Public Act 099-0475
 
SB0224 EnrolledLRB099 03159 NHT 23167 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
7-6 and 7-14 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/7-6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-6)
    Sec. 7-6. Petition filing; Notice; Hearing; Decision.
    (a) Upon the filing of a petition with the secretary of the
regional board of school trustees under the provisions of
Section 7-1 or 7-2 of this Act the secretary shall cause a copy
of such petition to be given to each board of any district
involved in the proposed boundary change and shall cause a
notice thereof to be published once in a newspaper having
general circulation within the area of the territory described
in the petition for the proposed change of boundaries.
    (b) When a joint hearing is required under the provisions
of Section 7-2, the secretary also shall cause a copy of the
notice to be sent to the regional board of school trustees of
each region affected. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions
of this Section, if the secretary of the regional board of
school trustees with whom a petition is filed under Section 7-2
fails, within 30 days after the filing of such petition, to
cause notice thereof to be published and sent as required by
this Section, then the secretary of the regional board of
school trustees of any other region affected may cause the
required notice to be published and sent, and the joint hearing
may be held in any region affected as provided in the notice so
published.
    (b-5) If a petition filed under subsection (a) of Section
7-1 or under Section 7-2 proposes to annex all the territory of
a school district to another school district, the petition
shall request the submission of a proposition at a regular
scheduled election for the purpose of voting for or against the
annexation of the territory described in the petition to the
school district proposing to annex that territory. No petition
filed or election held under this Article shall be null and
void, invalidated, or deemed in noncompliance with the Election
Code because of a failure to publish a notice with respect to
the petition or referendum as required under subsection (g) of
Section 28-2 of that Code for petitions that are not filed
under this Article or Article 11E of this Code.
    (c) When a petition contains more than 10 signatures the
petition shall designate a committee of 10 of the petitioners
as attorney in fact for all petitioners, any 7 of whom may make
binding stipulations on behalf of all petitioners as to any
question with respect to the petition or hearing or joint
hearing, and the regional board of school trustees, or regional
boards of school trustees in cases of a joint hearing may
accept such stipulation in lieu of evidence or proof of the
matter stipulated. The committee of petitioners shall have the
same power to stipulate to accountings or waiver thereof
between school districts; however, the regional board of school
trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in cases of a
joint hearing may refuse to accept such stipulation. Those
designated as the committee of 10 shall serve in that capacity
until such time as the regional superintendent of schools or
the committee of 10 determines that, because of death,
resignation, transfer of residency from the territory, or
failure to qualify, the office of a particular member of the
committee of 10 is vacant. Upon determination that a vacancy
exists, the remaining members shall appoint a petitioner to
fill the designated vacancy on the committee of 10. The
appointment of any new members by the committee of 10 shall be
made by a simple majority vote of the remaining designated
members.
    (d) The petition may be amended to withdraw not to exceed a
total of 10% of the territory in the petition at any time prior
to the hearing or joint hearing; provided that the petition
shall after amendment comply with the requirements as to the
number of signatures required on an original petition.
    (e) The petitioners shall pay the expenses of publishing
the notice and of any transcript taken at the hearing or joint
hearing; and in case of an appeal from the decision of the
regional board of school trustees, or regional boards of school
trustees in cases of a joint hearing, or State Superintendent
of Education in cases determined under subsection (l) of this
Section, the appellants shall pay the cost of preparing the
record for appeal.
    (f) The notice shall state when the petition was filed, the
description of the territory, the prayer of the petition and
the return day on which the hearing or joint hearing upon the
petition will be held which shall not be more than 15 nor less
than 10 days after the publication of notice.
    (g) On such return day or on a day to which the regional
board of school trustees, or regional boards of school trustees
in cases of a joint hearing shall continue the hearing or joint
hearing the regional board of school trustees, or regional
boards of school trustees in cases of a joint hearing shall
hear the petition but may adjourn the hearing or joint hearing
from time to time or may continue the matter for want of
sufficient notice or other good cause.
    (h) Prior to the hearing or joint hearing the secretary of
the regional board of school trustees shall submit to the
regional board of school trustees, or regional boards of school
trustees in cases of a joint hearing maps showing the districts
involved, a written report of financial and educational
conditions of districts involved and the probable effect of the
proposed changes. The reports and maps submitted shall be made
a part of the record of the proceedings of the regional board
of school trustees, or regional boards of school trustees in
cases of a joint hearing. A copy of the report and maps
submitted shall be sent by the secretary of the regional board
of school trustees to each board of the districts involved, not
less than 5 days prior to the day upon which the hearing or
joint hearing is to be held.
    (i) The regional board of school trustees, or regional
boards of school trustees in cases of a joint hearing shall
hear evidence as to the school needs and conditions of the
territory in the area within and adjacent thereto and the
effect detachment will have on those needs and conditions and
as to the ability of the districts affected to meet the
standards of recognition as prescribed by the State Board of
Education, and shall take into consideration the division of
funds and assets which will result from the change of
boundaries and shall determine whether it is to the best
interests of the schools of the area and the direct educational
welfare of the pupils that such change in boundaries be
granted, and in case non-high school territory is contained in
the petition the normal high school attendance pattern of the
children shall be taken into consideration. If the non-high
school territory overlies an elementary district, a part of
which is in a high school district, such territory may be
annexed to such high school district even though not contiguous
to the high school district. However, upon resolution by the
regional board of school trustees, or regional boards of school
trustees in cases of a joint hearing the secretary or
secretaries thereof shall conduct the hearing or joint hearing
upon any boundary petition and present a transcript of such
hearing to the trustees who shall base their decision upon the
transcript, maps and information and any presentation of
counsel. In the instance of a change of boundaries through
detachment:
        (1) When considering the effect the detachment will
    have on the direct educational welfare of the pupils, the
    regional board of school trustees or the regional boards of
    school trustees shall consider a comparison of the school
    report cards for the schools of the affected districts and
    the school district report cards for the affected districts
    only if there is no more than a 3% difference in the
    minority, low-income, and English learner student
    populations of the relevant schools of the districts.
        (2) The community of interest of the petitioners and
    their children and the effect detachment will have on the
    whole child may be considered only if the regional board of
    school trustees or the regional boards of school trustees
    first determine that there would be a significant direct
    educational benefit to the petitioners' children if the
    change in boundaries were allowed.
        (3) When petitioners cite an annexing district
    attendance center or centers in the petition or during
    testimony, the regional board of school trustees or the
    regional boards of school trustees may consider the
    difference in the distances from the detaching area to the
    current attendance centers and the cited annexing district
    attendance centers only if the difference is no less than
    10 miles shorter to one of the cited annexing district
    attendance centers than it is to the corresponding current
    attendance center.
        (4) The regional board of school trustees or the
    regional boards of school trustees may not grant a petition
    if doing so will increase the percentage of minority or
    low-income students or English learners by more than 3% at
    the attendance center where students in the detaching
    territory currently attend, provided that if the
    percentage of any one of those groups also decreases at
    that attendance center, the regional board or boards may
    grant the petition upon consideration of other factors
    under this Section and this Article.
        (5) The regional board of school trustees or the
    regional boards of school trustees may not consider whether
    changing the boundaries will increase the property values
    of the petitioners' property.
    The factors in subdivisions (1) through (5) of this
subsection (i) are applicable whether or not there are children
residing in the petitioning area at the time the hearing is
conducted.
    If the regional board of school trustees or the regional
boards of school trustees grants a petition to change school
district boundaries, then the annexing school district shall
determine the attendance center or centers that children from
the petitioning area shall attend.
    (j) At the hearing or joint hearing any resident of the
territory described in the petition or any resident in any
district affected by the proposed change of boundaries may
appear in person or by an attorney in support of the petition
or to object to the granting of the petition and may present
evidence in support of his position.
    (k) At the conclusion of the hearing, other than a joint
hearing, the regional superintendent of schools as ex officio
member of the regional board of school trustees shall within 30
days enter an order either granting or denying the petition and
shall deliver to the committee of petitioners, if any, and any
person who has filed his appearance in writing at the hearing
and any attorney who appears for any person and any objector
who testifies at the hearing and the regional superintendent of
schools a certified copy of its order.
    (l) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this
Section, if within 9 months after a petition is submitted under
the provisions of Section 7-1 the petition is not approved or
denied by the regional board of school trustees and the order
approving or denying that petition entered and a copy thereof
served as provided in this Section, the school boards or
registered voters of the districts affected that submitted the
petition (or the committee of 10, or an attorney acting on its
behalf, if designated in the petition) may submit a copy of the
petition directly to the State Superintendent of Education for
approval or denial. The copy of the petition as so submitted
shall be accompanied by a record of all proceedings had with
respect to the petition up to the time the copy of the petition
is submitted to the State Superintendent of Education
(including a copy of any notice given or published, any
certificate or other proof of publication, copies of any maps
or written report of the financial and educational conditions
of the school districts affected if furnished by the secretary
of the regional board of school trustees, copies of any
amendments to the petition and stipulations made, accepted or
refused, a transcript of any hearing or part of a hearing held,
continued or adjourned on the petition, and any orders entered
with respect to the petition or any hearing held thereon). The
school boards, registered voters or committee of 10 submitting
the petition and record of proceedings to the State
Superintendent of Education shall give written notice by
certified mail, return receipt requested to the regional board
of school trustees and to the secretary of that board that the
petition has been submitted to the State Superintendent of
Education for approval or denial, and shall furnish a copy of
the notice so given to the State Superintendent of Education.
The cost of assembling the record of proceedings for submission
to the State Superintendent of Education shall be the
responsibility of the school boards, registered voters or
committee of 10 that submits the petition and record of
proceedings to the State Superintendent of Education. When a
petition is submitted to the State Superintendent of Education
in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph:
        (1) The regional board of school trustees loses all
    jurisdiction over the petition and shall have no further
    authority to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
    respect to the petition.
        (2) All jurisdiction over the petition and the right
    and duty to hear, approve, deny or otherwise act with
    respect to the petition is transferred to and shall be
    assumed and exercised by the State Superintendent of
    Education.
        (3) The State Superintendent of Education shall not be
    required to repeat any proceedings that were conducted in
    accordance with the provisions of this Section prior to the
    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to him,
    but the State Superintendent of Education shall be required
    to give and publish any notices and hold or complete any
    hearings that were not given, held or completed by the
    regional board of school trustees or its secretary as
    required by this Section prior to the time jurisdiction
    over the petition is transferred to the State
    Superintendent of Education.
        (4) If so directed by the State Superintendent of
    Education, the regional superintendent of schools shall
    submit to the State Superintendent of Education and to such
    school boards as the State Superintendent of Education
    shall prescribe accurate maps and a written report of the
    financial and educational conditions of the districts
    affected and the probable effect of the proposed boundary
    changes.
        (5) The State Superintendent is authorized to conduct
    further hearings, or appoint a hearing officer to conduct
    further hearings, on the petition even though a hearing
    thereon was held as provided in this Section prior to the
    time jurisdiction over the petition is transferred to the
    State Superintendent of Education.
        (6) The State Superintendent of Education or the
    hearing officer shall hear evidence and approve or deny the
    petition and shall enter an order to that effect and
    deliver and serve the same as required in other cases to be
    done by the regional board of school trustees and the
    regional superintendent of schools as an ex officio member
    of that board.
    (m) Within 10 days after the conclusion of a joint hearing
required under the provisions of Section 7-2, each regional
board of school trustees shall meet together and render a
decision with regard to the joint hearing on the petition. If
the regional boards of school trustees fail to enter a joint
order either granting or denying the petition, the regional
superintendent of schools for the educational service region in
which the joint hearing is held shall enter an order denying
the petition, and within 30 days after the conclusion of the
joint hearing shall deliver a copy of the order denying the
petition to the regional boards of school trustees of each
region affected, to the committee of petitioners, if any, to
any person who has filed his appearance in writing at the
hearing and to any attorney who appears for any person at the
joint hearing. If the regional boards of school trustees enter
a joint order either granting or denying the petition, the
regional superintendent of schools for the educational service
region in which the joint hearing is held shall, within 30 days
of the conclusion of the hearing, deliver a copy of the joint
order to those same committees and persons as are entitled to
receive copies of the regional superintendent's order in cases
where the regional boards of school trustees have failed to
enter a joint order.
    (n) Within 10 days after service of a copy of the order
granting or denying the petition, any person so served may
petition for a rehearing and, upon sufficient cause being
shown, a rehearing may be granted. The filing of a petition for
rehearing shall operate as a stay of enforcement until the
regional board of school trustees, or regional boards of school
trustees in cases of a joint hearing, or State Superintendent
of Education in cases determined under subsection (l) of this
Section enter the final order on such petition for rehearing.
    (o) If a petition filed under subsection (a) of Section 7-1
or under Section 7-2 is required under the provisions of
subsection (b-5) of this Section 7-6 to request submission of a
proposition at a regular scheduled election for the purpose of
voting for or against the annexation of the territory described
in the petition to the school district proposing to annex that
territory, and if the petition is granted or approved by the
regional board or regional boards of school trustees or by the
State Superintendent of Education, the proposition shall be
placed on the ballot at the next regular scheduled election.
(Source: P.A. 94-1019, eff. 7-10-06.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/7-14)  (from Ch. 122, par. 7-14)
    Sec. 7-14. Bonded indebtedness-Tax rate.
    (a) Beginning on January 1, 2015, whenever the boundaries
of any school district are changed by the attachment or
detachment of territory, the territory that is detached shall
remain liable for its proportionate share of the bonded
indebtedness of the school district from which the territory is
detached. The annexing district shall not, except pursuant to
the approval of a resolution by the school board of the
annexing district prior to the effective date of the change of
boundaries, assume or be responsible for any of the bonded
indebtedness of the district from which the territory is
detached. If the annexing district does not assume the
detaching territory's proportionate share of the bonded
indebtedness of the district from which the territory is
detaching, a tax rate for that bonded indebtedness shall be
determined in the manner provided in Section 19-7 of this Code,
and the county clerk or clerks shall annually extend taxes for
each bond outstanding on the effective date of the change of
boundaries against all of the taxable property situated within
the territory that is detached and within the detaching
district. After the effective date of the change of boundaries,
all of the property situated within the annexing school
district, including the detaching territory, shall be liable
for the bonded indebtedness of that district as it exists on
the effective date of the change of boundaries and any date
thereafter. Except as provided in subsection (b), whenever the
boundaries of any school district are changed by the annexation
or detachment of territory, each such district as it exists on
and after such action shall assume the bonded indebtedness, as
well as financial obligations to the Capital Development Board
pursuant to Section 35-15 (now repealed) of this Code, of all
the territory included therein after such change. The tax rate
for bonded indebtedness shall be determined in the manner
provided in Section 19-7 of this Act, except the County Clerk
shall annually extend taxes against all the taxable property
situated in the county and contained in each such district as
it exists after the action. Notwithstanding the provisions of
this subsection, if the boundaries of a school district are
changed by annexation or detachment of territory after June 30,
1987, and prior to September 15, 1987, and if the school
district to which territory is being annexed has no outstanding
bonded indebtedness on the date such annexation occurs, then
the annexing school district shall not be liable for any bonded
indebtedness of the district from which the territory is
detached, and the school district from which the territory is
detached shall remain liable for all of its bonded
indebtedness.
    (b) Whenever a school district with bonded indebtedness has
become dissolved under this Article and its territory annexed
to another district, the annexing district or districts shall
not, except by action pursuant to resolution of the school
board of the annexing district prior to the effective date of
the annexation, assume the bonded indebtedness of the dissolved
district; nor, except by action pursuant to resolution of the
school board of the dissolving district, shall the territory of
the dissolved district assume the bonded indebtedness of the
annexing district or districts. If the annexing district or
districts do not assume the bonded indebtedness of the
dissolved district, a tax rate for the bonded indebtedness
shall be determined in the manner provided in Section 19-7, and
the county clerk or clerks shall annually extend taxes for each
outstanding bond issue against all the taxable property that
was situated within the boundaries of the district as the
boundaries existed at the time of the issuance of each bond
issue regardless of whether the property is still contained in
that same district at the time of the extension of the taxes by
the county clerk or clerks.
    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 19-18 of this
Code, upon resolution of the school board, the county clerk
must extend taxes to pay the principal of and interest on any
bonds issued exclusively to refund any bonded indebtedness of
the annexing school district against all of the taxable
property that was situated within the boundaries of the
annexing district as the boundaries existed at the time of the
issuance of the bonded indebtedness being refunded and not
against any of the taxable property in the dissolved school
district, provided that (i) the net interest rate on the
refunding bonds may not exceed the net interest rate on the
refunded bonds, (ii) the final maturity date of the refunding
bonds may not extend beyond the final maturity date of the
refunded bonds, and (iii) the tax levy to pay the refunding
bonds in any levy year may not exceed the tax levy that would
have been required to pay the refunded bonds for that levy
year. The provisions of this subsection (c) are applicable to
school districts that were dissolved and their territory
annexed to another school district pursuant to a referendum
held in April of 2003. The provisions of this subsection (c),
other than this sentence, are inoperative 2 years after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General
Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 94-1105, eff. 6-1-07; 95-1025, eff. 1-6-09.)