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90_SB0889
105 ILCS 5/27A-2
105 ILCS 5/27A-4
105 ILCS 5/27A-7
105 ILCS 5/27A-8
105 ILCS 5/27A-9
105 ILCS 5/27A-11
Amends the School Code. Makes changes in the legislative
findings and purposes that are part of the Charter Schools
Law. Authorizes enrollment in a charter school on a space
available basis for pupils residing in a school district
outside the geographic boundaries of the area served by the
local school board. Provides that approval of a charter
school proposal shall not be withheld because a charter
school building is not under lease, so long as at least 2
potentially available sites are identified in the submission.
Clarifies that charter school submissions do not have to
demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will meet
each of the declared purposes of the Charter Schools Law.
Replaces references to "innovative" in describing educational
and teaching techniques and programs with alternative
terminology. Provides that charter school proposals may not
be denied by a local school board unless the board is able to
demonstrate that the proposal does not meet statutory
requirements. Provides that the State Board is to review
actions of the local school board in denying, refusing to
renew, or revoking a charter, and requires the State Board to
overrule the local school board if the charter school meets
statutory requirements. Adds additional provisions relative
to pupil transportation, start-up loans for textbooks and
equipment, and payment schedules for funds that a charter
school is to receive from a local school board. Revises
provisions relating to petitions currently required to be
filed in support of charter school proposals. Makes other
related changes.
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1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections
2 27A-2, 27A-4, 27A-7, 27A-8, 27A-9, and 27A-11.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Sections 27A-2, 27A-4, 27A-7, 27A-8, 27A-9, and 27A-11 as
7 follows:
8 (105 ILCS 5/27A-2)
9 Sec. 27A-2. Legislative declaration.
10 (a) The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) Encouraging educational excellence is a
12 fundamental goal in the best interests of the people of
13 this State.
14 (2) There are educators, community members, and
15 parents in Illinois who can offer flexible or different
16 and innovative educational techniques and programs, but
17 who lack an avenue through which to provide them within
18 the public school system.
19 (3) The enactment of legislation authorizing
20 charter schools to operate in Illinois will promote new
21 options within the public school system and will provide
22 pupils, educators, community members, and parents with
23 the stimulus to strive for educational excellence.
24 (b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that
25 this Article is enacted for the following purposes:
26 (1) To improve pupil learning by creating schools
27 with high, rigorous standards for pupil performance.
28 (2) To increase learning opportunities for all
29 pupils, with special emphasis on expanded learning
30 experiences for at-risk pupils, consistent, however, with
31 an equal commitment to increase learning opportunities
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1 for all other groups of pupils in a manner that does not
2 discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed,
3 color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry,
4 marital status, or need for special education services.
5 (3) To encourage the use of innovative teaching
6 methods that may be different in some respects than
7 others regularly used in the public school system.
8 (4) To allow the development of new, different, or
9 alternative innovative forms of measuring pupil learning
10 and achievement.
11 (5) To create new professional opportunities for
12 teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for
13 the learning program at the school site.
14 (6) To provide parents and pupils with expanded
15 choices within the public school system.
16 (7) To encourage parental and community involvement
17 with public schools.
18 (8) To hold charter schools accountable for meeting
19 rigorous school content standards and to provide those
20 schools with the opportunity to improve accountability.
21 (c) In authorizing charter schools, it is the intent of
22 the General Assembly to create a legitimate avenue for
23 parents, teachers, and community members to take responsible
24 risks and create new, different, or innovative, and more
25 flexible ways of educating children within the public school
26 system. The General Assembly seeks to create opportunities
27 within the public school system of Illinois for development
28 of effective innovative and accountable teaching techniques.
29 The provisions of this Article should be interpreted
30 liberally to support the findings and goals of this Section
31 and to advance a renewed commitment by the State of Illinois
32 to the mission, goals, and diversity of public education.
33 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
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1 (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
2 Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
3 (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or
4 amend the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan
5 in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
6 subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
7 provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
8 disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
9 religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
10 education services.
11 (b) The total number of charter schools operating under
12 this Article at any one time shall not exceed 45. Not more
13 that 15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any
14 city having a population exceeding 500,000; not more than 15
15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the counties
16 of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that portion of
17 Cook County that is located outside a city having a
18 population exceeding 500,000; and not more than 15 charter
19 schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder of the
20 State.
21 For purposes of implementing this Section, the State
22 Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it
23 receives under Section 27A-6 for its review and
24 certification, based on the chronological order in which the
25 submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly
26 notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of
27 certified charter schools authorized to operate have been
28 reached.
29 (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
30 would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
31 school to a charter school.
32 (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
33 pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the
34 area served by the local school board. However, no more than
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1 50% of the number of resident pupils enrolled in any one
2 grade in a school district with only a single attendance
3 center covering that grade may be enrolled in a charter
4 school at one time. A pupil who resides in a school district
5 that is outside the geographic boundaries of the area served
6 by the local school board may be accepted for enrollment in a
7 charter school on a space available basis after all pupils
8 residing within the geographic boundaries of the area served
9 by the local school board have been accommodated, if the
10 pupil's parents or legal guardian request such enrollment and
11 agree to provide any necessary transportation for the pupil
12 at their own expense. If a pupil who resides in a school
13 district that is outside the geographic boundaries of the
14 area served by the local school board is accepted for
15 enrollment and enrolls in a charter school, the board of
16 education of the school district in which the pupil resides
17 shall pay to the charter school, in 4 equal installments
18 payable quarterly over the course of the school year in which
19 the enrollment is effective, an amount equal to the per
20 capita cost of maintaining the schools of that district for
21 the preceding school year. Days of attendance by such a
22 tuition pupil shall be accredited to the school district that
23 pays the tuition to the charter school.
24 (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more
25 local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a
26 single shared charter school, provided that all of the
27 provisions of this Article are met as to those local school
28 boards.
29 (f) No local school board shall require any employee of
30 the school district to be employed in a charter school.
31 (g) No local school board shall require any pupil
32 residing within the geographic boundary of its district to
33 enroll in a charter school.
34 (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment
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1 in a charter school than there are spaces available,
2 successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However:
3 (1), priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled
4 in the charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the
5 charter school the previous school year, unless expelled for
6 cause; and (2) applicants who do not reside within the
7 geographic boundaries of the area served by the local school
8 board shall not be eligible for lottery selection except on a
9 space available basis after all eligible applicants residing
10 within the geographic boundaries of the area served by the
11 local school board have been accommodated. Dual enrollment
12 at both a charter school and a public school or non-public
13 school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is suspended or
14 expelled from a charter school shall be deemed to be
15 suspended or expelled from the public schools of the school
16 district in which the pupil resides.
17 (i) No charter school established under this Article may
18 be authorized to open prior to the school year beginning in
19 the fall of 1996.
20 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
21 (105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
22 Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
23 (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be
24 submitted to the State Board and the local school board in
25 the form of a proposed contract entered into between the
26 local school board and the governing body of a proposed
27 charter school. The charter school proposal as submitted to
28 the State Board shall include:
29 (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
30 must include the words "Charter School".
31 (2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
32 and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the
33 charter school, and any other admission criteria that
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1 would be legal if used by a school district.
2 (3) A description of and address for the physical
3 plant in which the charter school will be located;
4 provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to
5 justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or
6 approval of a charter school proposal because the
7 building or buildings in which the charter school is to
8 be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a
9 charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a
10 charter school contract is entered into or submitted for
11 certification or certified, so long as the proposal or
12 submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are
13 potentially available as a charter school facility by the
14 time the charter school is to open.
15 (4) The mission statement of the charter school,
16 which must be consistent with the General Assembly's
17 declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article
18 shall be construed to require that, in order to receive
19 favorable consideration and approval, a charter school
20 proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter
21 school will be able to meet each of those declared
22 purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools
23 Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that
24 charter schools must aspire to attain.
25 (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
26 standards to be achieved by the charter school.
27 (6) In the case of a proposal to establish a
28 charter school by converting an existing public school or
29 attendance center to charter school status, evidence that
30 the proposed formation of the charter school has received
31 the required approval of from certified teachers, from
32 parents and guardians, and, if applicable, from a local
33 school council as provided in subsection (b) of Section
34 27A-8.
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1 (7) A description of the charter school's
2 educational program, pupil performance standards,
3 curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of
4 operation.
5 (8) A description of the charter school's plan for
6 evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments
7 that will be used to measure pupil progress towards
8 achievement of the school's pupil performance standards,
9 the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the
10 procedures for taking corrective action in the event that
11 pupil performance at the charter school falls below those
12 standards.
13 (9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as
14 proposed are economically sound for both the charter
15 school and the school district, a proposed budget for the
16 term of the charter, a description of the manner in which
17 an annual audit of the financial and administrative
18 operations of the charter school, including any services
19 provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and
20 a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and
21 other employees who will not attend or be employed in the
22 charter school.
23 (10) A description of the governance and operation
24 of the charter school, including the nature and extent of
25 parental, professional educator, and community
26 involvement in the governance and operation of the
27 charter school.
28 (11) An explanation of the relationship that will
29 exist between the charter school and its employees,
30 including evidence that the terms and conditions of
31 employment have been addressed with affected employees
32 and their recognized representative, if any. However, a
33 bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be
34 separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed
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1 from employees of a school district in which the charter
2 school is located.
3 (12) An agreement between the parties regarding
4 their respective legal liability and applicable insurance
5 coverage.
6 (13) A description of how the charter school plans
7 to meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a
8 plan for addressing the transportation needs of pupils
9 with disabilities who, because of their disability, are
10 unable to travel by bus and cannot reasonably be expected
11 to be transported by their parent or guardian; provided
12 that a charter school is not required to provide
13 transportation to its at-risk pupils under circumstances
14 in which it does not provide transportation to pupils who
15 are not at-risk or under a disability low-income and
16 at-risk pupils.
17 (14) The proposed effective date and term of the
18 charter; provided that the first day of the first
19 academic year and the first day of the fiscal year of the
20 charter school shall coincide with the first day of the
21 academic year and the first day of the fiscal year of the
22 local school district.
23 (15) Any other information reasonably required by
24 the State Board of Education.
25 (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be
26 initiated by individuals or organizations that will have
27 majority representation on the board of directors or other
28 governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal
29 entity that is to be established to operate the proposed
30 charter school, or by the board of directors or other
31 governing body of a discrete legal entity already existing or
32 established to operate the proposed charter school. The
33 individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection
34 may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
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1 councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members,
2 public community colleges or their instructors or other
3 representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
4 representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the
5 local school board for consideration and, if the proposal
6 complies with the requirements of this Article as determined
7 under subsection (f) of Section 27-8 appropriate, for
8 development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the
9 State Board for certification under Section 27A-6.
10 (c) The local school board may not without the consent
11 of the governing body of the charter school condition its
12 approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an
13 agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
14 local school board policies from which the charter school is
15 otherwise exempted under this Article.
16 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
17 (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
18 Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
19 (a) In evaluating any charter school proposal submitted
20 to it, the local school board shall give preference to
21 proposals that:
22 (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil,
23 parental, community, business, and school personnel
24 support;
25 (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil
26 achievement and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining
27 those levels of achievement; and
28 (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
29 proportion of at-risk children; provided that nothing in
30 the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to
31 limit the establishment of charter schools to those that
32 serve a substantial portion of at-risk children or to in
33 any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the
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1 establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve
2 other pupil populations under a nonexclusive,
3 nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
4 (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
5 school by converting an existing public school or attendance
6 center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed
7 formation of the charter school has received majority support
8 from certified teachers and from parents and guardians in the
9 school or attendance center affected by the proposed charter,
10 and, if applicable, from a local school council, shall be
11 demonstrated by a petition in support of the charter school
12 signed by certified teachers and a petition in support of the
13 charter school signed by parents and guardians and, if
14 applicable, by a vote of the local school council held at a
15 public meeting. In the case of all other proposals to
16 establish a charter school, evidence of sufficient support to
17 fill the number of pupil seats set forth in the proposal may
18 shall be demonstrated by a petition in support of the charter
19 school signed by parents and guardians of students eligible
20 to attend the charter school. In all cases, the individuals,
21 organizations, or entities who initiate the proposal to
22 establish a charter school may elect, in lieu of including
23 any petition referred to in this subsection as a part of the
24 proposal submitted to the local school board, to either: (i)
25 demonstrate that the charter school has received the support
26 referred to in this subsection by other evidence and
27 information presented at the public meeting that the local
28 school board is required to convene under this Section, or
29 (ii) submit any petition referred to in this subsection to
30 the State Board rather than to the local school board, to be
31 received, treated, and held in confidence and without further
32 disclosure by the State Board and considered by the State
33 Board under subsection (a)(6) of Section 27A-7 at such time
34 as the charter school proposal is submitted to the State
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1 Board as provided in that Section.
2 (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school
3 proposal, the local school board shall convene a public
4 meeting to obtain information to assist the board in its
5 decision to grant or deny the charter school proposal.
6 (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this
7 Section shall be published in a community newspaper published
8 in the school district in which the proposed charter is
9 located and, if there is no such newspaper, then in a
10 newspaper published in the county and having circulation in
11 the school district. The notices shall be published not more
12 than 10 days nor less than 5 days before the meeting and
13 shall state that information regarding a charter school
14 proposal will be heard at the meeting. Copies of the notice
15 shall also be posted at appropriate locations in the school
16 or attendance center proposed to be established as a charter
17 school, the public schools in the school district, and the
18 local school board office.
19 (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local
20 school board shall vote, in a public meeting, to either grant
21 or deny the charter school proposal.
22 (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under
23 subsection (e), the local school board shall file a report
24 with to the State Board granting or denying the whether a
25 proposal has been granted or denied. The local school board
26 shall not act to deny the proposal to establish a charter
27 school if the charter school proposal as submitted and as
28 supported by evidence and information presented at the public
29 meeting complies with the requirements established by this
30 Article for the creation of a charter school. If the report
31 of the local school board denies the proposal to establish
32 the charter school, the State Board shall review the action
33 of the local school board on the merits, as in cases of
34 appeal, and shall overrule the local school board and approve
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1 the proposal unless the report of the local school board
2 demonstrates that the proposal fails to comply with the
3 requirements of this Article for establishing a charter
4 school. Within 14 days of receipt of the local school board's
5 report, the State Board shall determine whether the approved
6 charter proposal complies is consistent with the requirements
7 provisions of this Article and, if the approved proposal
8 complies, approve or overrule, as the case may be, the report
9 of the local school board, and certify the proposal pursuant
10 to Section 27A-6.
11 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
12 (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
13 Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
14 (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than
15 3 and not more than 5 school years. A charter may be renewed
16 in incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
17 (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
18 local school board shall contain:
19 (1) A report on the progress of the charter school
20 in achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
21 standards, content standards, and other terms of the
22 initial approved charter proposal; and
23 (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs
24 of administration, instruction, and other spending
25 categories for the charter school that is understandable
26 to the general public and that will allow comparison of
27 those costs to other schools or other comparable
28 organizations, in a format required by the State Board.
29 (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
30 school board clearly demonstrates determines that the charter
31 school did any of the following, or otherwise failed to
32 comply with the requirements of this law for other good cause
33 shown:
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1 (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
2 conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
3 charter.
4 (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress
5 toward achievement of the content standards or pupil
6 performance standards identified in the charter.
7 (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
8 fiscal management.
9 (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
10 charter school was not exempted.
11 (d) (Blank). In addition, a charter may not be renewed
12 if the local school board determines that it is not in the
13 interest of the pupils residing within the school district or
14 service area to continue the operation of the charter school.
15 (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
16 revoke or not to renew a charter and the evidence relied on
17 by the local school board in reaching that decision shall be
18 provided to and may be appealed to the State Board. The State
19 Board shall consider each appeal on the merits and shall
20 overrule the local board's decision and reinstate or renew
21 the charter if it finds that the local school board has
22 failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the charter
23 school engaged in conduct that under the provisions of
24 subsection (c) would have warranted revocation or nonrenewal
25 of the charter. Final decisions of the State Board shall be
26 subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review
27 Law.
28 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
29 (105 ILCS 5/27A-11)
30 Sec. 27A-11. Financing.
31 (a) For purposes of the School Code, pupils enrolled in
32 a charter school shall be included in the pupil enrollment of
33 the school district within which the pupil resides. Each
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1 charter school (i) shall determine the school district in
2 which each pupil who is enrolled in the charter school
3 resides and (ii) shall report the aggregate number of pupils
4 resident of a school district who are enrolled in the charter
5 school to the school district in which those pupils reside.
6 (b) As part of a charter school contract, the charter
7 school and the local school board shall agree on funding and
8 any services to be provided by the school district to the
9 charter school. All agreed funding that a charter school is
10 to receive from the local school board for a school year
11 shall be paid in full not later than July 1 of the calendar
12 year in which that school year begins, unless as a part of
13 the charter school contract the charter school agrees that
14 such funding for the school year shall be paid in equal
15 quarterly installments with the payment of the installment
16 for the first quarter being made not later than July 1.
17 All services centrally or otherwise provided by the
18 school district including, but not limited to, food services,
19 custodial services, maintenance, curriculum, media services,
20 libraries, transportation, and warehousing shall be subject
21 to negotiation between a charter school and the local school
22 board and paid for out of the revenues negotiated pursuant to
23 this subsection (b); provided that the local school board
24 shall not attempt, by negotiation or otherwise, to obligate a
25 charter school to provide pupil transportation for pupils for
26 whom a district is not required to provide transportation
27 under the criteria set forth in subsection (a)(13) of Section
28 27A-7.
29 In no event shall the funding be less than 95% or more
30 than 105% of the school district's per capita student tuition
31 multiplied by the number of students residing in the district
32 who are enrolled in the charter school.
33 It is the intent of the General Assembly that funding and
34 service agreements under this subsection (b) shall be neither
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1 a financial incentive nor a financial disincentive to the
2 establishment of a charter school.
3 Fees collected from students enrolled at a charter school
4 shall be retained by the charter school.
5 (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this Section, the
6 proportionate share of State and federal resources generated
7 by students with disabilities or staff serving them shall be
8 directed to charter schools enrolling those students by their
9 school districts or administrative units. The proportionate
10 share of moneys generated under other federal or State
11 categorical aid programs shall be directed to charter schools
12 serving students eligible for that aid.
13 (d)(1) The governing body of a charter school is
14 authorized to accept gifts, donations, or grants of any kind
15 made to the charter school and to expend or use gifts,
16 donations, or grants in accordance with the conditions
17 prescribed by the donor; however, a gift, donation, or grant
18 may not be accepted by the governing body if it is subject to
19 any condition contrary to applicable law or contrary to the
20 terms of the contract between the charter school and the
21 local school board. Charter schools shall be encouraged to
22 solicit and utilize community volunteer speakers and other
23 instructional resources when providing instruction on the
24 Holocaust and other historical events.
25 (2) From amounts appropriated to the State Board for
26 purposes of this subsection (d)(2), the State Board may make
27 loans to charter schools established under this Article to be
28 used by those schools to defer their start-up costs of
29 acquiring textbooks and laboratory and other equipment
30 required for student instruction. Any such loan shall be made
31 to a charter school at the inception of the term of its
32 charter, under terms established by the State Board, and
33 shall be repaid by the charter school over the term of its
34 charter.
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1 (e) No later than January 1, 1997, the State Board shall
2 issue a report to the General Assembly and the Governor
3 describing the charter schools certified under this Article,
4 their geographic locations, their areas of focus, and the
5 numbers of school children served by them.
6 (f) The State Board shall provide technical assistance
7 to persons and groups preparing or revising charter
8 applications.
9 (g) At the non-renewal or revocation of its charter,
10 each charter school shall refund to the local board of
11 education all unspent funds.
12 (h) A charter school is authorized to incur temporary,
13 short term debt to pay operating expenses in anticipation of
14 receipt of funds from the local school board.
15 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)