Full Text of HB1360 99th General Assembly
HB1360 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB1360 Introduced 2/4/2015, by Rep. Robyn Gabel SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Requires a charter school to comply with all (instead of all applicable) health and safety requirements applicable to public schools under the laws of this State. Provides that a charter school is not exempt from local school board health, safety, and wellness policies. Makes technical changes having a revisory function. Effective immediately.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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| 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 | | 27A-5 as follows:
| 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| 7 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 8 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 9 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 10 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 11 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 12 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 13 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 14 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 15 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | 16 | | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 17 | | General
Assembly, in all new
applications to establish
a | 18 | | charter
school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | 19 | | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | 20 | | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | 21 | | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | 22 | | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | 23 | | Act. |
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| 1 | | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | 2 | | a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | 3 | | instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | 4 | | their teachers at remote locations and with students | 5 | | participating at different times. | 6 | | From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | 7 | | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | 8 | | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | 9 | | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | 10 | | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | 11 | | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | 12 | | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | 13 | | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | 14 | | prior to April 1, 2013. | 15 | | On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | 16 | | the General Assembly a report on the effect of | 17 | | virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | 18 | | student performance, the costs associated with | 19 | | virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | 20 | | include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
| 21 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 22 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 23 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| 24 | | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | 25 | | Meetings Act.
| 26 | | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable |
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| 1 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 2 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
| 3 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 4 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 5 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 6 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 7 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 8 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | 9 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 10 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 11 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 12 | | school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of | 13 | | public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of | 14 | | operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer | 15 | | and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form | 16 | | 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | 17 | | Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for | 18 | | proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer | 19 | | may require quarterly financial statements from each charter | 20 | | school.
| 21 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 22 | | this Article; the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act; all | 23 | | federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools | 24 | | that pertain to special education and the instruction of | 25 | | English language learners, referred to in this Code as | 26 | | "children of limited English-speaking ability"; and
its |
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| 1 | | charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State laws | 2 | | and regulations in this Code
governing public
schools and local | 3 | | school board policies ; however, a charter school is not exempt | 4 | | from , except the following:
| 5 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding | 6 | | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide | 7 | | Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent | 8 | | Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | 9 | | employment;
| 10 | | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this Code regarding | 11 | | discipline of
students;
| 12 | | (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 13 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 14 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 15 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 16 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 17 | | (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| 18 | | (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 19 | | (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report | 20 | | cards;
| 21 | | (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | 22 | | and | 23 | | (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | 24 | | prevention ; . | 25 | | (10) (9) Section 2-3.162 2-3.160 of this the School | 26 | | Code regarding student discipline reporting ; and . |
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| 1 | | (11) local school board health, safety, and wellness | 2 | | policies. | 3 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | 4 | | is declaratory of existing law. | 5 | | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 6 | | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 7 | | university or public community college, or
any other public or | 8 | | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | 9 | | school building and grounds or any other real property or | 10 | | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 11 | | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 12 | | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 13 | | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | 14 | | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 15 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | 16 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| 17 | | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | 18 | | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| 19 | | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | 20 | | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 21 | | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | 22 | | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | 23 | | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | 24 | | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | 25 | | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | 26 | | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by |
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| 1 | | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | 2 | | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | 3 | | of a State college or university or public community college
| 4 | | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| 5 | | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 6 | | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 7 | | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 8 | | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | 9 | | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 10 | | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 11 | | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| 12 | | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | 13 | | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 14 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | 15 | | grade level.
| 16 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | 17 | | then the Commission charter school is its own local education | 18 | | agency. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; | 20 | | 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14; | 21 | | 98-669, eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff. | 22 | | 1-1-15; 98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; revised | 23 | | 10-14-14.)
| 24 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 25 | | becoming law.
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