| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning education. | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly: | |||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 7-1 as follows: | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/7-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 7-1) | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 7-1. Changing boundaries by detachment or | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | dissolution. | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | (a) School district boundaries may be changed by | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | detachment, annexation, division or dissolution or any | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | combination thereof by the regional board of school trustees | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | or by the State Superintendent of Education as provided in | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | subsection (l) of Section 7-6. | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | The petition must be filed with and decided solely by the | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | regional board of school trustees of the region in which the | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | regional superintendent of schools has supervision and | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of this Code, of the | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | detaching or dissolving school district. The petition may be | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | filed in any office operated by the regional superintendent | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | with supervision and control, as defined in Section 3-14.2 of | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | this Code, of the detaching or dissolving school district. | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | A petition for boundary change must be filed by the school | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | board of the detaching or dissolving district, by a majority |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | of the legal resident voters in the dissolving district, or by | ||||||
2 | two-thirds of a combination of the legal resident voters and | ||||||
3 | the owners of record of any real estate with no legal resident | ||||||
4 | voters in any territory proposed to be detached. If any of the | ||||||
5 | territory proposed to be detached contains real estate with no | ||||||
6 | legal resident voters, petitioners shall deliver the petition | ||||||
7 | by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all owners of | ||||||
8 | record of any real estate with no legal resident voters. Proof | ||||||
9 | of such delivery must be presented as evidence at the hearing | ||||||
10 | required under Section 7-6 of this Code. Any owner of record of | ||||||
11 | real estate with no legal resident voters in any territory | ||||||
12 | proposed to be detached may either sign the petition in person | ||||||
13 | and before the circulator as described in this Section or | ||||||
14 | return the petition with his or her notarized signature to be | ||||||
15 | included as a petitioner. No person may sign a petition in the | ||||||
16 | capacity of both a legal resident voter and owner of record. If | ||||||
17 | there are no legal resident voters within the territory | ||||||
18 | proposed to be detached, then the petition must be signed by | ||||||
19 | all of the owners of record of the real estate of the | ||||||
20 | territory. Legal resident voters shall be determined by the | ||||||
21 | official voter registration lists as of the date the petition | ||||||
22 | is filed. No signatures shall be added or withdrawn after the | ||||||
23 | date the petition is filed. The length of time for signatures | ||||||
24 | to be valid, before filing of the petition, shall not exceed | ||||||
25 | one year 6 months . Notwithstanding any provision to the | ||||||
26 | contrary contained in the Election Code, the regional |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | superintendent of schools shall make all determinations | ||||||
2 | regarding the validity of the petition, including, without | ||||||
3 | limitation, signatures on the petition. If the regional | ||||||
4 | superintendent determines that the petition is not in proper | ||||||
5 | order or not in compliance with any applicable petition | ||||||
6 | requirements, the regional superintendent may not accept the | ||||||
7 | petition for filing and may return the petition to the | ||||||
8 | petitioners. Any party who is dissatisfied with the | ||||||
9 | determination of the regional superintendent regarding the | ||||||
10 | validity of the petition may appeal the regional | ||||||
11 | superintendent's decision to the regional board of school | ||||||
12 | trustees by motion, and the motion must be heard by the | ||||||
13 | regional board of school trustees prior to any hearing on the | ||||||
14 | merits of the petition. | ||||||
15 | Petitions for detachment and dissolution shall include the | ||||||
16 | full prayer of the petition with a general description of the | ||||||
17 | territory at the top of each page. Each signature contained | ||||||
18 | therein shall match the official signature and address of the | ||||||
19 | legal resident voters as recorded in the office of the county | ||||||
20 | clerk or board of election commissioners, and each petitioner | ||||||
21 | shall record the date of his or her signing. Except in | ||||||
22 | instances of a notarized signature of an owner of record of | ||||||
23 | real estate with no legal resident voters in any territory | ||||||
24 | proposed to be detached, each page of the circulated petition | ||||||
25 | shall be signed by a circulator stating that he or she has | ||||||
26 | witnessed the signature of each petitioner on that page. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Detachment petitions containing 10 or fewer signatures may be | ||||||
2 | notarized in lieu of a circulator statement. Each petition | ||||||
3 | shall include an accurate legal description and map of the | ||||||
4 | territory proposed to be detached. If a petition proposes to | ||||||
5 | dissolve an entire district, then the full name and number of | ||||||
6 | the district and a map are sufficient. Each petition shall | ||||||
7 | include the names of petitioners; the district to be dissolved | ||||||
8 | or the district from which the territory is proposed to be | ||||||
9 | detached; the district or districts to which the territory is | ||||||
10 | proposed to be annexed; evidence that the detaching or | ||||||
11 | dissolving territory is compact and contiguous with the | ||||||
12 | annexing district or districts or otherwise meets the | ||||||
13 | requirements set forth in Section 7-4 of this Code; the | ||||||
14 | referendum date, if applicable; and facts that support | ||||||
15 | favorable findings for the factors to be considered by the | ||||||
16 | regional board of school trustees pursuant to Section 7-6 of | ||||||
17 | this Code. | ||||||
18 | Where there is only one school building in an approved | ||||||
19 | operating district, the building and building site may not be | ||||||
20 | included in any detachment proceeding. | ||||||
21 | Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, if, | ||||||
22 | pursuant to a petition filed under this subsection (a), all of | ||||||
23 | the territory of a school district is to be annexed to another | ||||||
24 | school district, then any action by the regional board of | ||||||
25 | school trustees in granting or approving the petition and any | ||||||
26 | change in school district boundaries pursuant to that action |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | is subject to and the change in school district boundaries may | ||||||
2 | not be made except upon approval, at a regular scheduled | ||||||
3 | election, in the manner provided by Section 7-7.7 of this | ||||||
4 | Code, of a proposition for the annexation of all of the | ||||||
5 | territory of that school district to the other school | ||||||
6 | district. | ||||||
7 | No petition may be filed under this Section to form a new | ||||||
8 | school district under this Article; however, such a petition | ||||||
9 | may be filed under this Section to form a new school district | ||||||
10 | if the boundaries of such new school district lie entirely | ||||||
11 | within the boundaries of a military base or installation | ||||||
12 | operated and maintained by the government of the United | ||||||
13 | States. | ||||||
14 | (b) Any elementary or high school district with 100 or | ||||||
15 | more of its students residing upon territory located entirely | ||||||
16 | within a military base or installation operated and maintained | ||||||
17 | by the government of the United States, or any unit school | ||||||
18 | district or any combination of the above mentioned districts | ||||||
19 | with 300 or more of its students residing upon territory | ||||||
20 | located entirely within a military base or installation | ||||||
21 | operated and maintained by the government of the United | ||||||
22 | States, shall, upon the filing with the regional board of | ||||||
23 | school trustees of a petition adopted by resolution of the | ||||||
24 | board of education or a petition signed by a majority of the | ||||||
25 | registered voters residing upon such military base or | ||||||
26 | installation, have all of the territory lying entirely within |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | such military base or installation detached from such school | ||||||
2 | district, and a new school district comprised of such | ||||||
3 | territory shall be created. The petition shall be filed with | ||||||
4 | and decided solely by the regional board of school trustees of | ||||||
5 | the region in which the regional superintendent of schools has | ||||||
6 | supervision and control, as defined by Section 3-14.2 of this | ||||||
7 | Code, of the school district affected. The regional board of | ||||||
8 | school trustees shall have no authority to deny the detachment | ||||||
9 | and creation of a new school district requested in a proper | ||||||
10 | petition filed under this subsection. This subsection shall | ||||||
11 | apply only to those school districts having a population of | ||||||
12 | not fewer than 1,000 and not more than 500,000 residents, as | ||||||
13 | ascertained by any special or general census. | ||||||
14 | The new school district shall tuition its students to the | ||||||
15 | same districts that its students were previously attending and | ||||||
16 | the districts from which the new district was detached shall | ||||||
17 | continue to educate the students from the new district, until | ||||||
18 | the federal government provides other arrangements. The | ||||||
19 | federal government shall pay for the education of such | ||||||
20 | children as required by Section 6 of Public Law 81-874. | ||||||
21 | If a school district created under this subsection (b) has | ||||||
22 | not elected a school board and has not become operational | ||||||
23 | within 2 years after the date of detachment, then this | ||||||
24 | district is automatically dissolved and the territory of this | ||||||
25 | district reverts to the school district from which the | ||||||
26 | territory was detached or any successor district thereto. Any |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | school district created under this subsection (b) on or before | ||||||
2 | September 1, 1996 that has not elected a school board and has | ||||||
3 | not been operational since September 1, 1996 is automatically | ||||||
4 | dissolved on the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
5 | 1999, and on this date the territory of this district reverts | ||||||
6 | to the school district from which the territory was detached. | ||||||
7 | For the automatic dissolution of a school district created | ||||||
8 | under this subsection (b), the regional superintendent of | ||||||
9 | schools who has supervision and control, as defined by Section | ||||||
10 | 3-14.2 of this Code, of the school district from which the | ||||||
11 | territory was detached shall certify to the regional board of | ||||||
12 | school trustees that the school district created under this | ||||||
13 | subsection (b) has been automatically dissolved. | ||||||
14 | (Source: P.A. 100-374, eff. 8-25-17.) | ||||||
15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
16 | becoming law. |