Sen. Celina Villanueva
Filed: 3/25/2025
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 144 | ||||||
| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 144 by replacing | ||||||
| 3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | ||||||
| 4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
| 5 | 27A-10.10 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 27A-10.10. Closure of charter school; unspent public | ||||||
| 8 | funds; procedures for the disposition of property and assets. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) Upon the closing of a charter school authorized by one | ||||||
| 10 | or more local school boards, the governing body of the charter | ||||||
| 11 | school or its designee shall refund to the chartering entity | ||||||
| 12 | or entities all unspent public funds. The charter school's | ||||||
| 13 | other property and assets shall be disposed of under the | ||||||
| 14 | provisions of the charter application and contract. If the | ||||||
| 15 | application and contract are silent or ambiguous as to the | ||||||
| 16 | disposition of any of the school's property or assets, any | ||||||
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| 1 | property or assets of the charter school purchased with public | ||||||
| 2 | funds shall be returned to the school district or districts | ||||||
| 3 | from which the charter school draws enrollment, at no cost to | ||||||
| 4 | the receiving district or districts, subject to each | ||||||
| 5 | district's acceptance of the property or asset. Any unspent | ||||||
| 6 | public funds or other property or assets received by the | ||||||
| 7 | charter school directly from any State or federal agency shall | ||||||
| 8 | be refunded to or revert back to that State or federal agency, | ||||||
| 9 | respectively. | ||||||
| 10 | (b) Upon the closing of a charter school authorized by the | ||||||
| 11 | State Board, the governing body of the charter school or its | ||||||
| 12 | designee shall refund all unspent public funds to the State | ||||||
| 13 | Board. The charter school's other property and assets shall be | ||||||
| 14 | disposed of under the provisions of the charter application | ||||||
| 15 | and contract. If the application and contract are silent or | ||||||
| 16 | ambiguous as to the disposition of any of the school's | ||||||
| 17 | property or assets, any property or assets of the charter | ||||||
| 18 | school purchased with public funds shall be returned to the | ||||||
| 19 | school district or districts from which the charter school | ||||||
| 20 | draws its enrollment, at no cost to the receiving district or | ||||||
| 21 | districts, subject to each district's acceptance of the | ||||||
| 22 | property or asset. Any unspent public funds or other property | ||||||
| 23 | or assets provided by a State agency other than the State Board | ||||||
| 24 | or by a federal agency shall be refunded to or revert back to | ||||||
| 25 | that State or federal agency, respectively. | ||||||
| 26 | (c) For charter schools located in a school district | ||||||
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| 1 | organized under Article 34 of this Code, if a charter school | ||||||
| 2 | proposes to close one or more campuses during the term of its | ||||||
| 3 | contract, then (i) the charter school shall announce the | ||||||
| 4 | proposal no later than September 1 of the year prior to the | ||||||
| 5 | effective date of the closure, (ii) the charter school is | ||||||
| 6 | subject to the procedures set forth in Sections 34-200 through | ||||||
| 7 | 34-235 of this Code, and (iii) the local school board retains | ||||||
| 8 | the authority to approve or deny the closure. If the local | ||||||
| 9 | school board approves the closure, the governing body of the | ||||||
| 10 | charter school shall work collaboratively with the local | ||||||
| 11 | school board, educators, and the families of students | ||||||
| 12 | attending the campus of the charter school that is the subject | ||||||
| 13 | of the closure to ensure the successful integration of | ||||||
| 14 | affected students into new learning environments. Affected | ||||||
| 15 | students who reside in the district shall be guaranteed a seat | ||||||
| 16 | at a district school. If a determination is made to close a | ||||||
| 17 | charter school located within the boundaries of a school | ||||||
| 18 | district organized under Article 34 of this Code for at least | ||||||
| 19 | one school year, the charter school shall give at least 60 | ||||||
| 20 | days' notice of the closure to all affected students and | ||||||
| 21 | parents or legal guardians. | ||||||
| 22 | (d) Upon the closing of a charter school located in a | ||||||
| 23 | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code, the | ||||||
| 24 | charter school's licensed teachers shall be guaranteed a | ||||||
| 25 | similar position for which they are qualified at a district | ||||||
| 26 | school, preferably one that receives students from the closed | ||||||
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| 1 | charter school, with full recognition of prior service if | ||||||
| 2 | those teachers choose to work in the district. Teachers of the | ||||||
| 3 | closed charter school without an educator license shall be | ||||||
| 4 | provided a pathway to a short-term license and preference in | ||||||
| 5 | receiving a job at a district school. | ||||||
| 6 | (Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)". | ||||||