 

 

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1 has been initiated by a board of education, or by an
2 intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
3 education, operating at any one time in the school district
4 where the charter school is located; and not more than 15
5 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder
6 of the State, with not more than one charter school that has
7 been initiated by a board of education, or by an
8 intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
9 education, operating at any one time in the school district
10 where the charter school is located. The following provisions
11 apply notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection
12 (b):
13         (1) If 14 charter schools are operating at any one time
14     in the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and
15     that portion of Cook County that is located outside a city
16     having a population exceeding 500,000, then one additional
17     charter school, which must be exclusively for truants or
18     dropouts and may contain up to 25 campuses, may operate in
19     a city having a population exceeding 500,000, and the limit
20     on the number of charter schools that may operate at any
21     one time in the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry,
22     Will, and that portion of Cook County that is located
23     outside a city having a population exceeding 500,000 shall
24     be reduced to 14 if an additional charter school is
25     established in a city having a population exceeding 500,000
26     under the authority of this paragraph (1).

 

 

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1         (2) If 13 charter schools are operating at any one time
2     in the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and
3     that portion of Cook County that is located outside a city
4     having a population exceeding 500,000, then 2 additional
5     charter schools, which must be exclusively for truants or
6     dropouts and may each contain up to 25 campuses, may
7     operate in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
8     and the limit on the number of charter schools that may
9     operate at any one time in the counties of DuPage, Kane,
10     Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of Cook County that
11     is located outside a city having a population exceeding
12     500,000 shall be reduced by the number of additional
13     charter schools established in a city having a population
14     exceeding 500,000 under the authority of this paragraph
15     (2).
16         (3) If 12 or fewer charter schools are operating at any
17     one time in the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry,
18     Will, and that portion of Cook County that is located
19     outside a city having a population exceeding 500,000, then
20     3 additional charter schools, which must be exclusively for
21     truants or dropouts and may each contain up to 25 campuses,
22     may operate in a city having a population exceeding
23     500,000, and the limit on the number of charter schools
24     that may operate at any one time in the counties of DuPage,
25     Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of Cook County
26     that is located outside a city having a population

 

 

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1     exceeding 500,000 shall be reduced by the number of
2     additional charter schools established in a city having a
3     population exceeding 500,000 under the authority of this
4     paragraph (3).
5         (4) If 14 charter schools are operating at any one time
6     in that part of the State outside of the counties of
7     DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Cook County, then
8     one additional charter school, which must be exclusively
9     for truants or dropouts and may contain up to 25 campuses,
10     may operate in a city having a population exceeding
11     500,000, and the limit on the number of charter schools
12     that may operate at any one time in that part of the State
13     outside of the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry,
14     Will, and Cook County shall be reduced to 14 if an
15     additional charter school is established in a city having a
16     population exceeding 500,000 under the authority of this
17     paragraph (4).
18         (5) If 13 or fewer charter schools are operating at any
19     one time in that part of the State outside of the counties
20     of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Cook County, then
21     2 additional charter schools, which must be exclusively for
22     truants or dropouts and may each contain up to 25 campuses,
23     may operate in a city having a population exceeding
24     500,000, and the limit on the number of charter schools
25     that may operate at any one time in that part of the State
26     outside of the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry,

 

 

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1     Will, and Cook County shall be reduced by the number of
2     additional charter schools established in a city having a
3     population exceeding 500,000 under the authority of this
4     paragraph (5).
5 If a charter school established under the authority of
6 paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this subsection (b) is
7 not used exclusively for truants or dropouts, then the State
8 Board shall withhold and the charter school shall forfeit all
9 State funding designated for that school.
10     For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board
11 shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives
12 under Section 27A-6 for its review and certification, based on
13 the chronological order in which the submission is received by
14 it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards
15 when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools
16 authorized to operate have been reached.
17     (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
18 would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
19 school to a charter school.
20     (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
21 pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area
22 served by the local school board, provided that the board of
23 education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
24 designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of
25 the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of
26 education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to

 

 

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

 

 

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1 of the school district in which the pupil resides.
2     (i) (Blank).
3     (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
4 contrary, a school district in a city having a population
5 exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively bargain
6 with an exclusive representative of its employees over
7 decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under
8 Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a
9 charter under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of
10 these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall
11 have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing,
12 diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights,
13 guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10,
14 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
15 (Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-861,
16 eff. 1-1-05.)
 
17     (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
18     Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
19     (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
20 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
21 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
22 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
23 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
24     (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
25 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public

 

 

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1 school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
2 on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
3 General Assembly, except as otherwise permitted under
4 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of subsection (b) of
5 Section 27A-4 of this Code, in all new applications submitted
6 to the State Board or a local school board to establish a
7 charter school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
8 operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
9 The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
10 93rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
11 or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
12 Act.
13     (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
14 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
15 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
16 shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
17 Meetings Act.
18     (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
19 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
20 under the laws of the State of Illinois.
21     (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
22 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
23 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
24 instructional materials, and student activities.
25     (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
26 management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but

 

 

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1 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
2 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
3 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
4 school.
5     (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
6 this Article and its charter. A charter school is exempt from
7 all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
8 governing public schools and local school board policies,
9 except the following:
10         (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code
11     regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the
12     Statewide Sex Offender Database of applicants for
13     employment;
14         (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code
15     regarding discipline of students;
16         (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
17     Tort Immunity Act;
18         (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
19     Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
20     officers, directors, employees, and agents;
21         (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
22         (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and
23         (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school
24     report cards.
25     (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
26 school district, the governing body of a State college or

 

 

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

 

 

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1 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
2 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
3 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
4 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
5 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
6 to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
7 board and shall be set forth in the charter.
8     (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
9 grade level.
10 (Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-909, eff. 8-12-04; 94-219,
11 eff. 7-14-05.)