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1 | | at-risk students, consistent with the purposes of this Article. |
2 | | (c) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, appointed by |
3 | | the State Board. The State Board shall make these appointments |
4 | | from a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor, within 60 |
5 | | days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the |
6 | | 97th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission |
7 | | members. In making the appointments, the State Board shall |
8 | | ensure statewide geographic diversity among Commission |
9 | | members. The Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to |
10 | | the State Board within 60 days after the effective date of this |
11 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior |
12 | | to the expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the |
13 | | Governor fails to timely propose a slate of candidates |
14 | | according to the provisions of this subsection (c), then the |
15 | | State Board may appoint the member or members of the |
16 | | Commission. |
17 | | (d) Members appointed to the Commission shall collectively |
18 | | possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit |
19 | | governance, management and finance, public school leadership, |
20 | | higher education, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and |
21 | | public education law. All members of the Commission shall have |
22 | | demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public |
23 | | education, including without limitation charter schooling. At |
24 | | least 3 members must have past experience with urban charter |
25 | | schools. |
26 | | (e) To establish staggered terms of office, the initial |
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1 | | term of office for 3 Commission members shall be 4 years and |
2 | | thereafter shall be 4 years; the initial term of office for |
3 | | another 3 members shall be 3 years and thereafter shall be 4 |
4 | | years; and the initial term of office for the remaining 3 |
5 | | members shall be 2 years and thereafter shall be 4 years. The |
6 | | initial appointments must be made no later than October 1, |
7 | | 2011. |
8 | | (f) Whenever a vacancy on the Commission exists, the State |
9 | | Board shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the |
10 | | term. |
11 | | (g) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics |
12 | | Act, the Commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts, |
13 | | grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private |
14 | | entity to carry out the purposes of this Article, subject to |
15 | | the terms and conditions under which they are given, provided |
16 | | that all such terms and conditions are permissible under law. |
17 | | Funds received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into |
18 | | the State Charter School Commission Fund. |
19 | | The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a |
20 | | special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall |
21 | | be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board, acting |
22 | | on behalf and with the consent of the Commission, for |
23 | | operational and administrative costs of the Commission. |
24 | | Subject to appropriation, any funds appropriated for use by |
25 | | the State Board, acting on behalf and with the consent of the |
26 | | Commission, may be used for the following purposes, without |
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1 | | limitation: personal services, contractual services, and other |
2 | | operational and administrative costs. The State Board is |
3 | | further authorized to make expenditures with respect to any |
4 | | other amounts deposited in accordance with law into the State |
5 | | Charter School Commission Fund. |
6 | | (g-5) Funds or spending authority for the operation and |
7 | | administrative costs of the Commission shall be appropriated to |
8 | | the State Board in a separate line item. The State |
9 | | Superintendent of Education may not reduce or modify the budget |
10 | | of the Commission or use funds appropriated to the Commission |
11 | | without the approval of the Commission. |
12 | | (h) The Commission shall operate with dedicated resources |
13 | | and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities |
14 | | of charter school authorizing in accordance with this Article. |
15 | | The Commission may employ and fix the compensation of such |
16 | | employees and technical assistants as it deems necessary to |
17 | | carry out its powers and duties under this Article, without |
18 | | regard to the requirements of any civil service or personnel |
19 | | statute; and may establish and administer standards of |
20 | | classification of all such persons with respect to their |
21 | | compensation, duties, performance, and tenure and enter into |
22 | | contracts of employment with such persons for such periods and |
23 | | on such terms as the Commission deems desirable. |
24 | | (i) Every 2 years, the Commission shall provide to the |
25 | | State Board and local school boards a report on best practices |
26 | | in charter school authorizing, including without limitation |
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1 | | evaluating applications, oversight of charters, and renewal of |
2 | | charter schools. |
3 | | (j) The Commission may charge a charter school that it |
4 | | authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to |
5 | | the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing |
6 | | administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering |
7 | | authority with respect to the school. This fee must be |
8 | | deposited into the State Charter School Commission Fund. |
9 | | (k) Any charter school authorized by the State Board prior |
10 | | to this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall have |
11 | | its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of |
12 | | the State Board, which shall then become the school's |
13 | | authorizer for all purposes under this Article. However, in no |
14 | | case shall such transfer take place later than July 1, 2012. At |
15 | | this time, all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities, |
16 | | contracts, property, records, and pending business of the State |
17 | | Board as the school's authorizer must be transferred to the |
18 | | Commission. Any charter school authorized by a local school |
19 | | board or boards may seek transfer of authorization to the |
20 | | Commission during its current term only with the approval of |
21 | | the local school board or boards. At the end of its charter |
22 | | term, a charter school authorized by a local school board or |
23 | | boards must reapply to the board or boards before it may apply |
24 | | for authorization to the Commission under the terms of this |
25 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. |
26 | | On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th |
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1 | | General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to |
2 | | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission |
3 | | shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The |
4 | | Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to |
5 | | the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to |
6 | | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission. |
7 | | The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the |
8 | | Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any |
9 | | proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule |
10 | | modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois |
11 | | Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider |
12 | | such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the |
13 | | 97th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent |
14 | | with that intent. |
15 | | (l) Any charter school operating as a |
16 | | Commission-authorized school for the first time during the |
17 | | 2016-2017 school year, upon the effective date of this |
18 | | amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly, shall revert to |
19 | | the oversight and control of the local school board as |
20 | | authorizer. The local school board shall enter into a new |
21 | | charter agreement with the charter school. The Commission shall |
22 | | have the responsibility to consider appeals under this Article |
23 | | immediately upon appointment of the initial members of the |
24 | | Commission under subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals |
25 | | pending at the time of initial appointment shall be determined |
26 | | by the Commission; the Commission may extend the time for |
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1 | | review as necessary for thorough review, but in no case shall |
2 | | the extension exceed the time that would have been available |
3 | | had the appeal been submitted to the Commission on the date of |
4 | | appointment of its initial members. In any appeal filed with |
5 | | the Commission under this Article, both the applicant and the |
6 | | school district in which the charter school plans to locate |
7 | | shall have the right to request a hearing before the |
8 | | Commission. If more than one entity requests a hearing, then |
9 | | the Commission may hold only one hearing, wherein the applicant |
10 | | and the school district shall have an equal opportunity to |
11 | | present their respective positions.
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12 | | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-641, eff. 12-19-11; |
13 | | 97-1156, eff. 1-25-13.)
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14 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
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15 | | Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
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16 | | (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school |
17 | | established by
referendum under
Section 27A-6.5.
In evaluating |
18 | | any charter
school proposal submitted to it, the local school |
19 | | board and the Commission shall give preference
to proposals |
20 | | that:
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21 | | (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental, |
22 | | community,
business, and school personnel support;
|
23 | | (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement |
24 | | and demonstrate
feasible plans for attaining those levels |
25 | | of achievement; and
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1 | | (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial |
2 | | proportion of at-risk
children; provided that nothing in |
3 | | the Charter Schools Law shall be construed
as intended to
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4 | | limit the establishment of charter schools to those that |
5 | | serve a substantial
portion of at-risk children or to in |
6 | | any manner restrict, limit, or discourage
the
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7 | | establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve |
8 | | other pupil populations
under a nonexclusive, |
9 | | nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
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10 | | (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school |
11 | | by converting an
existing public school or attendance center to |
12 | | charter school status, evidence
that the proposed formation of |
13 | | the charter school has received majority support
from certified |
14 | | teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
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15 | | attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if |
16 | | applicable, from a
local school council, shall be demonstrated |
17 | | by a petition in support of the
charter school signed by |
18 | | certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter |
19 | | school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a |
20 | | vote of
the local school council held at a public meeting. In |
21 | | the case of all other
proposals to establish a charter school, |
22 | | evidence of sufficient support to fill
the number of pupil |
23 | | seats set forth in the proposal may be
demonstrated by a
|
24 | | petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and |
25 | | guardians of
students eligible to attend the charter school.
In |
26 | | all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who |
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1 | | initiate
the proposal to establish a charter school may elect, |
2 | | in lieu of including any
petition referred to in this |
3 | | subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to
the local |
4 | | school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
|
5 | | received the support referred to in this subsection by other |
6 | | evidence and
information presented at the public meeting that |
7 | | the local school board is
required to convene under this |
8 | | Section.
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9 | | (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal, |
10 | | the local school
board shall convene a public meeting to obtain |
11 | | information to assist the board
in its decision to grant or |
12 | | deny the charter school proposal. A local school board may |
13 | | develop its own process for receiving charter school proposals |
14 | | on an annual basis that follows the same timeframes as set |
15 | | forth in this Article. Final decisions of a local school board |
16 | | are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review |
17 | | Law. Only after the local school board process is followed may |
18 | | a charter school applicant appeal to the Commission.
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19 | | (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section |
20 | | shall be published
in a community newspaper published in the |
21 | | school district in which the proposed
charter is located and, |
22 | | if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper
published in |
23 | | the county and having circulation in the school district. The
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24 | | notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than |
25 | | 5 days before
the meeting and shall state that information |
26 | | regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the |
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1 | | meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be
posted at |
2 | | appropriate locations in the school or attendance center |
3 | | proposed to
be established as a charter school, the public |
4 | | schools in the school district,
and the local school board |
5 | | office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding |
6 | | a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the |
7 | | proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in |
8 | | accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of |
9 | | this Section.
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10 | | (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school |
11 | | board shall vote,
in a public meeting, to either grant or deny |
12 | | the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not |
13 | | voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public |
14 | | meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to |
15 | | the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with |
16 | | the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
|
17 | | (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under |
18 | | subsection (e) of this Section, the
local school board shall |
19 | | file a report with the State Board
granting or denying the |
20 | | proposal.
If the local school board has approved the proposal, |
21 | | within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's
report, |
22 | | the State Board shall determine whether the approved charter
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23 | | proposal is consistent with the
provisions of this Article and, |
24 | | if the approved proposal
complies,
certify the proposal |
25 | | pursuant to Section 27A-6.
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26 | | (g) If the charter applicant submits the proposal to the |
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1 | | Commission as authorized under subsection (i) the local school |
2 | | board votes to deny the proposal, then the charter school |
3 | | applicant has 30 days from the date of that vote to submit an |
4 | | appeal to the Commission. In such instances or in those |
5 | | instances referenced in subsections (d) and (e) of this |
6 | | Section, the Commission shall follow the same process and be |
7 | | subject to the same timelines for review as the local school |
8 | | board. |
9 | | (h) The Commission may approve a charter school proposal |
10 | | submitted to it in accordance with subsection (i) reverse a |
11 | | local school board's decision to deny a charter school proposal |
12 | | if the Commission finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance |
13 | | with this Article and (ii) is in the best interests of the |
14 | | students the charter school is designed to serve. Final |
15 | | decisions of the Commission are subject to judicial review |
16 | | under the Administrative Review Law. |
17 | | (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly |
18 | | authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school |
19 | | boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a |
20 | | statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the |
21 | | charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light |
22 | | of the complexities of joint administration , in which case the |
23 | | charter applicant may submit the proposal to the Commission, |
24 | | where it shall be addressed in accordance with the provisions |
25 | | set forth in subsection (g) of this Section . |
26 | | (Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; |
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1 | | 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
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2 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
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3 | | Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
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4 | | (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5 |
5 | | and not
more than
10
school years. A charter may be renewed in |
6 | | incremental periods not to exceed
5
school years.
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7 | | (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
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8 | | local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
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9 | | shall contain:
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10 | | (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in |
11 | | achieving the goals,
objectives, pupil performance |
12 | | standards, content standards, and other terms of
the |
13 | | initial approved charter proposal; and
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14 | | (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of |
15 | | administration,
instruction, and other spending categories |
16 | | for the charter school that is
understandable to the |
17 | | general public and that will allow comparison of those
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18 | | costs to other schools or other comparable organizations, |
19 | | in a format required
by the State Board.
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20 | | (c) A charter may be revoked
or not renewed if the local |
21 | | school board or the Commission, as the chartering
entity,
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22 | | clearly demonstrates that the
charter school did any of the
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23 | | following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements |
24 | | of this law:
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25 | | (1) Committed a material violation of any of the |
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1 | | conditions, standards, or
procedures set forth in the |
2 | | charter.
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3 | | (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward |
4 | | achievement of the
content standards or pupil performance |
5 | | standards identified in the charter.
|
6 | | (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of |
7 | | fiscal management.
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8 | | (4) Violated any provision of law from which the |
9 | | charter school was not
exempted.
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10 | | In the case of revocation, the local school board or the |
11 | | Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter |
12 | | school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to |
13 | | revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to |
14 | | the local school board or the Commission, whichever is |
15 | | applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a |
16 | | timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or |
17 | | the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If |
18 | | the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering |
19 | | entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement |
20 | | the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the |
21 | | chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in |
22 | | situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or |
23 | | education of the charter school's students is at risk, the |
24 | | revocation shall take place at the end of a school year. |
25 | | Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly |
26 | | shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that |
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1 | | is less than 2 years in duration. |
2 | | (d) (Blank).
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3 | | (e) (Blank). Notice of a local school board's decision to
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4 | | deny, revoke or not to
renew a charter shall be provided to the |
5 | | Commission and the State Board.
The Commission may reverse a |
6 | | local board's
decision
if the Commission finds
that the charter |
7 | | school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with
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8 | | this Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the students |
9 | | it is designed
to serve.
The Commission may condition the |
10 | | granting of an appeal on the acceptance by
the charter school |
11 | | of funding in an amount less than that requested in the
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12 | | proposal submitted to the local school board.
Final decisions |
13 | | of the Commission shall be subject
to judicial review under the |
14 | | Administrative Review Law.
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15 | | (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if |
16 | | the Commission approves an application for a charter school |
17 | | submitted to it in accordance with this Article or
on appeal |
18 | | reverses a local board's decision
or if a charter school is
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19 | | approved by referendum under Section 27A-6.5 of this Code ,
the |
20 | | Commission
shall act as the
authorized chartering entity for |
21 | | the charter school.
The Commission shall
execute a approve the |
22 | | charter and shall perform all functions
under this
Article |
23 | | otherwise performed by the local school
board. The State Board |
24 | | shall determine whether the charter proposal approved by the |
25 | | Commission is consistent with the provisions of this Article |
26 | | and, if the approved proposal complies, certify the proposal |
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1 | | pursuant to this Article. The State Board shall
report the |
2 | | aggregate number of charter school pupils resident in a school
|
3 | | district to that district
and shall notify the district
of the |
4 | | amount of
funding to be paid by the State Board to the charter |
5 | | school enrolling such
students.
The Commission shall require |
6 | | the
charter school to maintain accurate records of daily |
7 | | attendance that shall be
deemed sufficient to file claims under |
8 | | Section 18-8.05 notwithstanding any
other requirements of that |
9 | | Section regarding hours of instruction and teacher
|
10 | | certification.
The State Board shall withhold from funds |
11 | | otherwise due the district
the funds authorized by this Article |
12 | | to be paid to the charter school and shall
pay such amounts to |
13 | | the charter school.
|
14 | | (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the |
15 | | Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the |
16 | | student enrollment for each of its charter schools. |
17 | | (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the |
18 | | State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal |
19 | | or State aid attributable to a student with a disability |
20 | | attending the school. |
21 | | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14.)".
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