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Public Act 098-0783 Public Act 0783 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
Public Act 098-0783 | HB3232 Enrolled | LRB098 07648 NHT 37720 b |
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| 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 | 27A-4 and 27A-5 and by adding Sections 27A-10.5 and 27A-10.10 | as follows:
| (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
| Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
| (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend | the provisions
of any court-ordered desegregation plan in | effect for any school district. A
charter school shall be | subject to all federal and State laws and
constitutional | provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
| disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, | religion, ancestry,
marital status, or need for special | education services.
| (b) The total number of charter schools operating under | this Article at any
one time shall not exceed 120. Not more | than 70 charter
schools
shall operate at any one time in any | city having a population exceeding
500,000, with at least 5 | charter schools devoted exclusively to students from | low-performing or overcrowded schools operating at any one time | in that city; and not more than 45
charter schools shall |
| operate at any one time in the remainder of the State, with not
| more than one charter school that
has been initiated by a board | of education, or
by an intergovernmental agreement between or | among boards of education,
operating at any one
time in the | school district where the charter school is located. In | addition to these charter schools, up to but no more than 5 | charter schools devoted exclusively to re-enrolled high school | dropouts and/or students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping | out may operate at any one time in any city having a population | exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the | contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A-5 of this Code, each | such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the | city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875 | enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout | charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each | campus of the dropout charter must be operated, through a | contract or payroll, by the same legal entity as that for which | the charter is approved and certified.
| For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board | shall assign a
number to each charter submission it receives | under Section 27A-6 for its
review and certification, based on | the chronological order in which the
submission is received by | it. The State Board shall promptly notify local
school boards | when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools | authorized
to operate have been reached.
| (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that |
| would convert any
existing private, parochial, or non-public | school to a charter school.
| (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any | pupil who resides
within the geographic boundaries of the area | served by the local school board, provided that the board of | education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may | designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of | the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of | education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to | relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk | students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may | be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to | attend the charter school.
| (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local | school boards from
jointly
issuing a charter to a single shared | charter school, provided that all of the
provisions of this | Article are met as to those local school boards.
| (f) No local school board shall require any employee of the | school district
to be employed in a charter school.
| (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing | within the
geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a | charter school.
| (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in | a charter school
than there are spaces available, successful | applicants shall be selected by
lottery. However, priority | shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in
the charter |
| school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school | the
previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and | priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter | school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated | by the board of education in a city having a population | exceeding 500,000. | Beginning with student enrollment for the 2015-2016 school | year, any lottery required under this subsection (h) must be | administered and videotaped by the charter school. The | authorizer or its designee must be allowed to be present or | view the lottery in real time. The charter school must maintain | a videotaped record of the lottery, including a time/date | stamp. The charter school shall transmit copies of the | videotape and all records relating to the lottery to the | authorizer on or before September 1 of each year. | Subject to the requirements for priority applicant groups | set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (h), any lottery | required under this subsection (h) must be administered in a | way that provides each student an equal chance at admission. If | an authorizer makes a determination that a charter school's | lottery is in violation of this subsection (h), it may | administer the lottery directly. After a lottery, each student | randomly selected for admission to the charter school must be | notified. Charter schools may not create an admissions process | subsequent to a lottery that may operate as a barrier to | registration or enrollment. |
| Charter schools may undertake additional intake | activities, including without limitation student essays, | school-parent compacts, or open houses, but in no event may a | charter school require participation in these activities as a | condition of enrollment. A charter school must submit an | updated waitlist to the authorizer on a quarterly basis. A | waitlist must be submitted to the authorizer at the same time | as quarterly financial statements, if quarterly financial | statements are required by the authorizer. | Dual enrollment at both a
charter school and a public | school or non-public school shall not be allowed.
A pupil who | is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed | to
be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the | school district in
which the pupil resides. Notwithstanding | anything to the contrary in this subsection (h): | (1) any charter school with a mission exclusive to | educating high school dropouts may grant priority | admission to students who are high school dropouts and/or | students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping out and any | charter school with a mission exclusive to educating | students from low-performing or overcrowded schools may | restrict admission to students who are from low-performing | or overcrowded schools; "priority admission" for charter | schools exclusively devoted to re-enrolled dropouts or | students at risk of dropping out means a minimum of 90% of | students enrolled shall be high school dropouts; and
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| (2) any charter school located in a school district | that contains all or part of a federal military base may | set aside up to 33% of its current charter enrollment to | students with parents assigned to the federal military | base, with the remaining 67% subject to the general | enrollment and lottery requirements of subsection (d) of | this Section and this subsection (h); if a student with a | parent assigned to the federal military base withdraws from | the charter school during the course of a school year for | reasons other than grade promotion, those students with | parents assigned to the federal military base shall have | preference in filling the vacancy. | (i) (Blank).
| (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the | contrary, a
school district in a city having a population | exceeding 500,000 shall not
have a duty to collectively bargain | with an exclusive representative of its
employees over | decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal
under | Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a | charter
under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of | these decisions,
provided that nothing in this Section shall | have the effect of negating,
abrogating, replacing, reducing, | diminishing, or limiting in any way
employee rights, | guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8,
10, | 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
| (k) In this Section: |
| "Low-performing school" means a public school in a school | district organized under Article 34 of this Code that enrolls | students in any of grades kindergarten through 8 and that is | ranked within the lowest 10% of schools in that district in | terms of the percentage of students meeting or exceeding | standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. | "Overcrowded school" means a public school in a school | district organized under Article 34 of this Code that (i) | enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 8, (ii) | has a percentage of low-income students of 70% or more, as | identified in the most recently available School Report Card | published by the State Board of Education, and (iii) is | determined by the Chicago Board of Education to be in the most | severely overcrowded 5% of schools in the district. On or | before November 1 of each year, the Chicago Board of Education | shall file a report with the State Board of Education on which | schools in the district meet the definition of "overcrowded | school". "Students at risk of dropping out" means students 16 | or 15 years old in a public school in a district organized | under Article 34 of this Code that enrolls students in any | grades 9-12 who have been absent at least 90 school attendance | days of the previous 180 school attendance days. | (l) For advertisements created after the effective date of | this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, any | advertisement, including a radio, television, print, Internet, | social media, or billboard advertisement, purchased by a school |
| district or public school, including a charter school, with | public funds must include a disclaimer stating that the | advertisement was paid for using public funds. | This disclaimer requirement does not extend to materials | created by the charter school, including, but not limited to, a | school website, informational pamphlets or leaflets, or | clothing with affixed school logos. | (Source: P.A. 97-151, eff. 1-1-12; 97-624, eff. 11-28-11; | 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-474, eff. 8-16-13.)
| (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
| school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the |
| 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | Act. | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | the teaching of courses through online methods with online | instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at | the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes | without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online | virtual schools. | From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | prior to April 1, 2013. | On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | the General Assembly a report on the effect of | virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | student performance, the costs associated with | virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
| (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner |
| provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | Meetings Act.
| (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
| (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | instructional materials, and student activities.
| (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of | public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of | operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer | and Annually, by December 1, every charter school must submit | to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form | 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for | proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer | may require quarterly financial statements from each charter | school.
| (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of |
| this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
| its charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State | laws and regulations in the School Code
governing public
| schools and local school board policies, except the following:
| (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of the | Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and | Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | employment;
| (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | regarding discipline of
students;
| (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | Tort Immunity Act;
| (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;
| (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | report cards; and
| (8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act. | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | is declaratory of existing law. | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | university or public community college, or
any other public or |
| for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | school building and grounds or any other real property or | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| manage or operate the school during the period that commences | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | of a State college or university or public community college
| shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is |
| deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | grade level.
| (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | then the Commission charter school is its own local education | agency. | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; | 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)
| (105 ILCS 5/27A-10.5 new) | Sec. 27A-10.5. Educational or charter management | organization. | (a) In this Section: | "CMO" means a charter management organization. | "EMO" means an educational management organization. | (b) All authorizers shall ensure that any charter school | established on or after the effective date of this amendatory | Act of the 98th General Assembly has a governing body that is | separate and distinct from the governing body of any CMO or | EMO. In reviewing charter applications and charter renewal | applications, authorizers shall review the governance model |
| proposed by the applicant to ensure that there are no conflicts | of interest. | (c) No charter school may employ a staff person who is | simultaneously employed by an EMO or CMO. | (105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10 new) | Sec. 27A-10.10. Closure of charter school; unspent public | funds; procedures for the disposition of property and assets. | (a) Upon the closing of a charter school authorized by one | or more local school boards, the governing body of the charter | school or its designee shall refund to the chartering entity or | entities all unspent public funds. The charter school's other | property and assets shall be disposed of under the provisions | of the charter application and contract. If the application and | contract are silent or ambiguous as to the disposition of any | of the school's property or assets, any property or assets of | the charter school purchased with public funds shall be | returned to the school district or districts from which the | charter school draws enrollment, at no cost to the receiving | district or districts, subject to each district's acceptance of | the property or asset. Any unspent public funds or other | property or assets received by the charter school directly from | any State or federal agency shall be refunded to or revert back | to that State or federal agency, respectively. | (b) Upon the closing of a charter school authorized by the | Commission, the governing body of the charter school or its |
| designee shall refund all unspent public funds to the State | Board of Education. The charter school's other property and | assets shall be disposed of under the provisions of the charter | application and contract. If the application and contract are | silent or ambiguous as to the disposition of any of the | school's property or assets, any property or assets of the | charter school purchased with public funds shall be returned to | the school district or districts from which the charter school | draws its enrollment, at no cost to the receiving district or | districts, subject to each district's acceptance of the | property or asset. Any unspent public funds or other property | or assets provided by a State agency other than the State Board | of Education or by a federal agency shall be refunded to or | revert back to that State or federal agency, respectively.
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Effective Date: 1/1/2015
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