Full Text of SB2205 95th General Assembly
SB2205 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB2205
Introduced 2/14/2008, by Sen. Dan Cronin SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/27A-5.5 new |
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105 ILCS 5/27A-12 |
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Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Establishes the Illinois Charter Public School Commission as an independent, State-level, charter school authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State Board of Education. Includes provisions concerning membership, funding, staff, and powers and duties; Illinois Schools of Excellence charter school applications; limiting a school board's authority to authorize charter schools; the approval of cosponsors, a cosponsor agreement, the duties of a sponsor, and sponsor immunity; and an annual report to the General Assembly and the State Board. Provides that every 2 years (instead of annually), the State Board shall compile evaluations of charter schools received from school boards. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
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A BILL FOR
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SB2205 |
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LRB095 19516 NHT 45824 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section | 5 |
| 27A-5.5 and by changing Section 27A-12 as follows: | 6 |
| (105 ILCS 5/27A-5.5 new) | 7 |
| Sec. 27A-5.5. Illinois Charter Public School Commission. | 8 |
| (a) The Illinois Charter Public School Commission is | 9 |
| established as an independent, State-level, charter school | 10 |
| authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State | 11 |
| Board. Startup funds necessary to establish and operate the | 12 |
| Commission may be received through private contributions and | 13 |
| federal and other institutional grants. The State Board shall | 14 |
| assist in securing federal and other institutional grant funds | 15 |
| to
establish the Commission. | 16 |
| (b) The Commission shall be appointed by the State Board | 17 |
| and shall be composed of 2 appointees recommended by the | 18 |
| Governor,
one appointee each recommended by the President and | 19 |
| Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointee each recommended | 20 |
| by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of | 21 |
| Representatives, and one appointee recommended by the Mayor of | 22 |
| the City of Chicago. The appointments shall be made as soon as | 23 |
| feasible, but no later than September 1, 2008. Each member |
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| appointed shall serve a term of 3 years; however, for the | 2 |
| purpose of providing staggered terms, of the initial | 3 |
| appointments, members recommended by the Governor and Mayor | 4 |
| shall be appointed to 3-year terms, members recommended by the | 5 |
| President and Minority Leader of the Senate shall be appointed | 6 |
| to 2-year terms, and members appointed by the Speaker and | 7 |
| Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall be | 8 |
| appointed to one-year terms. Thereafter,
each appointee shall | 9 |
| serve a 3-year term. If a vacancy occurs on the
Commission, the | 10 |
| State Board shall appoint a person who has been recommended by | 11 |
| the authority making the original recommendation to fill the | 12 |
| remainder of the term. The members shall on the first meeting | 13 |
| of each calendar year elect a chairperson who shall serve | 14 |
| during that calendar year. | 15 |
| The Commission is encouraged to convene its initial meeting | 16 |
| no later than October 1, 2008 and, thereafter, shall meet at | 17 |
| least quarterly at the call of the chairperson or upon the | 18 |
| request of 4 members of the Commission. Four members of the | 19 |
| Commission shall constitute a quorum. | 20 |
| Subject to appropriation, the Commission may employ such | 21 |
| staff as is necessary to perform the administrative duties and | 22 |
| responsibilities of the Commission.
The members of the | 23 |
| Commission must not be compensated for their services on the | 24 |
| Commission, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel | 25 |
| expenses. | 26 |
| (c) The Commission shall have all of the following powers: |
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| (1) To authorize and act as a sponsor of up to 200 | 2 |
| charter schools, including the approval or denial of | 3 |
| charter school applications and
the nonrenewal or | 4 |
| termination of charter schools. | 5 |
| (2) To authorize municipalities, State universities, | 6 |
| public community colleges, and regional educational | 7 |
| consortia to act as cosponsors of charter schools, | 8 |
| including the approval or denial of a cosponsor and the | 9 |
| revocation of approval of cosponsors. | 10 |
| (3) To approve or deny Illinois Schools of Excellence | 11 |
| (ISE) charter school applications and renew or terminate | 12 |
| charters of ISE charter schools. | 13 |
| (4) To conduct facility and curriculum reviews of | 14 |
| charter schools approved by the Commission or one of its | 15 |
| cosponsors. | 16 |
| (d) The Commission shall have all of the following duties: | 17 |
| (1) To review charter school applications and assist in | 18 |
| the establishment of ISE charter schools throughout the | 19 |
| State. An ISE charter school shall exist as a public school | 20 |
| within the State as a component of the delivery of public | 21 |
| education within the State's kindergarten through grade 12 | 22 |
| educational system. | 23 |
| (2) To develop, promote, and require high standards of | 24 |
| accountability for any school that applies for and is | 25 |
| granted a charter pursuant to this Section and hold the | 26 |
| cosponsors accountable for their performance. The |
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| Commission shall annually review and evaluate the | 2 |
| performance of each cosponsor based upon the financial and | 3 |
| administrative support provided to the cosponsor's charter | 4 |
| schools and the quality of charter schools approved by the | 5 |
| cosponsor, including the academic performance of the | 6 |
| students that attend those schools. | 7 |
| (3) To monitor and annually review and evaluate the | 8 |
| academic and financial performance of the charter schools | 9 |
| it sponsors and hold the schools accountable for their | 10 |
| performance. | 11 |
| (4) To report the student enrollment in each of its | 12 |
| sponsored charter schools to the local school board where | 13 |
| the school is located. | 14 |
| (5) To work with its cosponsors to monitor the | 15 |
| financial management of each ISE charter school. | 16 |
| (6) To actively seek, with the assistance of the State | 17 |
| Board, supplemental revenue from federal grant funds, | 18 |
| institutional grant funds, and philanthropic | 19 |
| organizations. | 20 |
| (7) To collaborate with municipalities, State | 21 |
| universities, public community colleges, and regional | 22 |
| educational consortia as cosponsors for ISE charter | 23 |
| schools for the purpose of providing the highest level of | 24 |
| public education to low-income, low-performing, gifted, or | 25 |
| underserved student populations. Such collaborations shall | 26 |
| do all of the following: |
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| (A) Allow State universities and public community | 2 |
| colleges that cosponsor ISE charter schools to enable | 3 |
| students attending a charter school to take college | 4 |
| courses and receive high school and college credit for | 5 |
| such courses. | 6 |
| (B) Be used to determine the feasibility of opening | 7 |
| charter schools for students with disabilities, | 8 |
| including, but not limited to, charter schools for | 9 |
| children with autism that work with and utilize the | 10 |
| specialized expertise of the Centers for Autism and | 11 |
| Related Disabilities. | 12 |
| (8) To support municipalities when the mayor or chief | 13 |
| executive, through resolution passed by the governing body | 14 |
| of the municipality, expresses an intent to cosponsor and | 15 |
| establish charter schools within the municipal boundaries. | 16 |
| (9) To assist ISE charter schools in negotiating and | 17 |
| contracting with local school boards that choose to provide | 18 |
| certain administrative or transportation services to the | 19 |
| charter schools on a contractual basis. | 20 |
| (e) A charter school applicant may submit an application to | 21 |
| the Commission only if the school district where the ISE | 22 |
| charter school is to be located has not retained exclusive | 23 |
| authority to authorize charter schools as provided in | 24 |
| subsection (i) of this Section. If a local school board has not | 25 |
| retained exclusive authority to authorize charter schools as | 26 |
| provided in subsection (i) of this Section, the local school |
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| board and the Commission shall have concurrent authority to | 2 |
| authorize charter schools and ISE charter schools, | 3 |
| respectively, to be located within the geographic boundaries of | 4 |
| the school district. The local school board shall monitor and | 5 |
| oversee all charter schools authorized by the local
school | 6 |
| board. The Commission shall monitor and
oversee all ISE charter | 7 |
| schools sponsored by the Commission pursuant to its powers and | 8 |
| duties under this Section. | 9 |
| (f) Subsection (i) of this Section must not be construed to | 10 |
| eliminate the ability of a local school board to authorize | 11 |
| charter schools. A local school board shall retain the | 12 |
| authority to reauthorize and to oversee any charter school that | 13 |
| it has authorized, except with respect to any charter school | 14 |
| that is converted to an ISE charter school under this Section. | 15 |
| (g) Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act | 16 |
| of the 95th General Assembly, a local school board may seek to | 17 |
| retain exclusive authority to authorize charter schools within | 18 |
| the geographic boundaries of the school district by presenting | 19 |
| to the State Board a written resolution on or before a date 60 | 20 |
| days after establishment of the Commission. The written | 21 |
| resolution shall be accompanied
by a written description | 22 |
| addressing the elements described in subsection (i) of this | 23 |
| Section. The local school board shall provide a complete copy | 24 |
| of the resolution, including the description, to each charter | 25 |
| school authorized by the local school board on or before the | 26 |
| date it submits the resolution to the State Board. |
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| (h) A party may challenge the grant of exclusive authority | 2 |
| made by the State Board pursuant to subsection (i) of this | 3 |
| Section by filing with the State Board a notice of challenge | 4 |
| within 30 days after the State Board grants exclusive | 5 |
| authority. The notice shall be accompanied by a specific | 6 |
| written description of the basis for the challenge. The | 7 |
| challenging party, at the time of filing notice with the State | 8 |
| Board, shall provide a copy of the notice of challenge to the | 9 |
| local school board that has been granted exclusive authority. | 10 |
| The State Board shall permit the local school board the | 11 |
| opportunity to appear and respond in writing to the challenge. | 12 |
| The State Board shall make a determination upon the challenge | 13 |
| within 60 days after receiving the notice of challenge. | 14 |
| (i) The State Board shall grant to a local school board | 15 |
| exclusive authority to authorize charter schools within the | 16 |
| geographic boundaries of the school district if the State Board | 17 |
| determines, after adequate notice, in a public hearing, and | 18 |
| after receiving input from any charter school authorized by the | 19 |
| local school board, that the local school board has provided | 20 |
| fair and equitable treatment to its charter schools during the | 21 |
| 4 years prior to the local school board's submission of the | 22 |
| resolution described in subsection (g) of this Section. The | 23 |
| State Board's review of the resolution shall, at a minimum, | 24 |
| include consideration of all of the following: | 25 |
| (1) Compliance with full and accurate accounting | 26 |
| practices and charges for central administrative overhead |
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| costs. | 2 |
| (2) Compliance with requirements allowing a charter | 3 |
| school, at its discretion, to purchase certain services or | 4 |
| a combination of services at actual cost to the district. | 5 |
| (3) The absence of a local school board moratorium | 6 |
| regarding charter schools or the absence of any | 7 |
| districtwide charter school enrollment limits. | 8 |
| (4) Compliance with valid orders of the State Board. | 9 |
| (5) The provision of assistance to charter schools to | 10 |
| meet their facility needs by including those needs in local | 11 |
| bond issuances or otherwise providing available land and | 12 |
| facilities that are comparable to those provided to other | 13 |
| public school students in the same grade levels within the | 14 |
| school district. | 15 |
| (6) The distribution to charter schools authorized by | 16 |
| the local school board of a pro rata share of federal and | 17 |
| State grants received by the local school board, except for | 18 |
| any grant received for a particular purpose that, by its | 19 |
| express terms, is intended to benefit a student population | 20 |
| not able to be served by or a program not able to be | 21 |
| offered at a charter school that did not receive a | 22 |
| proportionate share of such grant proceeds. | 23 |
| (7) The provision of adequate staff and other resources | 24 |
| to serve charter schools authorized by the local school | 25 |
| board, which services are provided by the local school | 26 |
| board at a cost to the charter schools that does not exceed |
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| their actual cost to the local school board. | 2 |
| (8) The lack of a policy or practice of imposing | 3 |
| individual charter school enrollment limits, except as | 4 |
| otherwise provided by law. | 5 |
| (9) The provision of an adequate number of educational | 6 |
| choice programs to serve students exercising their rights | 7 |
| to transfer pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind | 8 |
| Act of 2001 and a history of charter school approval that | 9 |
| encourages chartering. | 10 |
| The decision of the State Board of Education pursuant to | 11 |
| this subsection (i) shall be a final action subject to judicial | 12 |
| review as permitted by law. | 13 |
| For local school boards that have no discernible history of | 14 |
| authorizing charter schools, the State Board may not grant | 15 |
| exclusive authority unless the local school board demonstrates | 16 |
| that no approvable application has come before the local school | 17 |
| board. | 18 |
| A grant of exclusive authority by the State Board shall | 19 |
| continue so long as a local school board continues to comply | 20 |
| with this Section. | 21 |
| (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section to | 22 |
| the contrary, a local school board may permit the establishment | 23 |
| of one or more ISE charter schools within the geographic | 24 |
| boundaries of the school district by adopting a favorable | 25 |
| resolution and submitting the resolution to the State Board. | 26 |
| The resolution shall be effective until it is rescinded by |
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| resolution of the local school board. | 2 |
| (k) With respect to the approval of cosponsors, the | 3 |
| Commission shall begin accepting applications by | 4 |
| municipalities, State universities, public community colleges, | 5 |
| and regional educational consortia no later than January 31, | 6 |
| 2009. The Commission shall review and evaluate all applications | 7 |
| for compliance with the provisions of subsection (m) of this | 8 |
| Section and shall have 90 days after receipt of an application | 9 |
| to approve or deny the application, unless the 90-day period is | 10 |
| waived by the applicant. | 11 |
| (l) The Commission shall limit the number of charter | 12 |
| schools that a cosponsor may approve pursuant to its review of | 13 |
| the cosponsor's application under subsection (m) of this | 14 |
| Section. Upon application by the cosponsor and review by the | 15 |
| Commission of the performance of a cosponsor's current charter | 16 |
| schools, the Commission may approve a cosponsor's application | 17 |
| to raise the limit previously set by the Commission. | 18 |
| (m) Any entity set forth in subsection (k) of this Section | 19 |
| that is interested in becoming a cosponsor pursuant to this | 20 |
| Section shall prepare and submit an application to the | 21 |
| Commission that provides evidence of all of the following: | 22 |
| (1) That the entity has the necessary staff and | 23 |
| infrastructure or has established the necessary | 24 |
| contractual or interagency relationships to ensure its | 25 |
| ability to handle
all of the administrative | 26 |
| responsibilities required of a charter school sponsor. |
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| (2) That the entity has the necessary staff expertise | 2 |
| and infrastructure or has established the necessary | 3 |
| contractual or interagency relationships to ensure that it | 4 |
| will approve and is able to develop and maintain charter | 5 |
| schools of the highest academic quality. | 6 |
| (3) That the entity is able to provide the necessary | 7 |
| public and private financial resources and staff to ensure | 8 |
| that it can monitor and support charter schools that are | 9 |
| economically efficient and fiscally sound. | 10 |
| (4) That the entity is committed to providing equal | 11 |
| access to all students and to maintaining a diverse student | 12 |
| population within its charter schools, including | 13 |
| compliance with all applicable requirements of federal | 14 |
| law. | 15 |
| (5) That the entity is committed to serving low-income, | 16 |
| low-performing, gifted, or underserved student | 17 |
| populations. | 18 |
| (6) That the entity has articulated annual academic and | 19 |
| financial goals and expected outcomes for its charter | 20 |
| schools as well as the methods and plans by which it will | 21 |
| measure and achieve those goals and outcomes. | 22 |
| (7) That the entity has policies in place to protect | 23 |
| its cosponsoring practices from conflicts of interest. | 24 |
| (n) The Commission's decision to deny an application or to | 25 |
| revoke approval of a cosponsor pursuant to subsection (p) of | 26 |
| this Section is not subject to judicial review. |
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| (o) Upon approval of a cosponsor, the Commission and the | 2 |
| cosponsor shall enter into an agreement that defines the | 3 |
| cosponsor's rights and obligations and includes all of the | 4 |
| following: | 5 |
| (1) An explanation of the personnel, contractual, and | 6 |
| interagency relationships and potential revenue sources | 7 |
| referenced in the application as required in subsection (m) | 8 |
| of this Section. | 9 |
| (2) Incorporation of the requirements of equal access | 10 |
| for all students, including any plans to provide food | 11 |
| service or transportation reasonably necessary to provide | 12 |
| access to as many students as possible. | 13 |
| (3) Incorporation of the requirement to serve | 14 |
| low-income, low-performing, gifted, or underserved student | 15 |
| populations. | 16 |
| (4) An explanation of the academic and financial goals | 17 |
| and expected outcomes for the cosponsor's charter schools | 18 |
| and the method and plans by which they will be measured and | 19 |
| achieved as referenced in the application. | 20 |
| (5) The conflict-of-interest policies referenced in | 21 |
| the application. | 22 |
| (6) An explanation of the disposition of facilities and | 23 |
| assets upon termination and dissolution of a charter school | 24 |
| approved by the cosponsor. | 25 |
| (7) A provision requiring the cosponsor to annually | 26 |
| appear before the Commission and provide a report as to the |
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| information for each of its charter schools. | 2 |
| (8) A provision requiring that the cosponsor report the | 3 |
| student enrollment in each of its sponsored charter schools | 4 |
| to the local school board of the district where the charter | 5 |
| school is located. | 6 |
| (9) A provision requiring that the cosponsor work with | 7 |
| the Commission to provide the necessary reports to the | 8 |
| State Board. | 9 |
| (10) Any other reasonable terms deemed appropriate by | 10 |
| the Commission given the unique characteristics of the | 11 |
| cosponsor. | 12 |
| No cosponsor may receive applications for charter schools | 13 |
| until a cosponsor agreement with the Commission has been | 14 |
| approved and signed by the Commission and the appropriate | 15 |
| individuals or governing bodies of the cosponsor. | 16 |
| The cosponsor agreement shall be proposed and negotiated | 17 |
| pursuant to the timeframes set forth by rule of the State | 18 |
| Board. | 19 |
| The cosponsor agreement must be attached to and shall | 20 |
| govern all
charter school contracts entered into by the | 21 |
| cosponsor. | 22 |
| (p) If at any time the Commission finds that a cosponsor is | 23 |
| not in compliance or is no longer willing to comply with its | 24 |
| contract with a charter school or with its cosponsor agreement | 25 |
| with the Commission, the Commission shall provide notice and a | 26 |
| hearing in accordance with State Board rule. If after a hearing |
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| the Commission confirms its initial finding, the Commission | 2 |
| shall revoke the cosponsor's approval. The Commission shall | 3 |
| assume temporary sponsorship over any charter school sponsored | 4 |
| by the cosponsor at the time of revocation. Thereafter, the | 5 |
| Commission may assume permanent sponsorship over such school or | 6 |
| allow the school's governing body to apply to another sponsor | 7 |
| or cosponsor. | 8 |
| (q) Charter school applications submitted to the | 9 |
| Commission or to a cosponsor approved by the Commission | 10 |
| pursuant to this Section shall be subject to the same | 11 |
| requirements as other charter school applications under this | 12 |
| Article. | 13 |
| (r) No application may be submitted pursuant to this | 14 |
| Section by an existing charter school approved by a local | 15 |
| school board; however, this is not a limitation on a charter | 16 |
| operator submitting an application for an addition charter, | 17 |
| subject to the provisions of this Article. A local school board | 18 |
| may agree to rescind or waive the obligations of a current | 19 |
| charter contract to allow an application to be submitted by an | 20 |
| existing charter school pursuant to this Section. A charter | 21 |
| school that changes sponsors pursuant to this subsection (r) | 22 |
| must be allowed to continue the use of all facilities, | 23 |
| equipment, and other assets it owned or leased prior to the | 24 |
| expiration or rescission of its contract with a local school | 25 |
| board sponsor. | 26 |
| An application to the Commission or one of its cosponsors |
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| by a conversion charter school may only be submitted upon | 2 |
| consent of the local school board. In such instance, the local | 3 |
| school board may retain the facilities, equipment, and other | 4 |
| assets of the conversion charter school for its own use or | 5 |
| agree to reasonable terms for their continued use by the | 6 |
| conversion charter school. | 7 |
| (s) Each year, the chair of the Commission shall
submit a | 8 |
| report to the General Assembly and the State Board regarding | 9 |
| the academic performance and fiscal responsibility of all | 10 |
| charter schools and cosponsors approved under this Section. | 11 |
| (t) The sponsor has the following duties: | 12 |
| (1) The sponsor shall monitor and review the charter | 13 |
| school in its progress toward the goals established in the | 14 |
| charter. | 15 |
| (2) The sponsor shall monitor the revenues and | 16 |
| expenditures of the charter school. | 17 |
| (3) The sponsor may approve a charter for a charter | 18 |
| school before the applicant has secured space, equipment, | 19 |
| or personnel if the applicant indicates approval is | 20 |
| necessary for it to raise working capital. | 21 |
| (4) The sponsor's policies shall not apply to a charter | 22 |
| school. | 23 |
| (5) The sponsor shall ensure that the charter is | 24 |
| innovative and consistent with State educational goals. | 25 |
| (6) The sponsor shall ensure that the charter school | 26 |
| participates in the State's education accountability |
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| system. If a charter school falls short of performance | 2 |
| measures included in the approved charter, the sponsor | 3 |
| shall report such shortcomings to the State Board. | 4 |
| (u) The sponsor is not liable for civil damages under State | 5 |
| law for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting | 6 |
| from an act or omission of an officer, employee, agent, or | 7 |
| governing body of the charter school. The sponsor is not liable | 8 |
| for civil damages under State law for any employment actions | 9 |
| taken by an officer, employee, agent, or governing body of the | 10 |
| charter school. The sponsor's duties to monitor the charter | 11 |
| school shall not constitute the basis for a private cause of | 12 |
| action. | 13 |
| Immunity for the sponsor of a charter school under this | 14 |
| subsection (u) applies only with respect to acts or omissions | 15 |
| not under the sponsor's direct authority as described in this | 16 |
| Section. Nothing contained in this subsection (u) shall be | 17 |
| considered a waiver of sovereign immunity by a local school | 18 |
| board.
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| (105 ILCS 5/27A-12)
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| Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; annual report. The State Board | 21 |
| shall compile , every 2 years,
annual evaluations
of
charter | 22 |
| schools received from local school boards and shall prepare an | 23 |
| annual
report on charter schools.
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| On or before the second Wednesday of January, 1998, and on | 25 |
| or before the
second Wednesday of January of each subsequent |
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| calendar year, the State Board
shall issue a report to the | 2 |
| General Assembly and the Governor
on its findings
for the | 3 |
| school year ending in the preceding calendar year.
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| In the annual report required by this Section, the State
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| Board (i) shall
compare the performance of charter school | 6 |
| pupils with the performance of
ethnically and economically | 7 |
| comparable groups of pupils in other public schools
who are | 8 |
| enrolled in academically comparable courses,
(ii) shall review | 9 |
| information regarding the regulations and policies from
which
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| charter schools were released to determine if the exemptions | 11 |
| assisted or
impeded
the charter schools in meeting their stated | 12 |
| goals and objectives, and (iii)
shall
include suggested changes | 13 |
| in State law necessary to strengthen charter schools.
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| In addition, the State Board shall undertake and report on | 15 |
| periodic
evaluations of charter schools that include | 16 |
| evaluations of student academic
achievement, the extent to | 17 |
| which charter schools are accomplishing their
missions
and | 18 |
| goals, the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, and the | 19 |
| need for
changes in the approval process for charter schools.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-407, eff. 8-3-99.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 22 |
| becoming law.
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