Full Text of SB2402 95th General Assembly
SB2402 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB2402
Introduced 2/14/2008, by Sen. Iris Y. Martinez SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/27A-4 |
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105 ILCS 5/27A-5 |
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105 ILCS 5/27A-8 |
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Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Provides that the total number of charter schools operating at any one time shall not exceed 200 (instead of 60). Removes the geographical and other limits on the number of charter schools that may operating at any one time. Makes changes concerning attendance boundaries in the City of Chicago. Provides that a charter school entity that can demonstrate to the authorizer that it has a proven track record of performance may be granted a renewal charter that authorizes the operator to open a new campus in accordance with its proposal to establish a charter school. Provides that nothing in certain provisions of the Law is intended to limit an entity from submitting an application to operate an additional charter school pursuant to a new or modified educational model. In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status, makes changes concerning certain evidence that needs to be provided. 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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SB2402 |
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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 changing Sections | 5 |
| 27A-4, 27A-5, and 27A-8 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
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| Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
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| (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
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| disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, | 14 |
| religion, ancestry,
marital status, or need for special | 15 |
| education services.
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| (b) The total number of charter schools operating under | 17 |
| this Article at any
one time shall not exceed 200 60 . Not more | 18 |
| than 30 charter
schools
shall operate at any one time in any | 19 |
| city having a population exceeding
500,000; not more than 15
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| charter schools shall operate at any one time in the counties | 21 |
| of 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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| 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.
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| For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board | 12 |
| shall assign a
number to each charter submission it receives | 13 |
| under Section 27A-6 for its
review and certification, based on | 14 |
| the chronological order in which the
submission is received by | 15 |
| it. The State Board shall promptly notify local
school boards | 16 |
| when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools | 17 |
| authorized
to operate have been reached.
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| (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that | 19 |
| would convert any
existing private, parochial, or non-public | 20 |
| school to a charter school.
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| (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any | 22 |
| pupil who resides
within the geographic boundaries of the area | 23 |
| served by the local school board, provided that the board of | 24 |
| education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may | 25 |
| designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of | 26 |
| the charter schools permitted in the city . Such boundaries |
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| shall give priority for enrollment to students residing within | 2 |
| the boundaries to relieve overcrowding or to better serve | 3 |
| low-income and at-risk students, but must not be a bar to | 4 |
| enrollment for students not residing within the boundaries, if | 5 |
| sufficient placements are available. A student residing within | 6 |
| an attendance boundary must not be required to attend a charter | 7 |
| school. if the board of education determines that attendance | 8 |
| boundaries are needed to relieve overcrowding or to better | 9 |
| serve low-income and at-risk students. Students residing | 10 |
| within an attendance boundary may be given priority for | 11 |
| enrollment, but must not be required to attend the charter | 12 |
| school.
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| (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local | 14 |
| school boards from
jointly
issuing a charter to a single shared | 15 |
| charter school, provided that all of the
provisions of this | 16 |
| Article are met as to those local school boards.
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| (f) No local school board shall require any employee of the | 18 |
| school district
to be employed in a charter school.
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| (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing | 20 |
| within the
geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a | 21 |
| charter school.
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| (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in | 23 |
| a charter school
than there are spaces available, successful | 24 |
| applicants shall be selected by
lottery. However, priority | 25 |
| shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in
the charter | 26 |
| school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school |
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| the
previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and | 2 |
| priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter | 3 |
| school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated | 4 |
| by the board of education in a city having a population | 5 |
| exceeding 500,000. Dual enrollment at both a
charter school and | 6 |
| a public school or non-public school shall not be allowed.
A | 7 |
| pupil who is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall | 8 |
| be deemed to
be suspended or expelled from the public schools | 9 |
| of the school district in
which the pupil resides.
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| (i) (Blank).
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| (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the | 12 |
| contrary, a
school district in a city having a population | 13 |
| exceeding 500,000 shall not
have a duty to collectively bargain | 14 |
| with an exclusive representative of its
employees over | 15 |
| decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal
under | 16 |
| Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a | 17 |
| charter
under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of | 18 |
| these decisions,
provided that nothing in this Section shall | 19 |
| have the effect of negating,
abrogating, replacing, reducing, | 20 |
| diminishing, or limiting in any way
employee rights, | 21 |
| guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8,
10, | 22 |
| 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-861, | 24 |
| eff. 1-1-05.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
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| Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
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| (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 3 |
| nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 4 |
| school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 5 |
| corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
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| authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
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| (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 8 |
| by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 9 |
| school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | 10 |
| on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 11 |
| General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | 12 |
| State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
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| school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | 14 |
| operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | 15 |
| The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | 16 |
| 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | 17 |
| or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | 18 |
| Act. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 19 |
| the 95th General Assembly, a charter school entity that can | 20 |
| demonstrate to the authorizer that it has a proven track record | 21 |
| of performance, as demonstrated by adequate measures of quality | 22 |
| teaching and student achievement outcomes, may be granted a | 23 |
| renewal charter that authorizes the operator to open a new | 24 |
| campus in accordance with its proposal to establish a charter | 25 |
| school. Nothing in this Section is intended to limit an entity | 26 |
| from submitting an application to operate an additional charter |
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| school pursuant to a new or modified educational model.
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| (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 3 |
| its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 4 |
| provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
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| shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | 6 |
| Meetings Act.
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| (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | 8 |
| health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 9 |
| under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
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| (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 11 |
| charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 12 |
| charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 13 |
| instructional materials, and student activities.
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| (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 15 |
| management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | 16 |
| not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 17 |
| charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 18 |
| outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 19 |
| school.
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| (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 21 |
| this Article and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt from | 22 |
| all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
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| governing public
schools and local school board policies, | 24 |
| except the following:
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| (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | 26 |
| regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of the |
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| Statewide Sex Offender Database of applicants for | 2 |
| employment;
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| (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | 4 |
| regarding discipline of
students;
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| (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 6 |
| Tort Immunity Act;
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| (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 8 |
| Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 9 |
| officers, directors, employees, and agents;
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| (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
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| (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and
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| (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | 13 |
| report cards.
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| (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 15 |
| school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 16 |
| university or public community college, or
any other public or | 17 |
| for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | 18 |
| school building and grounds or any other real property or | 19 |
| facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 20 |
| for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 21 |
| maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 22 |
| activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | 23 |
| perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
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| However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | 25 |
| effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
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| Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population |
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| exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
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| manage or operate the school during the period that commences | 3 |
| on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 4 |
| General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | 5 |
| school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | 6 |
| Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | 7 |
| reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | 8 |
| grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | 9 |
| school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | 10 |
| the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | 11 |
| contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | 12 |
| of a State college or university or public community college
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| shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
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| (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 15 |
| by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 16 |
| charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 17 |
| deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | 18 |
| agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 19 |
| costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 20 |
| facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
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| to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | 22 |
| board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
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| (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | 24 |
| grade level.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-909, eff. 8-12-04; 94-219, | 26 |
| eff. 7-14-05.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
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| Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
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| (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school | 4 |
| established by
referendum under
Section 27A-6.5.
In evaluating | 5 |
| any charter
school proposal submitted to it, the local school | 6 |
| board shall give preference
to proposals that:
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| (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental, | 8 |
| community,
business, and school personnel support;
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| (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement | 10 |
| and demonstrate
feasible plans for attaining those levels | 11 |
| of achievement; and
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| (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial | 13 |
| proportion of at-risk
children; provided that nothing in | 14 |
| the Charter Schools Law shall be construed
as intended to
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| limit the establishment of charter schools to those that | 16 |
| serve a substantial
portion of at-risk children or to in | 17 |
| any manner restrict, limit, or discourage
the
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| establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve | 19 |
| other pupil populations
under a nonexclusive, | 20 |
| nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
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| (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school | 22 |
| by converting an
existing public school or attendance center to | 23 |
| charter school status, evidence
that the proposed formation of | 24 |
| the charter school has received majority support
from certified | 25 |
| teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
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| attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if | 2 |
| applicable, from a
local school council, shall be demonstrated | 3 |
| by a petition in support of the
charter school signed by | 4 |
| certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter | 5 |
| school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a | 6 |
| vote of
the local school council held at a public meeting. In | 7 |
| the case of all other
proposals to establish a charter school, | 8 |
| evidence of sufficient support to fill
the number of pupil | 9 |
| seats set forth in the proposal may be
demonstrated by a
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| petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and | 11 |
| guardians of
students eligible to attend the charter school , | 12 |
| may also include a petition in support of the charter school | 13 |
| signed by certified teachers, and, if applicable, may also be | 14 |
| demonstrated by an affirmative vote of the local school council | 15 |
| held at a public meeting .
In all cases, the individuals, | 16 |
| organizations, or entities who initiate
the proposal to | 17 |
| establish a charter school may elect, in lieu of including any
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| petition referred to in this subsection as a part of the | 19 |
| proposal submitted to
the local school board, to demonstrate | 20 |
| that the charter school has
received the support referred to in | 21 |
| this subsection by other evidence and
information presented at | 22 |
| the public meeting that the local school board is
required to | 23 |
| convene under this Section.
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| (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal, | 25 |
| the local school
board shall convene a public meeting to obtain | 26 |
| information to assist the board
in its decision to grant or |
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| deny the charter school proposal.
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| (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section | 3 |
| shall be published
in a community newspaper published in the | 4 |
| school district in which the proposed
charter is located and, | 5 |
| if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper
published in | 6 |
| the county and having circulation in the school district. The
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| notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than | 8 |
| 5 days before
the meeting and shall state that information | 9 |
| regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the | 10 |
| meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be
posted at | 11 |
| appropriate locations in the school or attendance center | 12 |
| proposed to
be established as a charter school, the public | 13 |
| schools in the school district,
and the local school board | 14 |
| office.
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| (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school | 16 |
| board shall vote,
in a public meeting, to either grant or deny | 17 |
| the charter school proposal.
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| (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under | 19 |
| subsection (e), the
local school board shall file a report with | 20 |
| the State Board
granting or denying the proposal.
Within 14 | 21 |
| days of receipt of the local school board's
report, the State | 22 |
| Board shall determine whether the approved charter
proposal is | 23 |
| consistent with the
provisions of this Article and, if the | 24 |
| approved proposal
complies,
certify the proposal pursuant to | 25 |
| Section 27A-6.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 91-407, eff. 8-3-99.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 |
| becoming law.
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