Full Text of SB1679 99th General Assembly
SB1679 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 SB1679 Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Course Access Act. Provides that the State Course Access Catalog shall be developed for the State Board of Education and shall provide a listing of all courses authorized and available to students, detailed information about the courses, and the ability for students to submit their course enrollments. Specifies how an eligible participating student may enroll in State Course Access Program courses. Establishes an authorization process for course providers run by the State Board. Requires certain criteria for course providers. Provides that the Board shall establish a course review and approval process, implemented by itself or a designated entity. Allows for the initial authorization of the course provider and approved courses to be for a period of 3 years, with the providers reporting annually to the State Board. Permits the State Board to enter into a reciprocity agreement with other states for the purpose of authorizing and approving high quality providers and courses for the Program and the operation of the Catalog. Specifies the responsibilities of the State Board and the local school district. Provides per-course tuition and the payment of tuition to course providers based upon student success. Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code to make a corresponding change. Effective January 1, 2016.
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| | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | | STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
| | A BILL FOR |
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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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Course | 5 | | Access Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Course provider" means an entity authorized by the State | 8 | | Board to offer individual courses in person, online, or a | 9 | | combination of the 2, including, but not limited to, online | 10 | | education providers, public or private elementary and | 11 | | secondary education institutions, education service agencies, | 12 | | private for-profit or not-for-profit providers, postsecondary | 13 | | education institutions, and vocational or technical course | 14 | | providers. | 15 | | "Eligible funded student" means any eligible participating | 16 | | student who is currently enrolled in a public school or charter | 17 | | school. | 18 | | "Eligible participating student" means any student in | 19 | | kindergarten through grade 12 who resides in this State. | 20 | | "Public school" means a public school or charter school. | 21 | | "State Board" means the State Board of Education. | 22 | | "State Course Access Catalog" means the website developed | 23 | | for the State Board of Education that provides a listing of all |
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| 1 | | courses authorized and available to students in this State, | 2 | | detailed information about the courses to inform student | 3 | | enrollment decisions, and the ability for students to submit | 4 | | their course enrollments. The data in this Catalog shall be | 5 | | published online in an open format that may be retrieved, | 6 | | downloaded, indexed, and searched by commonly used web search | 7 | | applications. An open format shall be platform-independent, | 8 | | machine-readable, and made available to the public without | 9 | | restrictions that may impede the reuse of that information. The | 10 | | data in the Catalog shall be owned by the State Board. | 11 | | "State Course Access Program" means the Program created | 12 | | under this Act. | 13 | | Section 10. Enrollment.
An eligible participating student | 14 | | may enroll in State Course Access Program courses. | 15 | | An eligible funded student may enroll in State Course | 16 | | Access Program courses only if the courses the eligible funded | 17 | | student wants to enroll in are not offered at the eligible | 18 | | funded student's school. | 19 | | Eligible funded students, by exception, may seek | 20 | | enrollment in State Course Access Program courses that | 21 | | duplicate a course already offered at their public school if | 22 | | they can demonstrate to the State Board that they effectively | 23 | | have no access to the high-value course they seek to enroll in | 24 | | because it would interfere with their ability to take another | 25 | | high-value course or participate in a high-value activity. |
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| 1 | | An eligible funded student may enroll in State Course | 2 | | Access Program courses that are funded by the Program up to the | 3 | | following levels, unless additional courses are approved by the | 4 | | school where they are enrolled: | 5 | | (1) 2016-2017 school year: Students attending a public | 6 | | school that choose to participate in the State Course | 7 | | Access Program and entering the school year with credits | 8 | | equal to the junior or senior level of high school may take | 9 | | up to 2 courses per semester. | 10 | | (2) 2017-2018 school year: Students entering the | 11 | | school year with credits equal to the sophomore, junior, or | 12 | | senior level of high school may take up to 2 courses per | 13 | | semester. | 14 | | (3) 2018-2019 school year: Students entering grades 9 | 15 | | through 12 may take up to 2 courses per semester. | 16 | | (4) 2019-2020 school year: Students in grades 8 through | 17 | | 12 may take up to 2 courses per semester. | 18 | | (5) 2021-2022 school year: Students in grades 7 through | 19 | | 12 may take up to 2 course per semester. | 20 | | (6) 2022-2023 school year: Students in grades 6 through | 21 | | 12 may take up to 2 courses per semester.
| 22 | | The families of eligible funded students and other eligible | 23 | | participating students may pay to enroll in State Course Access | 24 | | Program courses above the levels specified under Section 50 of | 25 | | this Act.
| 26 | | Public and charter schools where eligible funded students |
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| 1 | | are enrolled in full-time may review enrollment requests to | 2 | | ensure courses are academically appropriate, logistically | 3 | | feasible, keep the student on track for an on-time graduation, | 4 | | and do not extend a student beyond a full-time course load. The | 5 | | public and charter schools may only reject enrollment requests | 6 | | for not doing so. | 7 | | The public and charter schools must complete the review and | 8 | | denial process within 5 days of the student enrolling in the | 9 | | course. | 10 | | Public and charter schools shall inform students and | 11 | | families at the time of denial of their right to appeal any | 12 | | enrollment denials in State Course Access Program courses to | 13 | | the State Board, which shall provide a final enrollment | 14 | | decision within 7 calendar days. | 15 | | Section 15. Provider authorization process.
The State | 16 | | Board shall: | 17 | | (1)
Establish an authorization process for course | 18 | | providers that may include multiple opportunities for | 19 | | submission each year. | 20 | | (2) Not later than 90 calendar days from the initial | 21 | | submission date, authorize course providers that: | 22 | | (A) meet the criteria established under Section 20 | 23 | | of this Act; and
| 24 | | (B) provide courses that offer the instructional | 25 | | rigor and scope required under Section 25 of this Act. |
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| 1 | | (3) Not later than 90 calendar days from the initial | 2 | | submission date, provide a written explanation to any | 3 | | course providers that are denied. If a course provider is | 4 | | denied authorization, the provider may apply again in the | 5 | | future. If a course provider is denied authorization 3 | 6 | | times, the provider will no longer be able to apply. | 7 | | (4) Publish the process established under Section 20 of | 8 | | this Act, including any deadlines and any guidelines | 9 | | applicable to the submission and authorization process for | 10 | | providers. | 11 | | If the State Board determines that there are insufficient | 12 | | funds available for evaluating and authorizing course | 13 | | providers, it may charge applicant providers a fee up to, but | 14 | | no greater than, the amount of the costs in order to ensure | 15 | | that evaluation occurs. The State Board shall establish and | 16 | | publish a fee schedule for purposes of this Section. | 17 | | Section 20. Course provider criteria.
To be authorized to | 18 | | offer a course through the State Course Access Program, a | 19 | | provider must: | 20 | | (1) Comply with all applicable anti-discrimination | 21 | | provisions and applicable State and federal student data | 22 | | privacy provisions, including, but not limited to, the | 23 | | federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. | 24 | | (2) Provide an assurance that all online information | 25 | | and resources for online or blended courses are fully |
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| 1 | | accessible for students of all abilities, including that: | 2 | | (A) all of the courses submitted for approval are | 3 | | reviewed to ensure they meet legal accessibility | 4 | | standards; | 5 | | (B) the provider has created and promulgated an | 6 | | Accessibility Online Public and Charter Schools | 7 | | Policy; | 8 | | (C) the provider has designated a Section 504 | 9 | | Coordinator and a Grievance Policy, and issued annual | 10 | | notifications; | 11 | | (D) the provider has policies and activities to | 12 | | ensure their organizational and course websites meet | 13 | | accessibility requirements; and
| 14 | | (E) the provider has no gateway exam or test where | 15 | | a specific score is required to participate in the | 16 | | Program courses beyond completion of prerequisite | 17 | | coursework or demonstrated mastery of prerequisite | 18 | | material. | 19 | | (3) Demonstrate either: | 20 | | (A) prior evidence of delivering quality outcomes | 21 | | for students, as demonstrated by completion rates, | 22 | | student level growth, proficiency, or other | 23 | | quantifiable outcomes; or
| 24 | | (B) for course providers applying to offer a | 25 | | subject or grade level for the first time, provide a | 26 | | detailed justification, in a manner determined by the |
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| 1 | | State Board, of how their organization's subject | 2 | | matter, instructional, and technical expertise will | 3 | | allow public and charter schools to produce successful | 4 | | outcomes for students. | 5 | | (4) Ensure instructional and curricular quality | 6 | | through a detailed curriculum and student performance | 7 | | accountability plan that aligns with and measures student | 8 | | attainment of relevant State academic standards or other | 9 | | relevant standards in courses without State academic | 10 | | standards. | 11 | | (5) Provide assurances that the course provider shall | 12 | | provide electronically, in a manner and format determined | 13 | | by the State Board, a detailed student record of | 14 | | enrollment, performance, completion, and grading | 15 | | information with the school systems where eligible | 16 | | participating students are enrolled full time. | 17 | | Additional criteria developed by the State Board shall be | 18 | | used to evaluate providers, and may include International | 19 | | Association for K-12 Online Learning, National Standards for | 20 | | Quality Online Teaching, National Standards for Quality Online | 21 | | Courses, Southern Regional Education Board, AdvancED, or other | 22 | | nationally recognized third party quality standards.
| 23 | | Section 25. Course quality reviews.
The State Board shall | 24 | | establish a course review and approval process. The process may | 25 | | be implemented by the State Board or by an entity designated by |
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| 1 | | the State Board. | 2 | | In order to be approved and added to the State Course | 3 | | Access Catalog, a course must: | 4 | | (1) Be one of the following types: | 5 | | (A) a course that satisfies high school graduation | 6 | | requirements; | 7 | | (B) a course identified by the State Board as | 8 | | necessary for college-readiness; | 9 | | (C) an Advanced Placement or International | 10 | | Baccalaureate course; | 11 | | (D) a Civics course; | 12 | | (E) a test prep or study skills course that local | 13 | | educators believe are essential to student success, | 14 | | especially among over-age students or students with | 15 | | disabilities; | 16 | | (F) a STEM course; | 17 | | (G) a foreign language course; | 18 | | (H) a dual credit course that allows students to | 19 | | earn college credit or other advanced credit; or | 20 | | (I) a vocational or technical course, including | 21 | | apprenticeships and High School Career Exploration and | 22 | | Readiness courses. | 23 | | (2) Be, at a minimum, the equivalent in instructional | 24 | | rigor and scope to a course that is provided in a | 25 | | traditional classroom setting. | 26 | | (3) Be aligned to relevant State academic standards or |
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| 1 | | industry standards. | 2 | | (4) Possess an assessment component for determining | 3 | | student proficiency and student growth where applicable. | 4 | | (5) Be designed and implemented consistently with | 5 | | criteria established by the International Association for | 6 | | K-12 Online Learning (INACOL) National Standards for | 7 | | Quality Online Teaching and INACOL National Standards for | 8 | | Quality Online Courses, the Southern Regional Education | 9 | | Board, or AdvancED or with other nationally or | 10 | | industry-recognized third party quality standards.
| 11 | | Section 30. Provider and course monitoring and | 12 | | reauthorization.
The initial authorization of the course | 13 | | provider and approved courses shall be for a period of 3 years.
| 14 | | Providers must annually report, in such a manner as directed by | 15 | | the State Board: | 16 | | (1) student enrollment data; | 17 | | (2) student outcomes, growth measures when available, | 18 | | proficiency rates, and completion rates for each subject | 19 | | area and grade level; and | 20 | | (3) student and parental feedback on overall | 21 | | satisfaction and quality. | 22 | | After the second year of the initial authorization period, | 23 | | the State Board shall conduct a thorough review of the course | 24 | | provider's activities and the academic performance of the | 25 | | students enrolled in courses offered by the course provider. |
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| 1 | | If the performance of the students enrolled in courses | 2 | | offered by the course provider does not meet agreed upon | 3 | | performance standards at any time, the course provider shall be | 4 | | placed on probation and shall be required to submit a plan for | 5 | | improvement. The State Board shall determine the terms of | 6 | | probation, including, but not limited to, the results the | 7 | | course provider must achieve to return to good standing. Course | 8 | | providers shall have a minimum of 60 days to achieve the | 9 | | results indicated in their terms of probation. The State Board | 10 | | shall, at its sole discretion, determine if the course provider | 11 | | has met the specified results required for the course provider | 12 | | to return to good standing. If a course provider fails to | 13 | | return to good standing within the timeframe cited in its terms | 14 | | of probation, the State Board may terminate its status as a | 15 | | course provider. Course providers terminated as a result of | 16 | | being put on probation may not reapply to become a course | 17 | | provider for 2 years from the time the State Board revoked its | 18 | | status. | 19 | | After the initial 3-year authorization period, the State | 20 | | Board may reauthorize the course provider for additional | 21 | | periods of up to 5 years after thorough review of the course | 22 | | provider's activities and the achievement of students enrolled | 23 | | in courses offered by the course provider. | 24 | |
The State Board may exclude a course provided by an | 25 | | authorized provider at any time if the State Board determines | 26 | | that: |
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| 1 | | (A) the course is no longer adequately aligned with the | 2 | | State academic standards; | 3 | | (B) the course no longer provides a detailed and | 4 | | quality curriculum and accountability plan; or | 5 | | (C) the course fails to deliver outcomes as measured by | 6 | | course completion, proficiency, or student academic growth | 7 | | on State or nationally accepted assessments. | 8 | | Section 35. Interstate course reciprocity. The State Board | 9 | | may enter into a reciprocity agreement with other states for | 10 | | the purpose of authorizing and approving high quality providers | 11 | | and courses for the State Course Access Program and the | 12 | | operation of the State Course Access Catalog. | 13 | | Section 40. Responsibilities of the State Board. | 14 | | (a)
The State Board shall: | 15 | | (1) Publish the criteria required under Section 20 of | 16 | | this Act for courses that may be offered through the State | 17 | | Course Access Program. | 18 | | (2) Be responsible for creating the State Course Access | 19 | | Catalog. | 20 | | (3) Publish a link to the Catalog in a prominent | 21 | | location on the State Board's website, which includes a | 22 | | listing of courses offered by authorized providers | 23 | | available through the Program, a detailed description of | 24 | | the courses, and any available student completion and |
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| 1 | | outcome data. | 2 | | (4) Establish and publish a timeframe or specific dates | 3 | | by which students are able to withdraw from a course | 4 | | provided through the Program without the student, public | 5 | | and charter schools, or course provider incurring a | 6 | | penalty. | 7 | | (5) Maintain on its official website in a prominent | 8 | | location an informed choice report. Each report under this | 9 | | Section must: | 10 | | (A) be updated within 30 calendar days of | 11 | | additional provider authorizations; | 12 | | (B) describe each course offered through the | 13 | | Program and include information such as course | 14 | | requirements and the school year calendar for the | 15 | | course, including any options for continued | 16 | | participation outside of the standard school year | 17 | | calendar; | 18 | | (C) include student and parental comments and | 19 | | feedback as detailed under Section 35 of this Act; and | 20 | | (D) be published online in an open format that can | 21 | | be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and searched by | 22 | | commonly used web search applications. An open format | 23 | | is one that is platform-independent, machine-readable, | 24 | | and made available to the public without restrictions | 25 | | that would impede the reuse of that information. | 26 | | (b) The State Board shall submit an annual report on the |
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| 1 | | Program and the participation of entities to the Governor, the | 2 | | Chairperson and Minority Spokesperson of the Education | 3 | | Committee of the Senate, and the Chairperson and Minority | 4 | | Spokesperson of the Elementary and Secondary Education | 5 | | Committee of the House of Representatives. The report shall at | 6 | | a minimum include the following information: | 7 | | (1) The annual number of students participating in | 8 | | courses authorized under this Act and the total number of | 9 | | courses students are enrolled in. | 10 | | (2) The number of authorized providers. | 11 | | (3) The number of authorized courses and the number of | 12 | | students enrolled in each course.
| 13 | | (4) The number of courses available by subject. | 14 | | (5) The number of students enrolled in courses by | 15 | | subject. | 16 | | (6) Student outcome data, including completion rates, | 17 | | student learning gains, student performance on State or | 18 | | nationally accepted assessments, by subject and grade | 19 | | level by provider. This outcome data should be published in | 20 | | a manner that protects student privacy. | 21 | | The State Board shall note any data that are not yet | 22 | | available at the time of publication and when these data will | 23 | | become available and include these data in future reports. | 24 | | The report and underlying data shall be published online in | 25 | | an open format that can be retrieved, downloaded, indexed, and | 26 | | searched by commonly used web search applications. An open |
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| 1 | | format is one that is platform-independent, machine-readable, | 2 | | and made available to the public without restrictions that | 3 | | would impede the reuse of that information.
| 4 | | Section 45. Responsibilities of the local school district. | 5 | | (a)
A public school shall:
| 6 | | (1) State, in writing to the State Board, whether it | 7 | | wants to participate in the Course Access Program during | 8 | | the 2016-2017 school year. | 9 | | (2) Provide information by letter or email to students | 10 | | and parents at home and by at least 2 other means, such as | 11 | | community flyers, newspaper postings, student report | 12 | | cards, or other methods.
| 13 | | (3) Publish information and eligibility guidelines on | 14 | | the school and school district's web sites. | 15 | | (b) Each local school system shall establish policies and | 16 | | procedures whereby, for each eligible participating student, | 17 | | the following shall apply: | 18 | | (1) Credits earned through the course provider shall | 19 | | appear on each student's official transcript and count | 20 | | fully toward the requirements of any approved Illinois | 21 | | diploma. | 22 | | (2) The performance data of eligible funded students | 23 | | who are enrolled in a State Course Access course shall be | 24 | | counted in the school performance score for the school in | 25 | | which the student is enrolled full time. |
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| 1 | | (c) The State Board shall adopt rules necessary to | 2 | | implement this Section, including, but not limited to, the | 3 | | requirements of school governing authorities or local school | 4 | | systems whose students enroll in courses offered by authorized | 5 | | course providers. | 6 | | (d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent a | 7 | | school entity from establishing its own online course or | 8 | | program in accordance with this Act.
| 9 | | Section 50. Funding. | 10 | | (a) Per-course tuition shall be determined as follows: | 11 | | (1) The course provider shall receive per-course | 12 | | tuition for each eligible funded student at a fair and | 13 | | reasonable rate negotiated by the State Board and the | 14 | | course provider that is inclusive of all required course | 15 | | materials and transportation expenses. Transfers of course | 16 | | payments shall be made by the State Board on behalf of the | 17 | | responsible school district in which the student resides to | 18 | | the authorized course provider. | 19 | | (2) The course provider shall receive payment from the | 20 | | State Board only for the courses in which an eligible | 21 | | funded student is enrolled. The remaining funds for each | 22 | | student shall remain with the local school system in which | 23 | | the student is enrolled full-time. | 24 | | (3) The course provider shall accept the amount | 25 | | specified in this Section as total tuition and fees for the |
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| 1 | | eligible funded student. | 2 | | (4) The course provider may charge tuition to any other | 3 | | eligible participating student up to an amount determined | 4 | | by the course provider and State Board. | 5 | | (b) Payment of tuition to course providers shall be based | 6 | | upon student success and made as follows: | 7 | | (1) Fifty percent of the amount of tuition to be paid | 8 | | or transferred to the course provider shall be transferred | 9 | | upon student enrollment in a course, and 50% shall be | 10 | | dependent upon student success in the course. | 11 | | (2) Student success may, in the 2016-2017 school year, | 12 | | be measured based on course completion, but the State Board | 13 | | may create new measures of student success by the 2017-2018 | 14 | | school year for use in courses where externally validated | 15 | | measures are available. These measures of student | 16 | | outcomes, based on either proficiency or growth, shall | 17 | | include results from independent end-of-course exams, | 18 | | Advanced Placement exams, International Baccalaureate | 19 | | exams, receipt of industry-recognized credentials, receipt | 20 | | of credit from institutions of higher education, or other | 21 | | externally validated measures. | 22 | | (3) Partial payments for delayed completions shall be | 23 | | determined as follows: If a student does not successfully | 24 | | complete a course according to the published course length | 25 | | in which the course provider has received the first payment | 26 | | pursuant to this Section, the provider shall receive 75% of |
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| 1 | | the tuition that is dependent upon student success, as | 2 | | defined in under Section 30 of this Act, only if the | 3 | | student completes and receives credit for the course within | 4 | | one additional semester. | 5 | | Section 900. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 6 | | 27A-5 as follows:
| 7 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| 8 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 9 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 10 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 11 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 12 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 13 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 14 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 15 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 16 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | 17 | | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 18 | | General
Assembly, in all new
applications to establish
a | 19 | | charter
school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | 20 | | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | 21 | | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | 22 | | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | 23 | | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | 24 | | Act. |
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| 1 | | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | 2 | | a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | 3 | | instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | 4 | | their teachers at remote locations and with students | 5 | | participating at different times. | 6 | | From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | 7 | | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | 8 | | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | 9 | | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | 10 | | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | 11 | | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | 12 | | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | 13 | | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | 14 | | prior to April 1, 2013. | 15 | | On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | 16 | | the General Assembly a report on the effect of | 17 | | virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | 18 | | student performance, the costs associated with | 19 | | virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | 20 | | include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
| 21 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 22 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 23 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| 24 | | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | 25 | | Meetings Act.
| 26 | | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable |
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| 1 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 2 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
| 3 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 4 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 5 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 6 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 7 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 8 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | 9 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 10 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 11 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 12 | | school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of | 13 | | public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of | 14 | | operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer | 15 | | and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form | 16 | | 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | 17 | | Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for | 18 | | proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer | 19 | | may require quarterly financial statements from each charter | 20 | | school.
| 21 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 22 | | this Article; the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act; all | 23 | | federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools | 24 | | that pertain to special education and the instruction of | 25 | | English language learners, referred to in this Code as | 26 | | "children of limited English-speaking ability"; and
its |
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| 1 | | charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State laws | 2 | | and regulations in this Code
governing public
schools and local | 3 | | school board policies ; however a charter school is not exempt | 4 | | from , except the following:
| 5 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding | 6 | | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide | 7 | | Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent | 8 | | Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | 9 | | employment;
| 10 | | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this Code regarding | 11 | | discipline of
students;
| 12 | | (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 13 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 14 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 15 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 16 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 17 | | (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| 18 | | (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 19 | | (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report | 20 | | cards;
| 21 | | (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | 22 | | and | 23 | | (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | 24 | | prevention ; . | 25 | | (10) (9) Section 2-3.162 2-3.160 of this the School | 26 | | Code regarding student discipline reporting ; and . |
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| 1 | | (11) The Course Access Act. | 2 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | 3 | | is declaratory of existing law. | 4 | | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 5 | | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 6 | | university or public community college, or
any other public or | 7 | | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | 8 | | school building and grounds or any other real property or | 9 | | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 10 | | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 11 | | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 12 | | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | 13 | | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 14 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | 15 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| 16 | | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | 17 | | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| 18 | | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | 19 | | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 20 | | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | 21 | | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | 22 | | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | 23 | | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | 24 | | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | 25 | | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | 26 | | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school |
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| 1 | | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | 2 | | of a State college or university or public community college
| 3 | | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| 4 | | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 5 | | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 6 | | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 7 | | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | 8 | | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 9 | | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 10 | | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| 11 | | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | 12 | | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 13 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | 14 | | grade level.
| 15 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | 16 | | then the Commission charter school is its own local education | 17 | | agency. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; | 19 | | 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14; | 20 | | 98-669, eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff. | 21 | | 1-1-15; 98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; revised | 22 | | 10-14-14.)
| 23 | | Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | 24 | | 1, 2016.
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