Full Text of HB5265 102nd General Assembly
HB5265eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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 Sections | 5 | | 1-3, 10-20.13, 27A-5, 28-19.2, and 34-21.6 as follows:
| 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/1-3) (from Ch. 122, par. 1-3)
| 7 | | Sec. 1-3. Definitions. In this Code:
| 8 | | The terms "common schools", "free schools" and "public | 9 | | schools" are used
interchangeably to apply to any school | 10 | | operated by authority of this Act.
| 11 | | "School board" means the governing body of any district | 12 | | created or
operating under authority of this Code, including | 13 | | board of school directors
and board of education. When the | 14 | | context so indicates it also means the
governing body of any | 15 | | non-high school district and of any special charter
district, | 16 | | including a board of school inspectors. | 17 | | "School fees" or "fees" means any monetary charge | 18 | | collected by a public school, public school district, or | 19 | | charter school from a student or the parents or guardian of a | 20 | | student as a prerequisite for the student's participation in | 21 | | any curricular or extracurricular program of the school or | 22 | | school district as defined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of | 23 | | subsection (a) of Section 1.245 of Title 23 of the Illinois |
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| 1 | | Administrative Code.
| 2 | | "Special charter district" means any city, township, or | 3 | | district
organized into a school district, under a special Act | 4 | | or charter of the
General Assembly or in which schools are now | 5 | | managed and operating within
such unit in whole or in part | 6 | | under the terms of such special Act or
charter.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 102-687, eff. 12-17-21.)
| 8 | | (105 ILCS 5/10-20.13) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-20.13)
| 9 | | Sec. 10-20.13. Textbooks for children of parents unable to | 10 | | buy them
and other fees and fines . | 11 | | (a) To purchase, at the
expense of the district, a | 12 | | sufficient number of
textbooks for children whose parents are | 13 | | unable to buy them, including
but not limited to children | 14 | | living in households that meet the free lunch or breakfast | 15 | | eligibility guidelines established by the federal government | 16 | | pursuant to Section 1758 of the federal Richard B. Russell | 17 | | National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. 245 et | 18 | | seq.) and homeless children and youth as defined in Section | 19 | | 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act | 20 | | (42 U.S.C. 11434a) , subject to verification as set forth in | 21 | | subsection (c) of this Section. Such textbooks
shall be loaned | 22 | | only, and the directors shall require the teacher to see
that | 23 | | they are properly cared for and returned at the end of each | 24 | | term of
school.
| 25 | | (b) To waive all fees and any fines for the loss of school |
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| 1 | | property assessed by the district on children whose parents
| 2 | | are unable to afford them, including but not limited to : | 3 | | (1) children living in households that meet the free | 4 | | lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by | 5 | | the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the | 6 | | federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 | 7 | | U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. 245 et seq.), subject to | 8 | | verification as set forth in subsection (c) of this | 9 | | Section , and | 10 | | (2)homeless children and youth as defined in Section | 11 | | 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance | 12 | | Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). | 13 | | Notice of waiver availability shall be given to parents or | 14 | | guardians with every bill for fees or fines .
The school board
| 15 | | shall adopt written policies and procedures for such waiver of | 16 | | fees in
accordance with regulations promulgated by the State | 17 | | Board of Education.
| 18 | | (c) Any school board that participates in a federally | 19 | | funded, school-based child nutrition program and uses a | 20 | | student's application for, eligibility for, or participation | 21 | | in the federally funded, school-based child nutrition program | 22 | | (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. 245 et seq.) as the basis for waiving | 23 | | fees assessed by the school district must follow the | 24 | | verification requirements of the federally funded, | 25 | | school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. | 26 | | 245.6a). |
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| 1 | | A school board that establishes a process for the | 2 | | determination of eligibility for waiver of fees assessed by | 3 | | the school district that is completely independent of a | 4 | | student's application for, eligibility for, or participation | 5 | | in a federally funded, school-based child nutrition program | 6 | | may provide for fee waiver verification no more often than | 7 | | once per academic year every 60 calendar days . Information | 8 | | obtained during the independent, fee waiver verification | 9 | | process indicating that the student does not meet free lunch | 10 | | or breakfast eligibility guidelines may be used to deny the | 11 | | waiver of the student's fees or fines for the loss of school | 12 | | property , provided that any information obtained through this | 13 | | independent process for determining or verifying eligibility | 14 | | for fee waivers shall not be used to determine or verify | 15 | | eligibility for any federally funded, school-based child | 16 | | nutrition program. This subsection shall not preclude children | 17 | | from obtaining waivers at any point during the academic year. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 96-360, eff. 9-1-09.)
| 19 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| 20 | | (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-157 and P.A. | 21 | | 102-466 ) | 22 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 23 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 24 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 25 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit |
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| 1 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 2 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 3 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 4 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 5 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
| 6 | | Beginning on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act | 7 | | 93-3), in all new
applications to establish
a charter
school | 8 | | in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of | 9 | | the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. The changes | 10 | | made to this Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter | 11 | | schools existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
| 12 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3). | 13 | | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | 14 | | a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | 15 | | instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | 16 | | their teachers at remote locations and with students | 17 | | participating at different times. | 18 | | From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | 19 | | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | 20 | | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | 21 | | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | 22 | | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | 23 | | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | 24 | | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | 25 | | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | 26 | | prior to April 1, 2013.
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| 1 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 2 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 3 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter | 4 | | school
shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and | 5 | | the Open Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year | 6 | | after the effective date of Public Act 101-291), a charter | 7 | | school's board of directors or other governing body must | 8 | | include at least one parent or guardian of a pupil currently | 9 | | enrolled in the charter school who may be selected through the | 10 | | charter school or a charter network election, appointment by | 11 | | the charter school's board of directors or other governing | 12 | | body, or by the charter school's Parent Teacher Organization | 13 | | or its equivalent. | 14 | | (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the | 15 | | effective date of Public Act 101-291) or within the first year | 16 | | of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter | 17 | | school's board of directors or other governing body shall | 18 | | complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development | 19 | | leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient | 20 | | familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and | 21 | | responsibilities, including financial oversight and | 22 | | accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and | 23 | | school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information | 24 | | Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education | 25 | | and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a | 26 | | voting member of a charter school's board of directors or |
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| 1 | | other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of | 2 | | professional development training in these same areas. The | 3 | | training under this subsection may be provided or certified by | 4 | | a statewide charter school membership association or may be | 5 | | provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by | 6 | | the State Board of Education.
| 7 | | (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular | 8 | | health and safety requirement" means any health and safety | 9 | | requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, | 10 | | preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for | 11 | | students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or | 12 | | prevent threats to the health and safety of students and | 13 | | school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety | 14 | | requirement" does not include any course of study or | 15 | | specialized instructional requirement for which the State | 16 | | Board has established goals and learning standards or which is | 17 | | designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students | 18 | | to master and apply as an outcome of their education. | 19 | | A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular | 20 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 21 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois. On or before September | 22 | | 1, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its | 23 | | Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety | 24 | | requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall | 25 | | be updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter | 26 | | contract between a charter school and its authorizer must |
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| 1 | | contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow | 2 | | the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements | 3 | | promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health | 4 | | and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list | 5 | | during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) | 6 | | precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health | 7 | | and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are | 8 | | not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, | 9 | | including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the | 10 | | authorizing local school board.
| 11 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 12 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 13 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 14 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 15 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 16 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs, including,
but | 17 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 18 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 19 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 20 | | school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter | 21 | | school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer | 22 | | in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. | 23 | | To ensure financial accountability for the use of public | 24 | | funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each | 25 | | charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State | 26 | | Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the |
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| 1 | | charter school filed that year with the federal Internal | 2 | | Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper | 3 | | financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may | 4 | | require quarterly financial statements from each charter | 5 | | school.
| 6 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 7 | | this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, | 8 | | all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public | 9 | | schools that pertain to special education and the instruction | 10 | | of English learners, and
its charter. A charter
school is | 11 | | exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
| 12 | | governing public
schools and local school board policies; | 13 | | however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
| 14 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code | 15 | | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of | 16 | | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer | 17 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants | 18 | | for employment;
| 19 | | (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and | 20 | | 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of
students;
| 21 | | (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 22 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 23 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 24 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 25 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 26 | | (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
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| 1 | | (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and | 2 | | subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; | 3 | | (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 4 | | (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school | 5 | | report cards;
| 6 | | (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | 7 | | (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | 8 | | prevention; | 9 | | (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student | 10 | | discipline reporting; | 11 | | (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; | 12 | | (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; | 13 | | (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; | 14 | | (14) Section 26-18 of this Code; | 15 | | (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; | 16 | | (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; and | 17 | | (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; | 18 | | (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; and | 19 | | (19) (18) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code ; . | 20 | | (20) (19) Section 10-22.25b of this Code ; . | 21 | | (21) (19) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; | 22 | | (22) (20) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; and | 23 | | (23) (21) Section 34-18.8 of this Code ; . | 24 | | (25) (19) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; and | 25 | | (26) (20) Section 22-85.5 of this Code ; . | 26 | | (27) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; |
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| 1 | | (28) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; and | 2 | | (29) Section 34-21.6 of this Code. | 3 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection | 4 | | (g) 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 | 14 | | to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 15 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after | 16 | | April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that | 17 | | operates
in a city having a population exceeding
500,000 may | 18 | | not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the | 19 | | school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
| 20 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3) and
concludes at the end of | 21 | | the 2004-2005 school year.
Except as provided in subsection | 22 | | (i) of this Section, a school district may
charge a charter | 23 | | school reasonable rent for the use of the district's
| 24 | | buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a | 25 | | charter school
contracts
with a school district shall be | 26 | | provided by the district at cost. Any services
for which a |
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| 1 | | charter school contracts with a local school board or with the
| 2 | | governing body of a State college or university or public | 3 | | community college
shall be provided by the public entity at | 4 | | 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 | 12 | | subject
to negotiation between
the charter school and the | 13 | | local school board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 14 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age | 15 | | or grade level.
| 16 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or | 17 | | Commission, then the charter school is its own local education | 18 | | agency. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 101-50, eff. 7-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; | 20 | | 101-291, eff. 1-1-20; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-543, eff. | 21 | | 8-23-19; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-360, | 22 | | eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; | 23 | | 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; revised | 24 | | 12-21-21.) | 25 | | (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-157 but |
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| 1 | | before amendment by P.A. 102-466 )
| 2 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 3 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 4 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 5 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 6 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 7 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 8 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 9 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 10 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
| 11 | | Beginning on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act | 12 | | 93-3), in all new
applications to establish
a charter
school | 13 | | in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of | 14 | | the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. The changes | 15 | | made to this Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter | 16 | | schools existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
| 17 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3). | 18 | | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | 19 | | a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | 20 | | instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | 21 | | their teachers at remote locations and with students | 22 | | participating at different times. | 23 | | From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | 24 | | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | 25 | | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | 26 | | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This |
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| 1 | | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | 2 | | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | 3 | | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | 4 | | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | 5 | | prior to April 1, 2013.
| 6 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 7 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 8 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter | 9 | | school
shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and | 10 | | the Open Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year | 11 | | after the effective date of Public Act 101-291), a charter | 12 | | school's board of directors or other governing body must | 13 | | include at least one parent or guardian of a pupil currently | 14 | | enrolled in the charter school who may be selected through the | 15 | | charter school or a charter network election, appointment by | 16 | | the charter school's board of directors or other governing | 17 | | body, or by the charter school's Parent Teacher Organization | 18 | | or its equivalent. | 19 | | (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the | 20 | | effective date of Public Act 101-291) or within the first year | 21 | | of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter | 22 | | school's board of directors or other governing body shall | 23 | | complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development | 24 | | leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient | 25 | | familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and | 26 | | responsibilities, including financial oversight and |
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| 1 | | accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and | 2 | | school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information | 3 | | Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education | 4 | | and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a | 5 | | voting member of a charter school's board of directors or | 6 | | other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of | 7 | | professional development training in these same areas. The | 8 | | training under this subsection may be provided or certified by | 9 | | a statewide charter school membership association or may be | 10 | | provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by | 11 | | the State Board of Education.
| 12 | | (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular | 13 | | health and safety requirement" means any health and safety | 14 | | requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, | 15 | | preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for | 16 | | students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or | 17 | | prevent threats to the health and safety of students and | 18 | | school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety | 19 | | requirement" does not include any course of study or | 20 | | specialized instructional requirement for which the State | 21 | | Board has established goals and learning standards or which is | 22 | | designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students | 23 | | to master and apply as an outcome of their education. | 24 | | A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular | 25 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 26 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois. On or before September |
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| 1 | | 1, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its | 2 | | Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety | 3 | | requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall | 4 | | be updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter | 5 | | contract between a charter school and its authorizer must | 6 | | contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow | 7 | | the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements | 8 | | promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health | 9 | | and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list | 10 | | during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) | 11 | | precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health | 12 | | and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are | 13 | | not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, | 14 | | including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the | 15 | | authorizing local school board.
| 16 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 17 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 18 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 19 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 20 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 21 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs, including,
but | 22 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 23 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 24 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 25 | | school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter | 26 | | school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer |
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| 1 | | in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. | 2 | | To ensure financial accountability for the use of public | 3 | | funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each | 4 | | charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State | 5 | | Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the | 6 | | charter school filed that year with the federal Internal | 7 | | Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper | 8 | | financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may | 9 | | require quarterly financial statements from each charter | 10 | | school.
| 11 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 12 | | this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, | 13 | | all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public | 14 | | schools that pertain to special education and the instruction | 15 | | of English learners, and
its charter. A charter
school is | 16 | | exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
| 17 | | governing public
schools and local school board policies; | 18 | | however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
| 19 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code | 20 | | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of | 21 | | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer | 22 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants | 23 | | for employment;
| 24 | | (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and | 25 | | 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of
students;
| 26 | | (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees |
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| 1 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 2 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 3 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 4 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 5 | | (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| 6 | | (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and | 7 | | subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; | 8 | | (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 9 | | (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school | 10 | | report cards;
| 11 | | (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | 12 | | (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | 13 | | prevention; | 14 | | (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student | 15 | | discipline reporting; | 16 | | (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; | 17 | | (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; | 18 | | (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; | 19 | | (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code; | 20 | | (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; | 21 | | (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; and | 22 | | (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; | 23 | | (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; and | 24 | | (19) (18) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code ; . | 25 | | (20) (19) Section 10-22.25b of this Code ; . | 26 | | (21) (19) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; |
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| 1 | | (22) (20) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; and | 2 | | (23) (21) Section 34-18.8 of this Code ; . | 3 | | (25) (19) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; and | 4 | | (26) (20) Section 22-85.5 of this Code ; . | 5 | | (27) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; | 6 | | (28) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; and | 7 | | (29) Section 34-21.6 of this Code. | 8 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection | 9 | | (g) is declaratory of existing law. | 10 | | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 11 | | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 12 | | university or public community college, or
any other public or | 13 | | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | 14 | | school building and grounds or any other real property or | 15 | | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 16 | | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 17 | | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 18 | | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required | 19 | | to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 20 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after | 21 | | April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that | 22 | | operates
in a city having a population exceeding
500,000 may | 23 | | not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the | 24 | | school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
| 25 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3) and
concludes at the end of | 26 | | the 2004-2005 school year.
Except as provided in subsection |
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| 1 | | (i) of this Section, a school district may
charge a charter | 2 | | school reasonable rent for the use of the district's
| 3 | | buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a | 4 | | charter school
contracts
with a school district shall be | 5 | | provided by the district at cost. Any services
for which a | 6 | | charter school contracts with a local school board or with the
| 7 | | governing body of a State college or university or public | 8 | | community college
shall be provided by the public entity at | 9 | | cost.
| 10 | | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 11 | | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 12 | | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 13 | | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | 14 | | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 15 | | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 16 | | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be | 17 | | subject
to negotiation between
the charter school and the | 18 | | local school board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 19 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age | 20 | | or grade level.
| 21 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or | 22 | | Commission, then the charter school is its own local education | 23 | | agency. | 24 | | (Source: P.A. 101-50, eff. 7-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; | 25 | | 101-291, eff. 1-1-20; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-543, eff. | 26 | | 8-23-19; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, |
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| 1 | | eff. 7-1-22; 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; | 2 | | 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. | 3 | | 12-3-21; revised 12-21-21.) | 4 | | (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466 ) | 5 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 6 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 7 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 8 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 9 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 10 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 11 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 12 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 13 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
| 14 | | Beginning on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act | 15 | | 93-3), in all new
applications to establish
a charter
school | 16 | | in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of | 17 | | the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. The changes | 18 | | made to this Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter | 19 | | schools existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
| 20 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3). | 21 | | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | 22 | | a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | 23 | | instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | 24 | | their teachers at remote locations and with students | 25 | | participating at different times. |
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| 1 | | From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | 2 | | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | 3 | | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | 4 | | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | 5 | | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | 6 | | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | 7 | | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | 8 | | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | 9 | | prior to April 1, 2013.
| 10 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 11 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 12 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter | 13 | | school
shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and | 14 | | the Open Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year | 15 | | after the effective date of Public Act 101-291), a charter | 16 | | school's board of directors or other governing body must | 17 | | include at least one parent or guardian of a pupil currently | 18 | | enrolled in the charter school who may be selected through the | 19 | | charter school or a charter network election, appointment by | 20 | | the charter school's board of directors or other governing | 21 | | body, or by the charter school's Parent Teacher Organization | 22 | | or its equivalent. | 23 | | (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the | 24 | | effective date of Public Act 101-291) or within the first year | 25 | | of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter | 26 | | school's board of directors or other governing body shall |
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| 1 | | complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development | 2 | | leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient | 3 | | familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and | 4 | | responsibilities, including financial oversight and | 5 | | accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and | 6 | | school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information | 7 | | Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education | 8 | | and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a | 9 | | voting member of a charter school's board of directors or | 10 | | other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of | 11 | | professional development training in these same areas. The | 12 | | training under this subsection may be provided or certified by | 13 | | a statewide charter school membership association or may be | 14 | | provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by | 15 | | the State Board of Education.
| 16 | | (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular | 17 | | health and safety requirement" means any health and safety | 18 | | requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, | 19 | | preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for | 20 | | students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or | 21 | | prevent threats to the health and safety of students and | 22 | | school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety | 23 | | requirement" does not include any course of study or | 24 | | specialized instructional requirement for which the State | 25 | | Board has established goals and learning standards or which is | 26 | | designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students |
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| 1 | | to master and apply as an outcome of their education. | 2 | | A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular | 3 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 4 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois. On or before September | 5 | | 1, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its | 6 | | Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety | 7 | | requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall | 8 | | be updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter | 9 | | contract between a charter school and its authorizer must | 10 | | contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow | 11 | | the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements | 12 | | promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health | 13 | | and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list | 14 | | during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) | 15 | | precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health | 16 | | and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are | 17 | | not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, | 18 | | including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the | 19 | | authorizing local school board.
| 20 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 21 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 22 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 23 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 24 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 25 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs, including,
but | 26 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each |
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| 1 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 2 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 3 | | school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter | 4 | | school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer | 5 | | in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. | 6 | | To ensure financial accountability for the use of public | 7 | | funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each | 8 | | charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State | 9 | | Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the | 10 | | charter school filed that year with the federal Internal | 11 | | Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper | 12 | | financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may | 13 | | require quarterly financial statements from each charter | 14 | | school.
| 15 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 16 | | this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, | 17 | | all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public | 18 | | schools that pertain to special education and the instruction | 19 | | of English learners, and
its charter. A charter
school is | 20 | | exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
| 21 | | governing public
schools and local school board policies; | 22 | | however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
| 23 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code | 24 | | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of | 25 | | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer | 26 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants |
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| 1 | | for employment;
| 2 | | (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and | 3 | | 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of
students;
| 4 | | (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 5 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 6 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 7 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 8 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 9 | | (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| 10 | | (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and | 11 | | subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; | 12 | | (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 13 | | (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school | 14 | | report cards;
| 15 | | (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | 16 | | (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | 17 | | prevention; | 18 | | (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student | 19 | | discipline reporting; | 20 | | (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; | 21 | | (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; | 22 | | (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; | 23 | | (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code; | 24 | | (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; | 25 | | (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; and | 26 | | (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; |
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| 1 | | (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; and | 2 | | (19) (18) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code ; . | 3 | | (20) (19) Section 10-22.25b of this Code ; . | 4 | | (21) (19) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; | 5 | | (22) (20) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; and | 6 | | (23) (21) Section 34-18.8 of this Code ; . | 7 | | (24) (19) Article 26A of this Code ; . | 8 | | (25) (19) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; and | 9 | | (26) (20) Section 22-85.5 of this Code ; . | 10 | | (27) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; | 11 | | (28) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; and | 12 | | (29) Section 34-21.6 of this Code. | 13 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection | 14 | | (g) is declaratory of existing law. | 15 | | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 16 | | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 17 | | university or public community college, or
any other public or | 18 | | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | 19 | | school building and grounds or any other real property or | 20 | | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 21 | | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 22 | | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 23 | | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required | 24 | | to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 25 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after | 26 | | April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that |
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| 1 | | operates
in a city having a population exceeding
500,000 may | 2 | | not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the | 3 | | school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
| 4 | | effective date of Public Act 93-3) and
concludes at the end of | 5 | | the 2004-2005 school year.
Except as provided in subsection | 6 | | (i) of this Section, a school district may
charge a charter | 7 | | school reasonable rent for the use of the district's
| 8 | | buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a | 9 | | charter school
contracts
with a school district shall be | 10 | | provided by the district at cost. Any services
for which a | 11 | | charter school contracts with a local school board or with the
| 12 | | governing body of a State college or university or public | 13 | | community college
shall be provided by the public entity at | 14 | | cost.
| 15 | | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 16 | | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 17 | | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 18 | | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | 19 | | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 20 | | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 21 | | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be | 22 | | subject
to negotiation between
the charter school and the | 23 | | local school board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 24 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age | 25 | | or grade level.
| 26 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or |
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| 1 | | Commission, then the charter school is its own local education | 2 | | agency. | 3 | | (Source: P.A. 101-50, eff. 7-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; | 4 | | 101-291, eff. 1-1-20; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-543, eff. | 5 | | 8-23-19; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, | 6 | | eff. 7-1-22; 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; | 7 | | 102-466, eff. 7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. | 8 | | 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; revised 12-21-21.)
| 9 | | (105 ILCS 5/28-19.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 28-19.2)
| 10 | | Sec. 28-19.2.
(a) No discrimination or punishment of any | 11 | | kind, including , but not limited to: the lowering of grades , | 12 | | or exclusion from classes, or withholding of student records, | 13 | | transcripts or diplomas may be exercised against
a student | 14 | | because the student's whose parents or guardians are unable to | 15 | | purchase required textbooks
or instructional materials or to | 16 | | pay required fees.
| 17 | | (b) Any person who violates this Section is guilty of a | 18 | | petty offense.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 83-573.)
| 20 | | (105 ILCS 5/34-21.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-21.6)
| 21 | | Sec. 34-21.6. Waiver of fees and fines . | 22 | | (a) The board shall waive all fees and any fines for the | 23 | | loss of school property assessed by the district
on children | 24 | | whose parents are unable to afford them, including but not |
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| 1 | | limited
to : | 2 | | (1) children living in households that meet the free | 3 | | lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by | 4 | | the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the | 5 | | federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 | 6 | | U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. 245 et seq.), subject to | 7 | | verification as set forth in subsection (b) of this | 8 | | Section , and | 9 | | (2) homeless children and youth as defined in Section | 10 | | 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance | 11 | | Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). | 12 | | Notice of waiver availability shall be given to parents or | 13 | | guardians with every bill for fees or fines . The board shall | 14 | | develop written
policies and procedures implementing this | 15 | | Section in accordance with
regulations promulgated by the | 16 | | State Board of Education.
| 17 | | (b) If the board participates in a federally funded, | 18 | | school-based child nutrition program and uses a student's | 19 | | application for, eligibility for, or participation in the | 20 | | federally funded, school-based child nutrition program (42 | 21 | | U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. 245 et seq.) as the basis for waiving | 22 | | fees assessed by the district, then the board must follow the | 23 | | verification requirements of the federally funded, | 24 | | school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 C.F.R. | 25 | | 245.6a). | 26 | | If the board establishes a process for the determination |
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| 1 | | of eligibility for waiver of all fees assessed by the district | 2 | | that is completely independent of the criteria listed in | 3 | | subsection (b) a student's application for, eligibility for, | 4 | | or participation in a federally funded, school-based child | 5 | | nutrition program , the board may provide for fee waiver | 6 | | verification no more often once every academic year than every | 7 | | 60 calendar days . Information obtained during the independent , | 8 | | fee waiver verification process indicating that the student | 9 | | does not meet free lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines | 10 | | may be used to deny the waiver of the student's fees or fines | 11 | | for the loss of school property , provided that any information | 12 | | obtained through this independent process for determining or | 13 | | verifying eligibility for fee waivers shall not be used to | 14 | | determine or verify eligibility for any federally funded, | 15 | | school-based child nutrition program. | 16 | | This subsection shall not preclude children from obtaining | 17 | | waivers at any point during the academic year. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 96-360, eff. 9-1-09.)
| 19 | | Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes | 20 | | changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text | 21 | | that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section | 22 | | represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does | 23 | | not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes | 24 | | made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other | 25 | | Public Act.
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