99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB2810

 

Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-9

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Makes changes concerning charter schools authorized by the Commission. Removes a provision requiring the State Board to notify a school district of the amount of funding to be paid by the State Board to the charter school enrolling students who are residents of the district. Requires the State Board (instead of the Commission) to require a charter school to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that shall be deemed sufficient to file State aid claims. Removes a provision that requires the State Board to withhold from funds otherwise due a district the funds to be paid to the charter school and to pay such amounts to the charter school. Requires the Commission to quarterly certify to the State Board the student enrollment and student residency information (not just the student enrollment) for each of its charter schools. Requires enrollment and residency verification to be reported in a format prescribed by the State Board. Provides that, upon receipt of the certified quarterly enrollment report, the State Board shall pay directly to the charter school the per pupil funds authorized under certain provisions of the Law. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
527A-9 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
7    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
8    (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5
9and not more than 10 school years. A charter may be renewed in
10incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
11    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
12local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
13shall contain:
14        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
15    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
16    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
17    initial approved charter proposal; and
18        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
19    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
20    for the charter school that is understandable to the
21    general public and that will allow comparison of those
22    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
23    in a format required by the State Board.

 

 

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1    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
2school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
3clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
4following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
5of this law:
6        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
7    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
8    charter.
9        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
10    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
11    standards identified in the charter.
12        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
13    fiscal management.
14        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
15    charter school was not exempted.
16    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
17Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter
18school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to
19revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to
20the local school board or the Commission, whichever is
21applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a
22timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or
23the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If
24the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering
25entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement
26the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the

 

 

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1chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in
2situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or
3education of the charter school's students is at risk, the
4revocation shall take place at the end of a school year.
5Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly
6shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that
7is less than 2 years in duration.
8    (d) (Blank).
9    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
10revoke or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
11Commission and the State Board. The Commission may reverse a
12local board's decision if the Commission finds that the charter
13school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with
14this Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the students
15it is designed to serve. The Commission may condition the
16granting of an appeal on the acceptance by the charter school
17of funding in an amount less than that requested in the
18proposal submitted to the local school board. Final decisions
19of the Commission shall be subject to judicial review under the
20Administrative Review Law.
21    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
22the Commission on appeal reverses a local board's decision or
23if a charter school is approved by referendum, the Commission
24shall act as the authorized chartering entity for the charter
25school. The Commission shall approve the charter and shall
26perform all functions under this Article otherwise performed by

 

 

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1the local school board. The State Board shall determine whether
2the charter proposal approved by the Commission is consistent
3with the provisions of this Article and, if the approved
4proposal complies, certify the proposal pursuant to this
5Article. The State Board shall report the aggregate number of
6charter school pupils resident in a school district to that
7district and shall notify the district of the amount of funding
8to be paid by the State Board to the charter school enrolling
9such students. The Commission shall require the charter school
10to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that shall be
11deemed sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05
12notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
13regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
14State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
15district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
16charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
17school.
18    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
19Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
20student enrollment and student residency information for each
21of its charter schools. Enrollment and residency verification
22must be reported in a format prescribed by the State Board.
23Upon receipt of the certified quarterly enrollment report, the
24State Board shall pay directly to the charter school the per
25pupil funds authorized under subsection (e) of this Section and
26subsection (b) of Section 27A-11 of this Code.

 

 

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1    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
2State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
3or State aid attributable to a student with a disability
4attending the school.
5(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.