Full Text of HB4618 103rd General Assembly
HB4618 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 HB4618 Introduced 1/31/2024, by Rep. Harry Benton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: | | 105 ILCS 5/7-1 | from Ch. 122, par. 7-1 |
| Amends the Boundary Changes Article of the School Code. With respect to a petition to change school district boundaries, provides that the length of time for signatures to be valid, before the filing of the petition, shall not exceed one year (rather than 6 months). Effective immediately. |
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| | A BILL FOR |
| | | | HB4618 | | LRB103 38871 RJT 69008 b |
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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 Section | 5 | | 7-1 as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/7-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 7-1) | 7 | | Sec. 7-1. Changing boundaries by detachment or | 8 | | dissolution. | 9 | | (a) School district boundaries may be changed by | 10 | | detachment, annexation, division or dissolution or any | 11 | | combination thereof by the regional board of school trustees | 12 | | or by the State Superintendent of Education as provided in | 13 | | subsection (l) of Section 7-6. | 14 | | The petition must be filed with and decided solely by the | 15 | | regional board of school trustees of the region in which the | 16 | | regional superintendent of schools has supervision and | 17 | | control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the | 18 | | detaching or dissolving school district. The petition may be | 19 | | filed in any office operated by the regional superintendent | 20 | | with supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of | 21 | | this Code, of the detaching or dissolving school district. | 22 | | A petition for boundary change must be filed by the school | 23 | | board of the detaching or dissolving district, by a majority |
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| 1 | | of the legal resident voters in the dissolving district, or by | 2 | | two-thirds of a combination of the legal resident voters and | 3 | | the owners of record of any real estate with no legal resident | 4 | | voters in any territory proposed to be detached. If any of the | 5 | | territory proposed to be detached contains real estate with no | 6 | | legal resident voters, petitioners shall deliver the petition | 7 | | by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all owners of | 8 | | record of any real estate with no legal resident voters. Proof | 9 | | of such delivery must be presented as evidence at the hearing | 10 | | required under Section 7-6 of this Code. Any owner of record of | 11 | | real estate with no legal resident voters in any territory | 12 | | proposed to be detached may either sign the petition in person | 13 | | and before the circulator as described in this Section or | 14 | | return the petition with his or her notarized signature to be | 15 | | included as a petitioner. No person may sign a petition in the | 16 | | capacity of both a legal resident voter and owner of record. If | 17 | | there are no legal resident voters within the territory | 18 | | proposed to be detached, then the petition must be signed by | 19 | | all of the owners of record of the real estate of the | 20 | | territory. Legal resident voters shall be determined by the | 21 | | official voter registration lists as of the date the petition | 22 | | is filed. No signatures shall be added or withdrawn after the | 23 | | date the petition is filed. The length of time for signatures | 24 | | to be valid, before filing of the petition, shall not exceed | 25 | | one year 6 months . Notwithstanding any provision to the | 26 | | contrary contained in the Election Code, the regional |
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| 1 | | superintendent of schools shall make all determinations | 2 | | regarding the validity of the petition, including, without | 3 | | limitation, signatures on the petition. If the regional | 4 | | superintendent determines that the petition is not in proper | 5 | | order or not in compliance with any applicable petition | 6 | | requirements, the regional superintendent may not accept the | 7 | | petition for filing and may return the petition to the | 8 | | petitioners. Any party who is dissatisfied with the | 9 | | determination of the regional superintendent regarding the | 10 | | validity of the petition may appeal the regional | 11 | | superintendent's decision to the regional board of school | 12 | | trustees by motion, and the motion must be heard by the | 13 | | regional board of school trustees prior to any hearing on the | 14 | | merits of the petition. | 15 | | Petitions for detachment and dissolution shall include the | 16 | | full prayer of the petition with a general description of the | 17 | | territory at the top of each page. Each signature contained | 18 | | therein shall match the official signature and address of the | 19 | | legal resident voters as recorded in the office of the county | 20 | | clerk or board of election commissioners, and each petitioner | 21 | | shall record the date of his or her signing. Except in | 22 | | instances of a notarized signature of an owner of record of | 23 | | real estate with no legal resident voters in any territory | 24 | | proposed to be detached, each page of the circulated petition | 25 | | shall be signed by a circulator stating that he or she has | 26 | | witnessed the signature of each petitioner on that page. |
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| 1 | | Detachment petitions containing 10 or fewer signatures may be | 2 | | notarized in lieu of a circulator statement. Each petition | 3 | | shall include an accurate legal description and map of the | 4 | | territory proposed to be detached. If a petition proposes to | 5 | | dissolve an entire district, then the full name and number of | 6 | | the district and a map are sufficient. Each petition shall | 7 | | include the names of petitioners; the district to be dissolved | 8 | | or the district from which the territory is proposed to be | 9 | | detached; the district or districts to which the territory is | 10 | | proposed to be annexed; evidence that the detaching or | 11 | | dissolving territory is compact and contiguous with the | 12 | | annexing district or districts or otherwise meets the | 13 | | requirements set forth in Section 7-4 of this Code; the | 14 | | referendum date, if applicable; and facts that support | 15 | | favorable findings for the factors to be considered by the | 16 | | regional board of school trustees pursuant to Section 7-6 of | 17 | | this Code. | 18 | | Where there is only one school building in an approved | 19 | | operating district, the building and building site may not be | 20 | | included in any detachment proceeding. | 21 | | Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, if, | 22 | | pursuant to a petition filed under this subsection (a), all of | 23 | | the territory of a school district is to be annexed to another | 24 | | school district, then any action by the regional board of | 25 | | school trustees in granting or approving the petition and any | 26 | | change in school district boundaries pursuant to that action |
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| 1 | | is subject to and the change in school district boundaries may | 2 | | not be made except upon approval, at a regular scheduled | 3 | | election, in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7 of this | 4 | | Code, of a proposition for the annexation of all of the | 5 | | territory of that school district to the other school | 6 | | district. | 7 | | No petition may be filed under this Section to form a new | 8 | | school district under this Article; however, such a petition | 9 | | may be filed under this Section to form a new school district | 10 | | if the boundaries of such new school district lie entirely | 11 | | within the boundaries of a military base or installation | 12 | | operated and maintained by the government of the United | 13 | | States. | 14 | | (b) Any elementary or high school district with 100 or | 15 | | more of its students residing upon territory located entirely | 16 | | within a military base or installation operated and maintained | 17 | | by the government of the United States, or any unit school | 18 | | district or any combination of the above mentioned districts | 19 | | with 300 or more of its students residing upon territory | 20 | | located entirely within a military base or installation | 21 | | operated and maintained by the government of the United | 22 | | States, shall, upon the filing with the regional board of | 23 | | school trustees of a petition adopted by resolution of the | 24 | | board of education or a petition signed by a majority of the | 25 | | registered voters residing upon such military base or | 26 | | installation, have all of the territory lying entirely within |
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| 1 | | such military base or installation detached from such school | 2 | | district, and a new school district comprised of such | 3 | | territory shall be created. The petition shall be filed with | 4 | | and decided solely by the regional board of school trustees of | 5 | | the region in which the regional superintendent of schools has | 6 | | supervision and control, as defined by Section 3-14.2 of this | 7 | | Code, of the school district affected. The regional board of | 8 | | school trustees shall have no authority to deny the detachment | 9 | | and creation of a new school district requested in a proper | 10 | | petition filed under this subsection. This subsection shall | 11 | | apply only to those school districts having a population of | 12 | | not fewer than 1,000 and not more than 500,000 residents, as | 13 | | ascertained by any special or general census. | 14 | | The new school district shall tuition its students to the | 15 | | same districts that its students were previously attending and | 16 | | the districts from which the new district was detached shall | 17 | | continue to educate the students from the new district, until | 18 | | the federal government provides other arrangements. The | 19 | | federal government shall pay for the education of such | 20 | | children as required by Section 6 of Public Law 81-874. | 21 | | If a school district created under this subsection (b) has | 22 | | not elected a school board and has not become operational | 23 | | within 2 years after the date of detachment, then this | 24 | | district is automatically dissolved and the territory of this | 25 | | district reverts to the school district from which the | 26 | | territory was detached or any successor district thereto. Any |
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| 1 | | school district created under this subsection (b) on or before | 2 | | September 1, 1996 that has not elected a school board and has | 3 | | not been operational since September 1, 1996 is automatically | 4 | | dissolved on the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 5 | | 1999, and on this date the territory of this district reverts | 6 | | to the school district from which the territory was detached. | 7 | | For the automatic dissolution of a school district created | 8 | | under this subsection (b), the regional superintendent of | 9 | | schools who has supervision and control, as defined by Section | 10 | | 3-14.2 of this Code, of the school district from which the | 11 | | territory was detached shall certify to the regional board of | 12 | | school trustees that the school district created under this | 13 | | subsection (b) has been automatically dissolved. | 14 | | (Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.) | 15 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 | | becoming law. |
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