(105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
(Text of Section from P.A. 103-175) Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
(a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the local school board and the State Board for certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a proposed contract
entered
into between the local school board and the governing body of a proposed
charter school. The
charter school proposal shall include:
(1) The name of the proposed charter school, which |
| must include the words "Charter School".
|
|
(2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
|
| and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the charter school, and any other admission criteria that would be legal if used by a school district.
|
|
(3) A description of and address for the physical
|
| plant in which the charter school will be located; provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or approval of a charter school proposal because the building or buildings in which the charter school is to be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter school contract is entered into or submitted for certification or certified, so long as the proposal or submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are potentially available as a charter school facility by the time the charter school is to open.
|
|
(4) The mission statement of the charter school,
|
| which must be consistent with the General Assembly's declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article shall be construed to require that, in order to receive favorable consideration and approval, a charter school proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will be able to meet each of those declared purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that charter schools must aspire to attain.
|
|
(5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
|
| standards to be achieved by the charter school.
|
|
(6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
|
| school by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of the charter school has received the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians, and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.
|
|
(7) A description of the charter school's educational
|
| program, pupil performance standards, curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of operation.
|
|
(8) A description of the charter school's plan for
|
| evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments that will be used to measure pupil progress towards achievement of the school's pupil performance standards, the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that pupil performance at the charter school falls below those standards.
|
|
(9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as
|
| proposed are economically sound for both the charter school and the school district, a proposed budget for the term of the charter, a description of the manner in which an annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the charter school, including any services provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who will not attend or be employed in the charter school.
|
|
(10) A description of the governance and operation of
|
| the charter school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governance and operation of the charter school.
|
|
(11) An explanation of the relationship that will
|
| exist between the charter school and its employees, including evidence that the terms and conditions of employment have been addressed with affected employees and their recognized representative, if any. However, a bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed from employees of a school district in which the charter school is located.
|
|
(12) An agreement between the parties regarding their
|
| respective legal liability and applicable insurance coverage.
|
|
(13) A description of how the charter school plans to
|
| meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan for addressing the transportation needs of low-income and at-risk pupils.
|
|
(14) The proposed effective date and term of the
|
| charter; provided that the first day of the first academic year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than September 15 of a calendar year, and the first day of the fiscal year shall be July 1.
|
|
(14.5) Disclosure of any known active civil or
|
| criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into an organization submitting the charter school proposal or a criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into any member of the governing body of that organization. For the purposes of this subdivision (14.5), a known investigation means a request for an interview by a law enforcement agency, a subpoena, an arrest, or an indictment. Such disclosure is required for a period from the initial application submission through 10 business days prior to the authorizer's scheduled decision date.
|
|
(15) Any other information reasonably required by the
|
|
(b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be initiated by individuals
or organizations that will have
majority representation on the board of directors or other governing body of
the corporation or other discrete legal entity that is to be established to
operate the proposed charter school, by a board of education or an
intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of education, or by the
board of directors or other
governing body of a discrete legal entity already existing or established to
operate the proposed
charter school. The individuals or organizations referred to in this
subsection may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
councils, colleges or
universities or their faculty
members, public community colleges or their instructors or other
representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
representatives. The proposal shall be
submitted to the local school board for consideration and, if
appropriate, for
development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the State Board for
certification under
Section 27A-6.
(c) The local school board may not without the consent of the governing body
of the charter school condition its approval of a charter school proposal on
acceptance of an agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
local school board policies from which the charter school is otherwise exempted
under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)
(Text of Section from P.A. 103-416)
Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
(a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the local school board and the State Board for certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a proposed contract
entered
into between the local school board and the governing body of a proposed
charter school. The
charter school proposal shall include:
(1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
|
| must include the words "Charter School".
|
|
(2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
|
| and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the charter school, and any other admission criteria that would be legal if used by a school district.
|
|
(3) A description of and address for the physical
|
| plant in which the charter school will be located; provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or approval of a charter school proposal because the building or buildings in which the charter school is to be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter school contract is entered into or submitted for certification or certified, so long as the proposal or submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are potentially available as a charter school facility by the time the charter school is to open.
|
|
(4) The mission statement of the charter school,
|
| which must be consistent with the General Assembly's declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article shall be construed to require that, in order to receive favorable consideration and approval, a charter school proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will be able to meet each of those declared purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that charter schools must aspire to attain.
|
|
(5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
|
| standards to be achieved by the charter school.
|
|
(6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
|
| school by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of the charter school has received the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians, and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.
|
|
(7) A description of the charter school's educational
|
| program, pupil performance standards, curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of operation.
|
|
(8) A description of the charter school's plan for
|
| evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments that will be used to measure pupil progress towards achievement of the school's pupil performance standards, the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that pupil performance at the charter school falls below those standards.
|
|
(9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as
|
| proposed are economically sound for both the charter school and the school district, a proposed budget for the term of the charter, a description of the manner in which an annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the charter school, including any services provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who will not attend or be employed in the charter school.
|
|
(10) A description of the governance and operation of
|
| the charter school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governance and operation of the charter school.
|
|
(11) An explanation of the relationship that will
|
| exist between the charter school and its employees, including evidence that the terms and conditions of employment have been addressed with affected employees and their recognized representative, if any. However, a bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed from employees of a school district in which the charter school is located.
|
|
(12) An agreement between the parties regarding their
|
| respective legal liability and applicable insurance coverage.
|
|
(13) A description of how the charter school plans to
|
| meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan for addressing the transportation needs of low-income and at-risk pupils.
|
|
(14) The proposed effective date and term of the
|
| charter; provided that the first day of the first academic year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than September 15 of a calendar year, and the first day of the fiscal year shall be July 1.
|
|
(14.5) Disclosure of any known active civil or
|
| criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into an organization submitting the charter school proposal or a criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into any member of the governing body of that organization. For the purposes of this subdivision (14.5), a known investigation means a request for an interview by a law enforcement agency, a subpoena, an arrest, or an indictment. Such disclosure is required for a period from the initial application submission through 10 business days prior to the authorizer's scheduled decision date.
|
|
(14.7) A union neutrality clause.
(15) Any other information reasonably required by the
|
| State Board of Education.
|
|
(b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be initiated by individuals
or organizations that will have
majority representation on the board of directors or other governing body of
the corporation or other discrete legal entity that is to be established to
operate the proposed charter school, by a board of education or an
intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of education, or by the
board of directors or other
governing body of a discrete legal entity already existing or established to
operate the proposed
charter school. The individuals or organizations referred to in this
subsection may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
councils, colleges or
universities or their faculty
members, public community colleges or their instructors or other
representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
representatives. The proposal shall be
submitted to the local school board for consideration and, if
appropriate, for
development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the State Board for
certification under
Section 27A-6.
(c) The local school board may not without the consent of the governing body
of the charter school condition its approval of a charter school proposal on
acceptance of an agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
local school board policies from which the charter school is otherwise exempted
under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 103-416, eff. 8-4-23.)
|
(105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
(a) An initial charter shall be granted for a period of 5
school years. A charter may be renewed in incremental periods not to exceed 10 school years. Authorizers shall ensure that every charter granted on or after January 1, 2017 includes standards and goals for academic, organizational, and financial performance. A charter must meet all standards and goals for academic, organizational, and financial performance set forth by the authorizer in order to be renewed for a term in excess of 5 years but not more than 10 years. If an authorizer fails to establish standards and goals, a charter shall not be renewed for a term in excess of 5 years. Nothing contained in this Section shall require an authorizer to grant a full 10-year renewal term to any particular charter school, but an authorizer may award a full 10-year renewal term to charter schools that have a demonstrated track record of improving student performance.
(b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
local school board or the State Board, as the chartering entity,
shall contain:
(1) a report on the progress of the charter school in |
| achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance standards, content standards, and other terms of the initial approved charter proposal; and
|
|
(2) a financial statement that discloses the costs of
|
| administration, instruction, and other spending categories for the charter school that is understandable to the general public and that will allow comparison of those costs to other schools or other comparable organizations, in a format required by the State Board.
|
|
(c) A charter may be revoked
or not renewed if the local school board or the State Board, as the chartering
entity,
clearly demonstrates that the
charter school did any of the
following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of this law:
(1) Committed a material violation of any of the
|
| conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter.
|
|
(2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
|
| achievement of the content standards or pupil performance standards identified in the charter.
|
|
(3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
|
|
(4) Violated any provision of law from which the
|
| charter school was not exempted.
|
|
In the case of revocation, the local school board or the State Board, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to the local school board or the State Board, whichever is applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If the local school board or the State Board, as the chartering entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or education of the charter school's students is at risk, the revocation shall take place at the end of a school year. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that is less than 2 years in duration. No local school board may arbitrarily or capriciously revoke or not renew a charter. Except for extenuating circumstances outlined in this Section, if a local school board revokes or does not renew a charter, it must ensure that all students currently enrolled in the charter school are placed in schools that are higher performing than that charter school, as defined in the State's federal Every Student Succeeds Act accountability plan. In determining whether extenuating circumstances exist, a local school board must detail, by clear and convincing evidence, that factors unrelated to the charter school's accountability designation outweigh the charter school's academic performance.
(d) (Blank).
(e) Notice of a local school board's decision to
deny, revoke, or not
renew a charter shall be provided to the State Board.
The State Board may reverse a local board's decision to revoke or not renew a charter if the State Board finds
that the charter school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with
this Article and (ii) is in the best interests of the students it is designed
to serve.
The State Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance by
the charter school of funding in an amount less than that requested in the
proposal submitted to the local school board.
The State Board must appoint and utilize a hearing officer for any appeals conducted under this subsection. Final decisions of the State Board are subject
to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
(f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if the State Board
on appeal reverses a local board's decision
or if a charter school is
approved by referendum,
the State Board
shall act as the
authorized chartering entity for the charter school and shall perform all functions
under this
Article otherwise performed by the local school
board. The State Board shall
report the aggregate number of charter school pupils resident in a school
district to that district
and shall notify the district
of the amount of
funding to be paid by the State Board to the charter school enrolling such
students. The charter school shall maintain accurate records of daily attendance and student enrollment and shall enter data on the students served, their characteristics, their particular needs, the programs in which they participate, and their academic achievement into the statewide student information system established by the State Board.
The State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the district
the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the charter school and shall
pay such amounts to the charter school in quarterly installments, calculated as follows:
(1) The amount of the first quarterly payment shall
|
| be based on the projected number of students who will be enrolled in the charter school in the upcoming school year, multiplied by one-fourth of the resident district's per capita tuition amount. Each charter school shall submit its projected enrollment by no later than August 1 of each year on a form provided by the State Board for this purpose.
|
|
(2) The amount of the second quarterly payment shall
|
| be calculated such that the aggregate amount of the first and second quarterly installments is equal to the number of students reported as enrolled at the charter school on October 1 in the State Board's student information system, multiplied by one-half of the resident district's per capita tuition amount.
|
|
(3) The amount of the third quarterly payment shall
|
| be based on the number of students enrolled in the charter school on January 1, multiplied by one-fourth of the resident district's per capita tuition amount. Each charter school shall submit its January 1 enrollment by no later than January 5 of each year on a form provided by the State Board for this purpose.
|
|
(4) The amount of the fourth quarterly payment shall
|
| be calculated such that the aggregate amount of the third and fourth installments is equal to the number of students reported as enrolled at the charter school on March 1 in the State Board's student information system, multiplied by one-half of the resident district's per capita tuition amount.
|
|
(g) (Blank).
(h) The State Board shall pay directly to a charter school it authorizes any federal or State funding attributable to a student with a disability attending the school.
(Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)
|