HB4276 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 16824 LNS 30233 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4276

Introduced 1/14/2026, by Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/34-200

Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. With respect to school action and facility master planning, defines "co-location" as a school action in which 2 or more separate schools, each under the direction of its own principal and local school council and maintaining a distinct program and attendance area or other enrollment, are assigned by the Chicago Board of Education to operate entirely within the same school building, but provides that the term does not include an existing school's temporary use of available, vacant, or underutilized space in a second school building to increase capacity or relieve overcrowding if: (1) that school continues to additionally operate in its current building under its own principal and local school council and to serve the same attendance area or population; and (2) the Board designates the use of the second building's space as a temporary measure for a specified period of time.

A BILL FOR

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 Section 34-200 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/34-200)

Sec. 34-200. Definitions. For the purposes of Sections 34-200 through 34-235 of this Article:

"Capital improvement plan" means a plan that identifies capital projects to be started or finished within the designated period, excluding projects funded by locally raised capital not exceeding $10,000.

"Co-location" means a school action in which 2 or more separate schools, each under the direction of its own principal and local school council and maintaining a distinct program and attendance area or other enrollment, are assigned by the board to operate entirely within the same school building. "Co-location" does not include an existing school's temporary use of available, vacant, or underutilized space in a second school building to increase capacity or relieve overcrowding if:

(1) that school continues to additionally operate in its current building under its own principal and local school council and to serve the same attendance area or population; and

(2) the board designates the use of the second building's space as a temporary measure for a specified period of time.

"Community area" means a geographic area of the City of Chicago defined by the chief executive officer as part of the development of the educational facilities master plan.

"Space utilization" means the percentage achieved by dividing the school's actual enrollment by its design capacity.

"School closing" or "school closure" means the closing of a school, the effect of which is the assignment and transfer of all students enrolled at that school to one or more designated receiving schools.

"School consolidation" means the consolidation of 2 or more schools by closing one or more schools and reassigning the students to another school.

"Phase-out" means the gradual cessation of enrollment in certain grades each school year until a school closes or is consolidated with another school.

"School action" means any school closing; school consolidation; co-location; boundary change that requires reassignment of students, unless the reassignment is to a new school with an attendance area boundary and is made to relieve overcrowding; or phase-out.

(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)