99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB4322

 

Introduced , by Rep. Margo McDermed

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-20.58 new

    Amends the School Code. Provides that, before making any decisions on a school closure, a school board (other than the Chicago Board of Education) shall appoint a district advisory committee to advise and make recommendations to the school board about the school closure. Sets forth provisions concerning committee membership, information the committee must gather, and public hearings. Requires the committee to make a recommendation to the school board on school closure, and requires the school board to take into account the committee's recommendation on school closure when making a final decision.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

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 adding Section
510-20.58 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.58 new)
7    Sec. 10-20.58. School closure; district advisory
8committee.
9    (a) In this Section, "school closure" means the closing of
10a school the effect of which is the assignment and transfer of
11all students enrolled at that school to one or more designated
12receiving schools.
13    (b) Before making any decisions on a school closure, a
14school board shall appoint a district advisory committee to
15advise and make recommendations to the school board about the
16school closure. The committee shall consist of 9 members. The
17following shall be represented on the committee:
18        (1) The ethnic, age group, and socioeconomic
19    composition of the school district.
20        (2) The business community within the boundaries of the
21    district.
22        (3) Landowners or renters within the boundaries of the
23    district.

 

 

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1        (4) In a district with multiple schools, a community
2    member from the boundaries of each school in the district.
3        (5) Teachers employed by the district.
4        (6) District administrators.
5        (7) Parents of students who are enrolled in the
6    district.
7        (8) Persons with expertise in environmental impacts,
8    legal contracts, building codes, and land-use planning.
9    The members of the district advisory committee shall serve
10without compensation. The committee shall elect a chairperson
11from among its members.
12    (c) Before making any recommendations on school closure,
13the district advisory committee shall gather the following
14information:
15        (1) The enrollment projections for the school
16    district, including enrollment projections for each school
17    in the district and the projection's impact on each school
18    facility.
19        (2) The capacity and conditions of existing schools and
20    their ability to accommodate displaced students.
21        (3) The per-student operating cost at each of the
22    district's schools.
23        (4) The education program and opportunity at each of
24    the district's schools.
25        (5) The cost-savings that would result from the closure
26    of a school.

 

 

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1        (6) The transportation options for displaced students.
2        (7) Cost-saving alternatives to closing schools.
3    The district advisory committee shall gather any other
4pertinent information on the school district that it deems
5necessary in order to advise the school board on school
6closure. The district shall provide the committee with any
7information requested by the committee and shall provide
8administrative and other support to the committee.
9    (d) The district advisory committee shall hold a public
10hearing at each of the schools in the school district to elicit
11public comment on the possibility of school closure and the
12effects that the school closure would have on the students,
13parents, and the community. A public notice of each public
14hearing must be published at least 5 days before the hearing on
15the district's Internet website, if any, and in a newspaper of
16general circulation in the geographic region of the district.
17    Following these public hearings, the district advisory
18committee shall make a recommendation, based on its analysis
19and conclusions, to the school board on school closure. The
20school board shall take into account the committee's
21recommendation on school closure when making a final decision.
22Upon making its recommendation, the committee is dissolved.