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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section | ||||||
5 | 34-18.37 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.37 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 34-18.37. Establishing an equitable and effective | ||||||
8 | school facility development process. | ||||||
9 | (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following: | ||||||
10 | (1) The Illinois Constitution recognizes that a | ||||||
11 | "fundamental goal of the People of the State is the | ||||||
12 | educational development of all persons to the limits of | ||||||
13 | their capacities". | ||||||
14 | (2) Quality educational facilities are essential for | ||||||
15 | fostering the maximum educational development of all | ||||||
16 | persons through their educational experience from | ||||||
17 | pre-kindergarten through high school. | ||||||
18 | (3) The public school is a major institution in our | ||||||
19 | communities. Public schools offer resources and | ||||||
20 | opportunities for the children of this State who seek and | ||||||
21 | deserve quality education, but also benefit the entire | ||||||
22 | community that seeks improvement through access to | ||||||
23 | education. |
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1 | (4) The equitable and efficient use of available | ||||||
2 | facilities-related resources among different schools and | ||||||
3 | among racial, ethnic, income, and disability groups is | ||||||
4 | essential to maximize the development of quality public | ||||||
5 | educational facilities for all children, youth, and | ||||||
6 | adults. The factors that impact the equitable and efficient | ||||||
7 | use of facility-related resources vary according to the | ||||||
8 | needs of each school community. Therefore, decisions that | ||||||
9 | impact school facilities should include the input of the | ||||||
10 | school community to the greatest extent possible. | ||||||
11 | (5) School openings, school closings, school | ||||||
12 | consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, | ||||||
13 | school construction, school repairs, school | ||||||
14 | modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related | ||||||
15 | school facility decisions often have a profound impact on | ||||||
16 | education in a community. In order to minimize the negative | ||||||
17 | impact of school facility decisions on the community, these | ||||||
18 | decisions should be implemented according to a clear | ||||||
19 | system-wide criteria and with the significant involvement | ||||||
20 | of local school councils, parents, educators, and the | ||||||
21 | community in decision-making. | ||||||
22 | (6) The General Assembly has previously stated that it | ||||||
23 | intended to make the individual school in the City of | ||||||
24 | Chicago the essential unit for educational governance and | ||||||
25 | improvement and to place the primary responsibility for | ||||||
26 | school governance and improvement in the hands of parents, |
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1 | teachers, and community residents at each school. A school | ||||||
2 | facility policy must be consistent with these principles. | ||||||
3 | (b) In order to ensure that school facility-related | ||||||
4 | decisions are made with the input of the community and reflect | ||||||
5 | educationally sound and fiscally responsible criteria, a | ||||||
6 | Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall be established | ||||||
7 | within 15 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act | ||||||
8 | of the 96th General Assembly. | ||||||
9 | (c) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall | ||||||
10 | consist of all of the following members: | ||||||
11 | (1) Two members of the House of Representatives | ||||||
12 | appointed by the Speaker of the House, at least one of whom | ||||||
13 | shall be a member of the Elementary & Secondary Education | ||||||
14 | Committee. | ||||||
15 | (2) Two members of the House of Representatives | ||||||
16 | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, at least one | ||||||
17 | of whom shall be a member of the Elementary & Secondary | ||||||
18 | Education Committee. | ||||||
19 | (3) Two members of the Senate appointed by the | ||||||
20 | President of the Senate, at least one of whom shall be a | ||||||
21 | member of the Education Committee. | ||||||
22 | (4) Two members of the Senate appointed by the Minority | ||||||
23 | Leader of the Senate, at least one of whom shall be a | ||||||
24 | member of the
Education Committee. | ||||||
25 | (5) Two representatives of school community | ||||||
26 | organizations with past involvement in school facility |
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1 | issues appointed by the Speaker of the House. | ||||||
2 | (6) Two representatives of school community | ||||||
3 | organizations with past involvement in school facility | ||||||
4 | issues appointed by the President of the Senate. | ||||||
5 | (7) The chief executive officer of the school district | ||||||
6 | or his or her designee. | ||||||
7 | (8) The president of the union representing teachers in | ||||||
8 | the schools of the district or his or her designee. | ||||||
9 | (9) The president of the association representing | ||||||
10 | principals in the schools of the district or his or her | ||||||
11 | designee. | ||||||
12 | (d) The Speaker of the House shall appoint one of the | ||||||
13 | appointed House members as a co-chairperson of the Chicago | ||||||
14 | Educational Facilities Task Force. The President of the Senate | ||||||
15 | shall appoint one of the appointed Senate members as a | ||||||
16 | co-chairperson of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task | ||||||
17 | Force. Members appointed by the legislative leaders shall be | ||||||
18 | appointed for the duration of the Chicago Educational | ||||||
19 | Facilities Task Force; in the event of a vacancy, the | ||||||
20 | appointment to fill the vacancy shall be made by the | ||||||
21 | legislative leader of the same chamber and party as the leader | ||||||
22 | who made the original appointment. | ||||||
23 | (e) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall | ||||||
24 | call on independent experts, as needed, to gather and analyze | ||||||
25 | pertinent information on a pro bono basis, provided that these | ||||||
26 | experts have no previous or on-going financial interest in |
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1 | school facility issues related to the school district. The | ||||||
2 | Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall secure pro bono | ||||||
3 | expert assistance within 15 days after the establishment of the | ||||||
4 | Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. | ||||||
5 | (f) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall be | ||||||
6 | empowered to gather further evidence in the form of testimony | ||||||
7 | or documents or other materials. | ||||||
8 | (g) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force, with the | ||||||
9 | help of the independent experts, shall analyze past Chicago | ||||||
10 | experiences and data with respect to school openings, school | ||||||
11 | closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school | ||||||
12 | phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school | ||||||
13 | modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related | ||||||
14 | school facility decisions on students. The Chicago Educational | ||||||
15 | Facilities Task Force shall consult widely with stakeholders, | ||||||
16 | including public officials, about these facility issues and | ||||||
17 | their related costs and shall examine relevant best practices | ||||||
18 | from other school systems for dealing with these issues | ||||||
19 | systematically and equitably. These initial investigations | ||||||
20 | shall include opportunities for input from local stakeholders | ||||||
21 | through hearings, focus groups, and interviews. | ||||||
22 | (h) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall | ||||||
23 | prepare final recommendations on or before October 30, 2009 | ||||||
24 | describing how the issues set forth in subsection (g) of this | ||||||
25 | Section can be addressed effectively based upon educationally | ||||||
26 | sound and fiscally responsible practices. |
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1 | (i) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall | ||||||
2 | hold hearings in separate areas of the school district at times | ||||||
3 | that shall maximize school community participation to obtain | ||||||
4 | comments on draft recommendations. The final hearing shall take | ||||||
5 | place no later than 15 days prior to the completion of the | ||||||
6 | final recommendations. | ||||||
7 | (j) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall | ||||||
8 | prepare final proposed policy and legislative recommendations | ||||||
9 | for the General Assembly, the Governor, and the school | ||||||
10 | district. The recommendations may address issues, standards, | ||||||
11 | and procedures set forth in this Section. The final | ||||||
12 | recommendations shall be made available to the public through | ||||||
13 | posting on the school district's Internet website and other | ||||||
14 | forms of publication and distribution in the school district at | ||||||
15 | least 7 days before the final recommendations are submitted to | ||||||
16 | the General Assembly, the Governor, and the school district. | ||||||
17 | (k) The final recommendations may address issues of | ||||||
18 | system-wide criteria for ensuring clear priorities, equity, | ||||||
19 | and efficiency. | ||||||
20 | Without limitation, the final recommendations may propose | ||||||
21 | significant decision-making roles for key stakeholders, | ||||||
22 | including the individual school and community; recommend clear | ||||||
23 | criteria or processes for establishing criteria for making | ||||||
24 | school facility decisions; and include clear criteria for | ||||||
25 | setting priorities with respect to school openings, school | ||||||
26 | closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school |
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1 | phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school | ||||||
2 | modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related | ||||||
3 | school facility decisions, including the encouragement of | ||||||
4 | multiple community uses for school space. | ||||||
5 | Without limitation, the final recommendations may propose | ||||||
6 | criteria for student mobility; the transferring of students to | ||||||
7 | lower performing schools; teacher mobility; insufficient | ||||||
8 | notice to and the lack of inclusion in decision-making of local | ||||||
9 | school councils, parents, and community members about school | ||||||
10 | facility decisions; and costly facilities-related expenditures | ||||||
11 | due to poor educational and facilities planning. | ||||||
12 | (l) The State Board of Education and the school district | ||||||
13 | shall provide administrative support to the Chicago | ||||||
14 | Educational Facilities Task Force.
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15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
16 | becoming law.
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