Public Act 90-0654 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0654
HB2411 Enrolled LRB9007914THpk
AN ACT relating to education funding.
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
Section 18-8.05 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/18-8.05)
(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a
delayed effective date.)
Sec. 18-8.05. Basis for apportionment of general State
financial aid and supplemental general State aid to the
common schools for the 1998-1999 and subsequent school years.
(A) General Provisions.
(1) The provisions of this Section apply to the
1998-1999 and subsequent school years. The system of general
State financial aid provided for in this Section is designed
to assure that, through a combination of State financial aid
and required local resources, the financial support provided
each pupil in Average Daily Attendance equals or exceeds a
prescribed per pupil Foundation Level. This formula approach
imputes a level of per pupil Available Local Resources and
provides for the basis to calculate a per pupil level of
general State financial aid that, when added to Available
Local Resources, equals or exceeds the Foundation Level. The
amount of per pupil general State financial aid for school
districts, in general, varies in inverse relation to
Available Local Resources. Per pupil amounts are based upon
each school district's Average Daily Attendance as that term
is defined in this Section.
(2) In addition to general State financial aid, school
districts with specified levels or concentrations of pupils
from low income households are eligible to receive
supplemental general State financial aid grants as provided
pursuant to subsection (H). The supplemental State aid grants
provided for school districts under subsection (H) shall be
appropriated for distribution to school districts as part of
the same line item in which the general State financial aid
of school districts is appropriated under this Section.
(3) To receive financial assistance under this Section,
school districts are required to file claims with the State
Board of Education, subject to the following requirements:
(a) Any school district which fails for any given
school year to maintain school as required by law, or to
maintain a recognized school is not eligible to file for
such school year any claim upon the Common School Fund.
In case of nonrecognition of one or more attendance
centers in a school district otherwise operating
recognized schools, the claim of the district shall be
reduced in the proportion which the Average Daily
Attendance in the attendance center or centers bear to
the Average Daily Attendance in the school district. A
"recognized school" means any public school which meets
the standards as established for recognition by the State
Board of Education. A school district or attendance
center not having recognition status at the end of a
school term is entitled to receive State aid payments due
upon a legal claim which was filed while it was
recognized.
(b) School district claims filed under this Section
are subject to Sections 18-9, 18-10, and 18-12, except as
otherwise provided in this Section.
(c) If a school district operates a full year
school under Section 10-19.1, the general State aid to
the school district shall be determined by the State
Board of Education in accordance with this Section as
near as may be applicable.
(d) Claims for financial assistance under this
Section shall not be recomputed except as expressly
provided under this Section.
(4) Except as provided in subsections (H) and (L), the
board of any district receiving any of the grants provided
for in this Section may apply those funds to any fund so
received for which that board is authorized to make
expenditures by law.
School districts are not required to exert a minimum
Operating Tax Rate in order to qualify for assistance under
this Section.
(5) As used in this Section the following terms, when
capitalized, shall have the meaning ascribed herein:
(a) "Average Daily Attendance": A count of pupil
attendance in school, averaged as provided for in
subsection (C) and utilized in deriving per pupil
financial support levels.
(b) "Available Local Resources": A computation of
local financial support, calculated on the basis Average
Daily Attendance and derived as provided pursuant to
subsection (D).
(c) "Corporate Personal Property Replacement
Taxes": Funds paid to local school districts pursuant to
"An Act in relation to the abolition of ad valorem
personal property tax and the replacement of revenues
lost thereby, and amending and repealing certain Acts and
parts of Acts in connection therewith", certified August
14, 1979, as amended (Public Act 81-1st S.S.-1).
(d) "Foundation Level": A prescribed level of per
pupil financial support as provided for in subsection
(B).
(e) "Operating Tax Rate": All school district
property taxes extended for all purposes, except
community college educational purposes for the payment of
tuition under Section 6-1 of the Public Community College
Act, Bond and Interest, Summer School, Rent, Capital
Improvement, and Vocational Education Building purposes.
(B) Foundation Level.
(1) The Foundation Level is a figure established by the
State representing the minimum level of per pupil financial
support that should be available to provide for the basic
education of each pupil in Average Daily Attendance. As set
forth in this Section, each school district is assumed to
exert a sufficient local taxing effort such that, in
combination with the aggregate of general State financial aid
provided the district, an aggregate of State and local
resources are available to meet the basic education needs of
pupils in the district.
(2) For the 1998-1999 school year, the Foundation Level
of support is $4,225. For the 1999-2000 school year, the
Foundation Level of support is $4,325. For the 2000-2001
school year, the Foundation Level of support is $4,425.
(3) For the 2001-2002 school year and each school year
thereafter, the Foundation Level of support is $4,425 or such
greater amount as may be established by law by the General
Assembly.
(C) Average Daily Attendance.
(1) For purposes of calculating general State aid
pursuant to subsection (E), an Average Daily Attendance
figure shall be utilized. The Average Daily Attendance
figure for formula calculation purposes shall be the monthly
average of the actual number of pupils in attendance of each
school district, as further averaged for the best 3 months of
pupil attendance for each school district. In compiling the
figures for the number of pupils in attendance, school
districts and the State Board of Education shall, for
purposes of general State aid funding, conform attendance
figures to the requirements of subsection (F).
(2) The Average Daily Attendance figures utilized in
subsection (E) shall be the requisite attendance data for the
school year immediately preceding the school year for which
general State aid is being calculated.
(D) Available Local Resources.
(1) For purposes of calculating general State aid
pursuant to subsection (E), a representation of Available
Local Resources per pupil, as that term is defined and
determined in this subsection, shall be utilized. Available
Local Resources per pupil shall include a calculated dollar
amount representing local school district revenues from local
property taxes and from Corporate Personal Property
Replacement Taxes, expressed on the basis of pupils in
Average Daily Attendance.
(2) In determining a school district's revenue from
local property taxes, the State Board of Education shall
utilize the equalized assessed valuation of all taxable
property of each school district as of September 30 of the
previous year. The equalized assessed valuation utilized
shall be obtained and determined as provided in subsection
(G).
(3) For school districts maintaining grades kindergarten
through 12, local property tax revenues per pupil shall be
calculated as the product of the applicable equalized
assessed valuation for the district multiplied by 3.00%, and
divided by the district's Average Daily Attendance figure.
For school districts maintaining grades kindergarten through
8, local property tax revenues per pupil shall be calculated
as the product of the applicable equalized assessed valuation
for the district multiplied by 2.30%, and divided by the
district's Average Daily Attendance figure. For school
districts maintaining grades 9 through 12, local property tax
revenues per pupil shall be the applicable equalized assessed
valuation of the district multiplied by 1.20%, and divided by
the district's Average Daily Attendance figure.
(4) The Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes
paid to each school district during the calendar year 2 years
before the calendar year in which a school year begins,
divided by the Average Daily Attendance figure for that
district, shall be added to the local property tax revenues
per pupil as derived by the application of the immediately
preceding paragraph (3). The sum of these per pupil figures
for each school district shall constitute Available Local
Resources as that term is utilized in subsection (E) in the
calculation of general State aid.
(E) Computation of General State Aid.
(1) For each school year, the amount of general State
aid allotted to a school district shall be computed by the
State Board of Education as provided in this subsection.
(2) For any school district for which Available Local
Resources per pupil is less than the product of 0.93 times
the Foundation Level, general State aid for that district
shall be calculated as an amount equal to the Foundation
Level minus Available Local Resources, multiplied by the
Average Daily Attendance of the school district.
(3) For any school district for which Available Local
Resources per pupil is equal to or greater than the product
of 0.93 times the Foundation Level and less than the product
of 1.75 times the Foundation Level, the general State aid per
pupil shall be a decimal proportion of the Foundation Level
derived using a linear algorithm. Under this linear
algorithm, the calculated general State aid per pupil shall
decline in direct linear fashion from 0.07 times the
Foundation Level for a school district with Available Local
Resources equal to the product of 0.93 times the Foundation
Level, to 0.05 times the Foundation Level for a school
district with Available Local Resources equal to the product
of 1.75 times the Foundation Level. The allocation of
general State aid for school districts subject to this
paragraph 3 shall be the calculated general State aid per
pupil figure multiplied by the Average Daily Attendance of
the school district.
(4) For any school district for which Available Local
Resources per pupil equals or exceeds the product of 1.75
times the Foundation Level, the general State aid for the
school district shall be calculated as the product of $218
multiplied by the Average Daily Attendance of the school
district.
(F) Compilation of Average Daily Attendance.
(1) Each school district shall, by July 1 of each year,
submit to the State Board of Education, on forms prescribed
by the State Board of Education, attendance figures for the
school year that began in the preceding calendar year. The
attendance information so transmitted shall identify the
average daily attendance figures for each month of the school
year, except that any days of attendance in August shall be
added to the month of September and any days of attendance in
June shall be added to the month of May.
Except as otherwise provided in this Section, days of
attendance by pupils shall be counted only for sessions of
not less than 5 clock hours of school work per day under
direct supervision of: (i) teachers, or (ii) non-teaching
personnel or volunteer personnel when engaging in
non-teaching duties and supervising in those instances
specified in subsection (a) of Section 10-22.34 and paragraph
10 of Section 34-18, with pupils of legal school age and in
kindergarten and grades 1 through 12.
Days of attendance by tuition pupils shall be accredited
only to the districts that pay the tuition to a recognized
school.
(2) Days of attendance by pupils of less than 5 clock
hours of school shall be subject to the following provisions
in the compilation of Average Daily Attendance.
(a) Pupils regularly enrolled in a public school
for only a part of the school day may be counted on the
basis of 1/6 day for every class hour of instruction of
40 minutes or more attended pursuant to such enrollment.
(b) Days of attendance may be less than 5 clock
hours on the opening and closing of the school term, and
upon the first day of pupil attendance, if preceded by a
day or days utilized as an institute or teachers'
workshop.
(c) A session of 4 or more clock hours may be
counted as a day of attendance upon certification by the
regional superintendent, and approved by the State
Superintendent of Education to the extent that the
district has been forced to use daily multiple sessions.
(d) A session of 3 or more clock hours may be
counted as a day of attendance (1) when the remainder of
the school day or at least 2 hours in the evening of that
day is utilized for an in-service training program for
teachers, up to a maximum of 5 days per school year of
which a maximum of 4 days of such 5 days may be used for
parent-teacher conferences, provided a district conducts
an in-service training program for teachers which has
been approved by the State Superintendent of Education;
or, in lieu of 4 such days, 2 full days may be used, in
which event each such day may be counted as a day of
attendance; and (2) when days in addition to those
provided in item (1) are scheduled by a school pursuant
to its school improvement plan adopted under Article 34
or its revised or amended school improvement plan adopted
under Article 2, provided that (i) such sessions of 3 or
more clock hours are scheduled to occur at regular
intervals, (ii) the remainder of the school days in which
such sessions occur are utilized for in-service training
programs or other staff development activities for
teachers, and (iii) a sufficient number of minutes of
school work under the direct supervision of teachers are
added to the school days between such regularly scheduled
sessions to accumulate not less than the number of
minutes by which such sessions of 3 or more clock hours
fall short of 5 clock hours. Any full days used for the
purposes of this paragraph shall not be considered for
computing average daily attendance. Days scheduled for
in-service training programs, staff development
activities, or parent-teacher conferences may be
scheduled separately for different grade levels and
different attendance centers of the district.
(e) A session of not less than one clock hour
teaching of hospitalized or homebound pupils on-site or
by telephone to the classroom may be counted as 1/2 day
of attendance, however these pupils must receive 4 or
more clock hours of instruction to be counted for a full
day of attendance.
(f) A session of at least 4 clock hours may be
counted as a day of attendance for first grade pupils,
and pupils in full day kindergartens, and a session of 2
or more hours may be counted as 1/2 day of attendance by
pupils in kindergartens which provide only 1/2 day of
attendance.
(g) For children with disabilities who are below
the age of 6 years and who cannot attend 2 or more clock
hours because of their disability or immaturity, a
session of not less than one clock hour may be counted as
1/2 day of attendance; however for such children whose
educational needs so require a session of 4 or more clock
hours may be counted as a full day of attendance.
(h) A recognized kindergarten which provides for
only 1/2 day of attendance by each pupil shall not have
more than 1/2 day of attendance counted in any 1 day.
However, kindergartens may count 2 1/2 days of attendance
in any 5 consecutive school days. When a pupil attends
such a kindergarten for 2 half days on any one school
day, the pupil shall have the following day as a day
absent from school, unless the school district obtains
permission in writing from the State Superintendent of
Education. Attendance at kindergartens which provide for
a full day of attendance by each pupil shall be counted
the same as attendance by first grade pupils. Only the
first year of attendance in one kindergarten shall be
counted, except in case of children who entered the
kindergarten in their fifth year whose educational
development requires a second year of kindergarten as
determined under the rules and regulations of the State
Board of Education.
(G) Equalized Assessed Valuation Data.
(1) For purposes of the calculation of Available Local
Resources required pursuant to subsection (D), the State
Board of Education shall secure from the Department of
Revenue the value as equalized or assessed by the Department
of Revenue of all taxable property of every school district
together with the applicable tax rate used in extending taxes
for the funds of the district as of September 30 of the
previous year.
This equalized assessed valuation, as adjusted further by
the requirements of this subsection, shall be utilized in the
calculation of Available Local Resources.
(2) The equalized assessed valuation in paragraph (1)
shall be adjusted, as applicable, in the following manner:
(a) For the purposes of calculating State aid under
this Section, with respect to any part of a school
district within a redevelopment project area in respect
to which a municipality has adopted tax increment
allocation financing pursuant to the Tax Increment
Allocation Redevelopment Act, Sections 11-74.4-1 through
11-74.4-11 of the Illinois Municipal Code or the
Industrial Jobs Recovery Law, Sections 11-74.6-1 through
11-74.6-50 of the Illinois Municipal Code, no part of the
current equalized assessed valuation of real property
located in any such project area which is attributable to
an increase above the total initial equalized assessed
valuation of such property shall be used as part of the
equalized assessed valuation of the district, until such
time as all redevelopment project costs have been paid,
as provided in Section 11-74.4-8 of the Tax Increment
Allocation Redevelopment Act or in Section 11-74.6-35 of
the Industrial Jobs Recovery Law. For the purpose of the
equalized assessed valuation of the district, the total
initial equalized assessed valuation or the current
equalized assessed valuation, whichever is lower, shall
be used until such time as all redevelopment project
costs have been paid.
(b) The real property equalized assessed valuation
for a school district shall be adjusted by subtracting
from the real property value as equalized or assessed by
the Department of Revenue for the district an amount
computed by dividing the amount of any abatement of taxes
under Section 18-170 of the Property Tax Code by 3.00%
for a district maintaining grades kindergarten through 12
or by 2.30% for a district maintaining grades
kindergarten through 8, or by 1.20% for a district
maintaining grades 9 through 12 and adjusted by an amount
computed by dividing the amount of any abatement of taxes
under subsection (a) of Section 18-165 of the Property
Tax Code by the same percentage rates for district type
as specified in this subparagraph (c).
(H) Supplemental General State Aid.
(1) In addition to the general State aid a school
district is allotted pursuant to subsection (E), qualifying
school districts shall receive a grant, paid in conjunction
with a district's payments of general State aid, for
supplemental general State aid based upon the concentration
level of children from low-income households within the
school district. Supplemental State aid grants provided for
school districts under this subsection shall be appropriated
for distribution to school districts as part of the same line
item in which the general State financial aid of school
districts is appropriated under this Section. For purposes of
this subsection, the term "Low-Income Concentration Level"
shall be the low-income eligible pupil count from the most
recently available federal census divided by the Average
Daily Attendance of the school district.
(2) Supplemental general State aid pursuant to this
subsection shall be provided as follows:
(a) For any school district with a Low Income
Concentration Level of at least 20% and less than 35%,
the grant for any school year shall be $800 multiplied by
the low income eligible pupil count.
(b) For any school district with a Low Income
Concentration Level of at least 35% and less than 50%,
the grant for the 1998-1999 school year shall be $1,100
multiplied by the low income eligible pupil count.
(c) For any school district with a Low Income
Concentration Level of at least 50% and less than 60%,
the grant for the 1998-99 school year shall be $1,500
multiplied by the low income eligible pupil count.
(d) For any school district with a Low Income
Concentration Level of 60% or more, the grant for the
1998-99 school year shall be $1,900 multiplied by the low
income eligible pupil count.
(e) For the 1999-2000 school year, the per pupil
amount specified in subparagraphs (b), (c), and (d),
immediately above shall be increased by $100 to $1,200,
$1,600, and $2,000, respectively.
(f) For the 2000-2001 school year, the per pupil
amounts specified in subparagraphs (b), (c) and (d)
immediately above shall be increased to $1,230, $1,640,
and $2,050, respectively.
(3) School districts with an Average Daily Attendance of
more than 1,000 and less than 50,000 that qualify for
supplemental general State aid pursuant to this subsection
shall submit a plan to the State Board of Education prior to
October 30 of each year for the use of the funds resulting
from this grant of supplemental general State aid for the
improvement of instruction in which priority is given to
meeting the education needs of disadvantaged children. Such
plan shall be submitted in accordance with rules and
regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education.
(4) School districts with an Average Daily Attendance of
50,000 or more that qualify for supplemental general State
aid pursuant to this subsection shall be required to
distribute from funds available pursuant to this Section, no
less than $261,000,000 in accordance with the following
requirements:
(a) The required amounts shall be distributed to
the attendance centers within the district in proportion
to the number of pupils enrolled at each attendance
center who are eligible to receive free or reduced-price
lunches or breakfasts under the federal Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 and under the National School Lunch Act
during the immediately preceding school year.
(b) The distribution of these portions of
supplemental and general State aid among attendance
centers according to these requirements shall not be
compensated for or contravened by adjustments of the
total of other funds appropriated to any attendance
centers, and the Board of Education shall utilize funding
from one or several sources in order to fully implement
this provision annually prior to the opening of school.
(c) Each attendance center shall be provided by the
school district a distribution of noncategorical funds
and other categorical funds to which an attendance center
is entitled under law in order that the general State aid
and supplemental general State aid provided by
application of this subsection supplements rather than
supplants the noncategorical funds and other categorical
funds provided by the school district to the attendance
centers.
(d) Any funds made available under this subsection
that by reason of the provisions of this subsection are
not required to be allocated and provided to attendance
centers may be used and appropriated by the board of the
district for any lawful school purpose.
(e) Funds received by an attendance center pursuant
to this subsection shall be used by the attendance center
at the discretion of the principal and local school
council for programs to improve educational opportunities
at qualifying schools through the following programs and
services: early childhood education, reduced class size
or improved adult to student classroom ratio, enrichment
programs, remedial assistance, attendance improvement and
other educationally beneficial expenditures which
supplement the regular and basic programs as determined
by the State Board of Education. Funds provided shall
not be expended for any political or lobbying purposes as
defined by board rule.
(f) Each district subject to the provisions of this
subdivision (H)(4) shall submit an acceptable plan to
meet the educational needs of disadvantaged children, in
compliance with the requirements of this paragraph, to
the State Board of Education prior to July 15 of each
year. This plan shall be consistent with the decisions of
local school councils concerning the school expenditure
plans developed in accordance with part 4 of Section
34-2.3. The State Board shall approve or reject the plan
within 60 days after its submission. If the plan is
rejected, the district shall give written notice of
intent to modify the plan within 15 days of the
notification of rejection and then submit a modified plan
within 30 days after the date of the written notice of
intent to modify. Districts may amend approved plans
pursuant to rules promulgated by the State Board of
Education.
Upon notification by the State Board of Education
that the district has not submitted a plan prior to July
15 or a modified plan within the time period specified
herein, the State aid funds affected by that plan or
modified plan shall be withheld by the State Board of
Education until a plan or modified plan is submitted.
If the district fails to distribute State aid to
attendance centers in accordance with an approved plan,
the plan for the following year shall allocate funds, in
addition to the funds otherwise required by this
subsection, to those attendance centers which were
underfunded during the previous year in amounts equal to
such underfunding.
For purposes of determining compliance with this
subsection in relation to the requirements of attendance
center funding, each district subject to the provisions
of this subsection shall submit as a separate document by
December 1 of each year a report of expenditure data for
the prior year in addition to any modification of its
current plan. If it is determined that there has been a
failure to comply with the expenditure provisions of this
subsection regarding contravention or supplanting, the
State Superintendent of Education shall, within 60 days
of receipt of the report, notify the district and any
affected local school council. The district shall within
45 days of receipt of that notification inform the State
Superintendent of Education of the remedial or corrective
action to be taken, whether by amendment of the current
plan, if feasible, or by adjustment in the plan for the
following year. Failure to provide the expenditure
report or the notification of remedial or corrective
action in a timely manner shall result in a withholding
of the affected funds.
The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules
and regulations to implement the provisions of this
subsection. No funds shall be released under this
subdivision (H)(4) to any district that has not submitted
a plan that has been approved by the State Board of
Education.
(I) General State Aid for Newly Configured School Districts.
(1) For a new school district formed by combining
property included totally within 2 or more previously
existing school districts, for its first year of existence
the general State aid and supplemental general State aid
calculated under this Section shall be computed for the new
district and for the previously existing districts for which
property is totally included within the new district. If the
computation on the basis of the previously existing districts
is greater, a supplementary payment equal to the difference
shall be made for the first 4 years of existence of the new
district.
(2) For a school district which annexes all of the
territory of one or more entire other school districts, for
the first year during which the change of boundaries
attributable to such annexation becomes effective for all
purposes as determined under Section 7-9 or 7A-8, the general
State aid and supplemental general State aid calculated under
this Section shall be computed for the annexing district as
constituted after the annexation and for the annexing and
each annexed district as constituted prior to the annexation;
and if the computation on the basis of the annexing and
annexed districts as constituted prior to the annexation is
greater, a supplementary payment equal to the difference
shall be made for the first 4 years of existence of the
annexing school district as constituted upon such annexation.
(3) For 2 or more school districts which annex all of
the territory of one or more entire other school districts,
and for 2 or more community unit districts which result upon
the division (pursuant to petition under Section 11A-2) of
one or more other unit school districts into 2 or more parts
and which together include all of the parts into which such
other unit school district or districts are so divided, for
the first year during which the change of boundaries
attributable to such annexation or division becomes effective
for all purposes as determined under Section 7-9 or 11A-10,
as the case may be, the general State aid and supplemental
general State aid calculated under this Section shall be
computed for each annexing or resulting district as
constituted after the annexation or division and for each
annexing and annexed district, or for each resulting and
divided district, as constituted prior to the annexation or
division; and if the aggregate of the general State aid and
supplemental general State aid as so computed for the
annexing or resulting districts as constituted after the
annexation or division is less than the aggregate of the
general State aid and supplemental general State aid as so
computed for the annexing and annexed districts, or for the
resulting and divided districts, as constituted prior to the
annexation or division, then a supplementary payment equal to
the difference shall be made and allocated between or among
the annexing or resulting districts, as constituted upon such
annexation or division, for the first 4 years of their
existence. The total difference payment shall be allocated
between or among the annexing or resulting districts in the
same ratio as the pupil enrollment from that portion of the
annexed or divided district or districts which is annexed to
or included in each such annexing or resulting district bears
to the total pupil enrollment from the entire annexed or
divided district or districts, as such pupil enrollment is
determined for the school year last ending prior to the date
when the change of boundaries attributable to the annexation
or division becomes effective for all purposes. The amount
of the total difference payment and the amount thereof to be
allocated to the annexing or resulting districts shall be
computed by the State Board of Education on the basis of
pupil enrollment and other data which shall be certified to
the State Board of Education, on forms which it shall provide
for that purpose, by the regional superintendent of schools
for each educational service region in which the annexing and
annexed districts, or resulting and divided districts are
located.
(4) Any supplementary payment made under this subsection
(I) shall be treated as separate from all other payments made
pursuant to this Section.
(J) Supplementary Grants in Aid.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
Section, the amount of the aggregate general State aid in
combination with supplemental general State aid under this
Section for which each school district is eligible for the
1998-1999 school year shall be no less than the amount of the
aggregate general State aid entitlement that was received by
the district under Section 18-8 (exclusive of amounts
received under subsections 5(p) and 5(p-5) of that Section)
for the 1997-98 school year, pursuant to the provisions of
that Section as it was then in effect. If a school district
qualifies to receive a supplementary payment made under this
subsection (J) for the 1998-1999 school year, the amount of
the aggregate general State aid in combination with
supplemental general State aid under this Section which that
district is eligible to receive for each school year
subsequent to the 1998-1999 school year shall be no less than
the amount of the aggregate general State aid entitlement
that was received by the district under Section 18-8
(exclusive of amounts received under subsections 5(p) and
5(p-5) of that Section) for the 1997-1998 school year,
pursuant to the provisions of that Section as it was then in
effect.
(2) If, as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection
(J), a school district is to receive aggregate general State
aid in combination with supplemental general State aid under
this Section for the 1998-99 school year, or for the 1998-99
school year and any subsequent school year, that in any such
school year is less than the amount of the aggregate general
State aid entitlement that the district received for the
1997-98 school year, the school district shall also receive,
from a separate appropriation made for purposes of this
subsection (J), a supplementary payment that is equal to the
amount of the difference in the aggregate State aid figures
as described in paragraph (1).
(3) If the amount appropriated for supplementary
payments to school districts under this subsection (J) is
insufficient for that purpose, the supplementary payments
that districts are to receive under this subsection shall be
prorated according to the aggregate amount of the
appropriation made for purposes of this subsection.
(K) Grants to Laboratory and Alternative Schools.
In calculating the amount to be paid to the governing
board of a public university that operates a laboratory
school under this Section or to any alternative school that
is operated by a regional superintendent, the State Board of
Education shall require by rule such reporting requirements
as it deems necessary.
As used in this Section, "laboratory school" means a
public school which is created and operated by a public
university and approved by the State Board of Education. The
governing board of a public university which receives funds
from the State Board under this subsection (K) may not
increase the number of students enrolled in its laboratory
school from a single district, if that district is already
sending 50 or more students, except under a mutual agreement
between the school board of a student's district of residence
and the university which operates the laboratory school. A
laboratory school may not have more than 1,000 students,
excluding students with disabilities in a special education
program.
As used in this Section, "alternative school" means a
public school which is created and operated by a Regional
Superintendent of Schools and approved by the State Board of
Education. Such alternative schools may offer courses of
instruction for which credit is given in regular school
programs, courses to prepare students for the high school
equivalency testing program or vocational and occupational
training.
Each laboratory and alternative school shall file, on
forms provided by the State Superintendent of Education, an
annual State aid claim which states the Average Daily
Attendance of the school's students by month. The best 3
months' Average Daily Attendance shall be computed for each
school. The general State aid entitlement shall be computed
by multiplying the applicable Average Daily Attendance by the
Foundation Level as determined under this Section.
(L) Payments, Additional Grants in Aid and Other
Requirements.
(1) For a school district operating under the financial
supervision of an Authority created under Article 34A, the
general State aid otherwise payable to that district under
this Section, but not the supplemental general State aid,
shall be reduced by an amount equal to the budget for the
operations of the Authority as certified by the Authority to
the State Board of Education, and an amount equal to such
reduction shall be paid to the Authority created for such
district for its operating expenses in the manner provided in
Section 18-11. The remainder of general State school aid for
any such district shall be paid in accordance with Article
34A when that Article provides for a disposition other than
that provided by this Article.
(2) Impaction. Impaction payments shall be made as
provided for in Section 18-4.2.
(3) Summer school. Summer school payments shall be made
as provided in Section 18-4.3.
(M) Education Funding Advisory Board.
The Education Funding Advisory Board, hereinafter in this
subsection (M) referred to as the "Board", is hereby created.
The Board shall consist of 5 members who are appointed by the
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The members appointed shall include representatives of
education, business, and the general public. One of the
members so appointed shall be designated by the Governor at
the time the appointment is made as the chairperson of the
Board. The initial members of the Board may be appointed any
time after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997.
The regular term of each member of the Board shall be for 4
years from the third Monday of January of the year in which
the term of the member's appointment is to commence, except
that of the 5 initial members appointed to serve on the
Board, the member who is appointed as the chairperson shall
serve for a term that commences on the date of his or her
appointment and expires on the third Monday of January, 2002,
and the remaining 4 members, by lots drawn at the first
meeting of the Board that is held after all 5 members are
appointed, shall determine 2 of their number to serve for
terms that commence on the date of their respective
appointments and expire on the third Monday of January, 2001,
and 2 of their number to serve for terms that commence on the
date of their respective appointments and expire on the third
Monday of January, 2000. All members appointed to serve on
the Board shall serve until their respective successors are
appointed and confirmed. Vacancies shall be filled in the
same manner as original appointments. If a vacancy in
membership occurs at a time when the Senate is not in
session, the Governor shall make a temporary appointment
until the next meeting of the Senate, when he or she shall
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a
person to fill that membership for the unexpired term. If
the Senate is not in session when the initial appointments
are made, those appointments shall be made as in the case of
vacancies.
The Education Funding Advisory Board shall be deemed
established, and the initial members appointed by the
Governor to serve as members of the Board shall take office,
on the date that the Governor makes his or her appointment of
the fifth initial member of the Board, whether those initial
members are then serving pursuant to appointment and
confirmation or pursuant to temporary appointments that are
made by the Governor as in the case of vacancies.
The State Board of Education shall provide such staff
assistance to the Education Funding Advisory Board as is
reasonably required for the proper performance by the Board
of its responsibilities.
For school years after the 2000-2001 school year, the
Education Funding Advisory Board, in consultation with the
State Board of Education, shall make recommendations as
provided in this subsection (M) to the General Assembly for
the foundation level under subdivision (B)(3) of this Section
and for the supplemental general State aid grant level under
subsection (H) of this Section for districts with high
concentrations of children from poverty. The recommended
foundation level shall be determined based on a methodology
which incorporates the basic education expenditures of
low-spending schools exhibiting high academic performance.
The Education Funding Advisory Board shall make such
recommendations to the General Assembly on January 1 of odd
numbered years, beginning January 1, 2001.
(N) General State Aid Adjustment Grant.
(1) Any school district subject to property tax
extension limitations as imposed under the provisions of the
Property Tax Extension Limitation Law shall be entitled to
receive, subject to the qualifications and requirements of
this subsection, a general State aid adjustment grant.
Eligibility for this grant shall be determined on an annual
basis and claims for grant payments shall be paid subject to
appropriations made specific to this subsection. For
purposes of this subsection the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
"Budget Year": The school year for which general State
aid is calculated and awarded under subsection (E).
"Current Year": The school year immediately preceding
the Budget Year.
"Base Tax Year": The property tax levy year used to
calculate the Budget Year allocation of general State aid.
"Preceding Tax Year": The property tax levy year
immediately preceding the Base Tax Year.
"Extension Limitation Ratio": A numerical ratio,
certified by a school district's County Clerk, in which the
numerator is the Base Tax Year's tax extension amount
resulting from the Operating Tax Rate and the denominator is
the Preceding Tax Year's tax extension amount resulting from
the Operating Tax Rate.
"Operating Tax Rate": The operating tax rate as defined
in subsection (A).
(2) To qualify for a general State aid adjustment grant,
a school district must meet all of the following eligibility
criteria for each Budget Year for which a grant is claimed:
(a) The Operating Tax Rate of the school district
in the Preceding Tax Year was at least 3.00% in the case
of a school district maintaining grades kindergarten
through 12, at least 2.30% in the case of a school
district maintaining grades kindergarten through 8, or at
least 1.41% in the case of a school district maintaining
grades 9 through 12.
(b) The Operating Tax Rate of the school district
for the Base Tax Year was reduced by the Clerk of the
County as a result of the requirements of the Property
Tax Extension Limitation Law.
(c) The Available Local Resources per pupil of the
school district as calculated pursuant to subsection (D)
using the Base Tax Year are less than the product of 1.75
times the Foundation Level for the Budget Year.
(d) The school district has filed a proper and
timely claim for a general State aid adjustment grant as
required under this subsection.
(3) A claim for grant assistance under this subsection
shall be filed with the State Board of Education on or before
January 1 of the Current Year for a grant for the Budget
Year. The claim shall be made on forms prescribed by the
State Board of Education and must be accompanied by a written
statement from the Clerk of the County, certifying:
(a) That the school district has its extension for
the Base Tax Year reduced as a result of the Property Tax
Extension Limitation Law.
(b) That the Operating Tax Rate of the school
district for the Preceding Tax Year met the tax rate
requirements of subdivision (N)(2) of this Section.
(c) The Extension Limitation Ratio as that term is
defined in this subsection.
(4) On or before August 1 of the Budget Year the State
Board of Education shall calculate, for all school districts
meeting the other requirements of this subsection, the amount
of the general State aid adjustment grant, if any, that the
school districts are eligible to receive in the Budget Year.
The amount of the general State aid adjustment grant shall be
calculated as follows:
(a) Determine the school district's general State
aid grant for the Budget Year as provided in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (E).
(b) Determine the school district's adjusted level
of general State aid by utilizing in the calculation of
Available Local Resources an equalized assessed valuation
that is the equalized assessed valuation of the Preceding
Tax Year multiplied by the Extension Limitation Ratio.
(c) Subtract the sum derived in subparagraph (a)
from the sum derived in subparagraph (b). If the result
is a positive number, that amount shall be the general
State aid adjustment grant that the district is eligible
to receive.
(5) The State Board of Education shall in the Current
Year, based upon claims filed in the Current Year, recommend
to the General Assembly an appropriation amount for the
general State aid adjustment grants to be made in the Budget
Year.
(6) Claims for general State aid adjustment grants shall
be paid in a lump sum on or before January 1 of the Budget
Year only from appropriations made by the General Assembly
expressly for claims under this subsection. No such claims
may be paid from amounts appropriated for any other purpose
provided for under this Section. In the event that the
appropriation for claims under this subsection is
insufficient to meet all Budget Year claims for a general
State aid adjustment grant, the appropriation available shall
be proportionately prorated by the State Board of Education
amongst all districts filing for and entitled to payments.
(7) The State Board of Education shall promulgate the
required claim forms and rules necessary to implement the
provisions of this subsection.
(O) References.
(1) References in other laws to the various subdivisions
of Section 18-8 as that Section existed before its repeal and
replacement by this Section 18-8.05 shall be deemed to refer
to the corresponding provisions of this Section 18-8.05, to
the extent that those references remain applicable.
(2) References in other laws to State Chapter 1 funds
shall be deemed to refer to the supplemental general State
aid provided under subsection (H) of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 7-1-98.)
Section 10. The General State Aid Continuing
Appropriation Law is amended by changing Sections 15-5,
15-10, 15-15, and 15-20 as follows:
(105 ILCS 235/15-5)
Sec. 15-5. Short title. This Article may be cited as
the General State Aid Continuing Appropriation Law.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 12-4-97.)
(105 ILCS 235/15-10)
Sec. 15-10. Annual budget; recommendation. The Governor
shall include a Common School Fund recommendation to the
State Board of Education in the fiscal year 1999 through 2001
annual Budgets sufficient to fund (i) the General State Aid
Formula set forth in subsection (E) (Computation of General
State Aid) and subsection (H) (Supplemental General State
Aid) of Section 18-8.05 of the School Code and (ii) the
supplementary payments for school districts set forth in
subsection (J) (Supplementary Grants in Aid) of Section
18-8.05 of the School Code.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 12-4-97.)
(105 ILCS 235/15-15)
Sec. 15-15. General State Aid Formula; Funding. The
General Assembly shall annually make Common School Fund
appropriations to the State Board of Education in fiscal
years 1999 through 2001 sufficient to fund (i) the General
State Aid Formula set forth in subsection (E) (Computation of
General State Aid) and subsection (H) (Supplemental General
State Aid) of Section 18-8.05 of the School Code and (ii) the
supplementary payments for school districts set forth in
subsection (J) (Supplementary Grants in Aid) of Section
18-8.05 of the School Code.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 12-4-97.)
(105 ILCS 235/15-20)
Sec. 15-20. Continuing appropriation. If the General
Assembly fails to make Common School Fund appropriations to
the State Board of Education in fiscal years 1999 through
2001 sufficient to fund (i) the General State Aid Formula set
forth in subsection (E) (Computation of General State Aid)
and subsection (H) (Supplemental General State Aid) of
Section 18-8.05 of the School Code and (ii) the supplementary
payments for school districts set forth in subsection (J)
(Supplementary Grants in Aid) of Section 18-8.05 of the
School Code, this Article shall constitute an irrevocable and
continuing appropriation from the Common School Fund of all
amounts necessary for those purposes that purpose.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 12-4-97.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law, except the change to Section 18-8.05 of the
School Code takes effect July 1, 1998.