102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB0605

 

Introduced 2/24/2021, by Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/22-90 new
105 ILCS 5/26-13  from Ch. 122, par. 26-13
105 ILCS 5/27A-5

    Amends the School Code. Requires that each school district, charter school, or alternative school or any school receiving public funds develop an absenteeism and truancy policy to be communicated to students and their parent or guardian on an annual basis. Sets forth the minimum elements that must be included in the policy. Requires the policy to be updated every 2 years and filed with the State Board of Education. Effective July 1, 2021.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB0605LRB102 11423 CMG 16756 b

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
522-90 and by changing Sections 26-13 and 27A-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/22-90 new)
7    Sec. 22-90. Absenteeism and truancy policy.
8    (a) Each school district, charter school, or alternative
9school or any school receiving public funds shall develop and
10communicate to its students and their parent or guardian, on
11an annual basis, an absenteeism and truancy policy, including
12at least the following elements:
13        (1) A definition of a valid cause for absence in
14    accordance with Section 26-2a of this Code.
15        (2) A description of diagnostic procedures to be used
16    for identifying the causes of unexcused student
17    absenteeism, which shall, at a minimum, include interviews
18    with the student, his or her parent or guardian, and any
19    school officials who may have information about the
20    reasons for the student's attendance problem.
21        (3) The identification of supportive services to be
22    made available to truant or chronically truant students.
23    These services shall include, but need not be limited to,

 

 

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1    parent conferences, student counseling, family counseling,
2    and information about existing community services that are
3    available to truant and chronically truant students and
4    relevant to their needs.
5        (4) Incorporation of the provisions relating to
6    chronic absenteeism in accordance with Section 26-18 of
7    this Code.
8    (b) The absenteeism and truancy policy must be updated
9every 2 years and filed with the State Board of Education.
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/26-13)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-13)
11    Sec. 26-13. Absenteeism and truancy policies. School
12districts shall adopt policies, consistent with rules adopted
13by the State Board of Education and Section 22-90, which
14identify the appropriate supportive services and available
15resources which are provided for truants and chronic truants.
16(Source: P.A. 84-1420.)
 
17    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
18    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
19    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
20nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
21school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
22corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
23authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
24    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article

 

 

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1by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
2school or attendance center to charter school status.
3Beginning on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act
493-3), in all new applications to establish a charter school
5in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of
6the charter school shall be limited to one campus. The changes
7made to this Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter
8schools existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
9effective date of Public Act 93-3).
10    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
11a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and
12instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with
13their teachers at remote locations and with students
14participating at different times.
15    From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a
16moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
17virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
18school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
19moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
20virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
21April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
22school with virtual-schooling components already approved
23prior to April 1, 2013.
24    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
25its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
26provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter

 

 

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1school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
2the Open Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year
3after the effective date of Public Act 101-291) this
4amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, a charter
5school's board of directors or other governing body must
6include at least one parent or guardian of a pupil currently
7enrolled in the charter school who may be selected through the
8charter school or a charter network election, appointment by
9the charter school's board of directors or other governing
10body, or by the charter school's Parent Teacher Organization
11or its equivalent.
12    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the
13effective date of Public Act 101-291) this amendatory Act of
14the 101st General Assembly or within the first year of his or
15her first term, every voting member of a charter school's
16board of directors or other governing body shall complete a
17minimum of 4 hours of professional development leadership
18training to ensure that each member has sufficient familiarity
19with the board's or governing body's role and
20responsibilities, including financial oversight and
21accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
22school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
23Act and the Open Meetings Act Acts, and compliance with
24education and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her
25term, a voting member of a charter school's board of directors
26or other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of

 

 

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1professional development training in these same areas. The
2training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
3a statewide charter school membership association or may be
4provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
5the State Board of Education.
6    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
7health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
8requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
9preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
10students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
11prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
12school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
13requirement" does not include any course of study or
14specialized instructional requirement for which the State
15Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
16designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
17to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
18    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
19health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
20under the laws of the State of Illinois. On or before September
211, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its
22Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety
23requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall
24be updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter
25contract between a charter school and its authorizer must
26contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow

 

 

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1the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements
2promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health
3and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list
4during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d)
5precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health
6and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are
7not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
8including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
9authorizing local school board.
10    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
11charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
12charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
13instructional materials, and student activities.
14    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
15management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
16not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
17charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
18outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
19school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of
20public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of
21operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer
22and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form
23990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
24Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for
25proper financial oversight of the charter school, an
26authorizer may require quarterly financial statements from

 

 

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1each charter school.
2    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
3this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
4all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
5schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
6of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
7exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
8governing public schools and local school board policies;
9however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
10        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
11    regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
12    the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
13    and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
14    for employment;
15        (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
16    34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
17        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
18    Tort Immunity Act;
19        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
20    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
21    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
22        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
23        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
24    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
25        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
26        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school

 

 

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1    report cards;
2        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
3        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
4    prevention;
5        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
6    discipline reporting;
7        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
8        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
9        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
10        (14) Sections 22-90 and Section 26-18 of this Code;
11        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; and
12        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; and .
13        (17) the (16) The Seizure Smart School Act.
14    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
15(g) is declaratory of existing law.
16    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
17school district, the governing body of a State college or
18university or public community college, or any other public or
19for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
20school building and grounds or any other real property or
21facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
22for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
23maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
24activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
25to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
26However, a charter school that is established on or after

 

 

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1April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that
2operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
3not contract with a for-profit entity to manage or operate the
4school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
5effective date of Public Act 93-3) and concludes at the end of
6the 2004-2005 school year. Except as provided in subsection
7(i) of this Section, a school district may charge a charter
8school reasonable rent for the use of the district's
9buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a
10charter school contracts with a school district shall be
11provided by the district at cost. Any services for which a
12charter school contracts with a local school board or with the
13governing body of a State college or university or public
14community college shall be provided by the public entity at
15cost.
16    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
17by converting an existing school or attendance center to
18charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
19deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
20agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
21costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
22facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
23subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
24local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
25    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
26or grade level.

 

 

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1    (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or
2Commission, then the charter school is its own local education
3agency.
4(Source: P.A. 100-29, eff. 1-1-18; 100-156, eff. 1-1-18;
5100-163, eff. 1-1-18; 100-413, eff. 1-1-18; 100-468, eff.
66-1-18; 100-726, eff. 1-1-19; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-50,
7eff. 7-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-291, eff. 1-1-20;
8101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-543, eff. 8-23-19; revised 8-4-20.)
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
102021.