Full Text of SB0079 97th General Assembly
SB0079enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education, which may be referred to as | 2 | | the Charter School Quality Law.
| 3 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 4 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 5 | | Section 3. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 6 | | Section 5.786 as follows: | 7 | | (30 ILCS 105/5.786 new) | 8 | | Sec. 5.786. The State Charter School Commission Fund. | 9 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | 10 | | 27A-3, 27A-5, 27A-8, 27A-9, and 27A-12 and by adding Sections | 11 | | 27A-7.5 and 27A-7.10 as follows:
| 12 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
| 13 | | Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
| 14 | | "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical, | 15 | | emotional,
socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely | 16 | | to succeed in a conventional
educational environment.
| 17 | | "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article | 18 | | to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject | 19 | | applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants, | 20 | | oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not | 21 | | renew, or revoke a charter. |
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| 1 | | "Commission" means the State Charter School Commission | 2 | | established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code. | 3 | | "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed | 4 | | school board or
board of education of a public school district, | 5 | | including special charter
districts and school districts | 6 | | located in cities having a population of more
than 500,000, | 7 | | organized under the laws of this State.
| 8 | | "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
| 10 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| 11 | | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| 12 | | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | 13 | | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | 14 | | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | 15 | | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| 16 | | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| 17 | | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | 18 | | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | 19 | | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | 20 | | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 21 | | General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | 22 | | State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
| 23 | | school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | 24 | | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | 25 | | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the |
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| 1 | | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | 2 | | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | 3 | | Act.
| 4 | | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | 5 | | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | 6 | | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| 7 | | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | 8 | | Meetings Act.
| 9 | | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | 10 | | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | 11 | | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
| 12 | | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | 13 | | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | 14 | | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | 15 | | instructional materials, and student activities.
| 16 | | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | 17 | | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | 18 | | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | 19 | | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | 20 | | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | 21 | | school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must | 22 | | submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the | 23 | | Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | 24 | | Internal Revenue Service.
| 25 | | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | 26 | | this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
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| 1 | | its charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State | 2 | | laws and regulations in the School Code
governing public
| 3 | | schools and local school board policies, except the following:
| 4 | | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | 5 | | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of the | 6 | | Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child | 7 | | Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of | 8 | | applicants for employment;
| 9 | | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | 10 | | regarding discipline of
students;
| 11 | | (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | 12 | | Tort Immunity Act;
| 13 | | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | 14 | | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | 15 | | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| 16 | | (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| 17 | | (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;
| 18 | | (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | 19 | | report cards; and
| 20 | | (8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act. | 21 | | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | 22 | | is declaratory of existing law. | 23 | | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | 24 | | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | 25 | | university or public community college, or
any other public or | 26 | | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a |
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| 1 | | school building and grounds or any other real property or | 2 | | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | 3 | | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | 4 | | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | 5 | | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | 6 | | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| 7 | | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | 8 | | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| 9 | | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | 10 | | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| 11 | | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | 12 | | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | 13 | | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | 14 | | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this | 15 | | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | 16 | | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | 17 | | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | 18 | | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | 19 | | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | 20 | | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | 21 | | of a State college or university or public community college
| 22 | | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| 23 | | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | 24 | | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | 25 | | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | 26 | | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter |
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| 1 | | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | 2 | | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | 3 | | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| 4 | | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | 5 | | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| 6 | | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | 7 | | grade level.
| 8 | | (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | 9 | | then the Commission charter school is its own local education | 10 | | agency. | 11 | | (Source: P.A. 96-104, eff. 1-1-10; 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; | 12 | | 96-107, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1000, eff. | 13 | | 7-2-10.)
| 14 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.5 new) | 15 | | Sec. 27A-7.5. State Charter School Commission. | 16 | | (a) A State Charter School Commission is established as an | 17 | | independent State agency with statewide chartering | 18 | | jurisdiction and authority. | 19 | | (b) The Commission is responsible for authorizing | 20 | | high-quality charter schools throughout this State, | 21 | | particularly schools designed to expand opportunities for | 22 | | at-risk students, consistent with the purposes of this Article. | 23 | | (c) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, appointed by | 24 | | the State Board. The State Board shall make these appointments | 25 | | from a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor, within 60 |
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| 1 | | days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 2 | | 97th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission | 3 | | members. In making the appointments, the State Board shall | 4 | | ensure statewide geographic diversity among Commission | 5 | | members. The Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to | 6 | | the State Board within 60 days after the effective date of this | 7 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior | 8 | | to the expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the | 9 | | Governor fails to timely propose a slate of candidates | 10 | | according to the provisions of this subsection (c), then the | 11 | | State Board may appoint the member or members of the | 12 | | Commission. | 13 | | (d) Members appointed to the Commission shall collectively | 14 | | possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit | 15 | | governance, management and finance, public school leadership, | 16 | | higher education, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and | 17 | | public education law. All members of the Commission shall have | 18 | | demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public | 19 | | education, including without limitation charter schooling. At | 20 | | least 3 members must have past experience with urban charter | 21 | | schools. | 22 | | (e) To establish staggered terms of office, the initial | 23 | | term of office for 3 Commission members shall be 4 years and | 24 | | thereafter shall be 4 years; the initial term of office for | 25 | | another 3 members shall be 3 years and thereafter shall be 4 | 26 | | years; and the initial term of office for the remaining 3 |
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| 1 | | members shall be 2 years and thereafter shall be 4 years. The | 2 | | initial appointments must be made no later than October 1, | 3 | | 2011. | 4 | | (f) Whenever a vacancy on the Commission exists, the State | 5 | | Board shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the | 6 | | term. | 7 | | (g) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics | 8 | | Act, the Commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts, | 9 | | grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private | 10 | | entity to carry out the purposes of this Article, subject to | 11 | | the terms and conditions under which they are given, provided | 12 | | that all such terms and conditions are permissible under law. | 13 | | Funds received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into | 14 | | the State Charter School Commission Fund. | 15 | | The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a | 16 | | special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall | 17 | | be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for | 18 | | operational and administrative costs of the Commission. | 19 | | (h) The Commission shall operate with dedicated resources | 20 | | and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities | 21 | | of charter school authorizing in accordance with this Article. | 22 | | (i) Every 2 years, the Commission shall provide to the | 23 | | State Board and local school boards a report on best practices | 24 | | in charter school authorizing, including without limitation | 25 | | evaluating applications, oversight of charters, and renewal of | 26 | | charter schools. |
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| 1 | | (j) The Commission may charge a charter school that it | 2 | | authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to | 3 | | the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing | 4 | | administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering | 5 | | authority with respect to the school. This fee must be | 6 | | deposited into the State Charter School Commission Fund. | 7 | | (k) Any charter school authorized by the State Board prior | 8 | | to this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall have | 9 | | its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of | 10 | | the State Board, which shall then become the school's | 11 | | authorizer for all purposes under this Article. However, in no | 12 | | case shall such transfer take place later than July 1, 2012. At | 13 | | this time, all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities, | 14 | | contracts, property, records, and pending business of the State | 15 | | Board as the school's authorizer must be transferred to the | 16 | | Commission. Any charter school authorized by a local school | 17 | | board or boards may seek transfer of authorization to the | 18 | | Commission during its current term only with the approval of | 19 | | the local school board or boards. At the end of its charter | 20 | | term, a charter school authorized by a local school board or | 21 | | boards must reapply to the board or boards before it may apply | 22 | | for authorization to the Commission under the terms of this | 23 | | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. | 24 | | On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th | 25 | | General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to | 26 | | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission |
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| 1 | | shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The | 2 | | Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to | 3 | | the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to | 4 | | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission. | 5 | | The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the | 6 | | Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any | 7 | | proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule | 8 | | modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois | 9 | | Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider | 10 | | such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the | 11 | | 97th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent | 12 | | with that intent. | 13 | | (l) The Commission shall have the responsibility to | 14 | | consider appeals under this Article immediately upon | 15 | | appointment of the initial members of the Commission under | 16 | | subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals pending at the time of | 17 | | initial appointment shall be determined by the Commission; the | 18 | | Commission may extend the time for review as necessary for | 19 | | thorough review, but in no case shall the extension exceed the | 20 | | time that would have been available had the appeal been | 21 | | submitted to the Commission on the date of appointment of its | 22 | | initial members. In any appeal filed with the Commission under | 23 | | this Article, both the applicant and the school district in | 24 | | which the charter school plans to locate shall have the right | 25 | | to request a hearing before the Commission. If more than one | 26 | | entity requests a hearing, then the Commission may hold only |
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| 1 | | one hearing, wherein the applicant and the school district | 2 | | shall have an equal opportunity to present their respective | 3 | | positions. | 4 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.10 new) | 5 | | Sec. 27A-7.10. Authorizer powers and duties; immunity; | 6 | | principles and standards. | 7 | | (a) Authorizers are responsible for executing, in | 8 | | accordance with this Article, all of the following powers and | 9 | | duties: | 10 | | (1) Soliciting and evaluating charter applications. | 11 | | (2) Approving quality charter applications that meet | 12 | | identified educational needs and promote a diversity of | 13 | | educational choices. | 14 | | (3) Declining to approve weak or inadequate charter | 15 | | applications. | 16 | | (4) Negotiating and executing sound charter contracts | 17 | | with each approved charter school. | 18 | | (5) Monitoring, in accordance with charter contract | 19 | | terms, the performance and legal compliance of charter | 20 | | schools. | 21 | | (6) Determining whether each charter contract merits | 22 | | renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation. | 23 | | (b) An authorizing entity may delegate its duties to | 24 | | officers, employees, and contractors. | 25 | | (c) Regulation by authorizers is limited to the powers and |
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| 1 | | duties set forth in subsection (a) of this Section and must be | 2 | | consistent with the spirit and intent of this Article. | 3 | | (d) An authorizing entity, members of the local school | 4 | | board, or the Commission, in their official capacity, and | 5 | | employees of an authorizer are immune from civil and criminal | 6 | | liability with respect to all activities related to a charter | 7 | | school that they authorize, except for willful or wanton | 8 | | misconduct. | 9 | | (e) The Commission and all local school boards that have a | 10 | | charter school operating are required to develop and maintain | 11 | | chartering policies and practices consistent with recognized | 12 | | principles and standards for quality charter authorizing in all | 13 | | major areas of authorizing responsibility, including all of the | 14 | | following: | 15 | | (1) Organizational capacity and infrastructure. | 16 | | (2) Soliciting and evaluating charter applications. | 17 | | (3) Performance contracting. | 18 | | (4) Ongoing charter school oversight and evaluation. | 19 | | (5) Charter renewal decision-making. | 20 | | Authorizers shall carry out all their duties under this | 21 | | Article in a manner consistent with nationally recognized | 22 | | principles and standards and with the spirit and intent of this | 23 | | Article.
| 24 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
| 25 | | Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
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| 1 | | (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school | 2 | | established by
referendum under
Section 27A-6.5.
In evaluating | 3 | | any charter
school proposal submitted to it, the local school | 4 | | board and the Commission shall give preference
to proposals | 5 | | that:
| 6 | | (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental, | 7 | | community,
business, and school personnel support;
| 8 | | (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement | 9 | | and demonstrate
feasible plans for attaining those levels | 10 | | of achievement; and
| 11 | | (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial | 12 | | proportion of at-risk
children; provided that nothing in | 13 | | the Charter Schools Law shall be construed
as intended to
| 14 | | limit the establishment of charter schools to those that | 15 | | serve a substantial
portion of at-risk children or to in | 16 | | any manner restrict, limit, or discourage
the
| 17 | | establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve | 18 | | other pupil populations
under a nonexclusive, | 19 | | nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
| 20 | | (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school | 21 | | by converting an
existing public school or attendance center to | 22 | | charter school status, evidence
that the proposed formation of | 23 | | the charter school has received majority support
from certified | 24 | | teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
| 25 | | attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if | 26 | | applicable, from a
local school council, shall be demonstrated |
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| 1 | | by a petition in support of the
charter school signed by | 2 | | certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter | 3 | | school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a | 4 | | vote of
the local school council held at a public meeting. In | 5 | | the case of all other
proposals to establish a charter school, | 6 | | evidence of sufficient support to fill
the number of pupil | 7 | | seats set forth in the proposal may be
demonstrated by a
| 8 | | petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and | 9 | | guardians of
students eligible to attend the charter school.
In | 10 | | all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who | 11 | | initiate
the proposal to establish a charter school may elect, | 12 | | in lieu of including any
petition referred to in this | 13 | | subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to
the local | 14 | | school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
| 15 | | received the support referred to in this subsection by other | 16 | | evidence and
information presented at the public meeting that | 17 | | the local school board is
required to convene under this | 18 | | Section.
| 19 | | (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal, | 20 | | the local school
board shall convene a public meeting to obtain | 21 | | information to assist the board
in its decision to grant or | 22 | | deny the charter school proposal. A local school board may | 23 | | develop its own process for receiving charter school proposals | 24 | | on an annual basis that follows the same timeframes as set | 25 | | forth in this Article. Only after the local school board | 26 | | process is followed may a charter school applicant appeal to |
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| 1 | | the Commission.
| 2 | | (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section | 3 | | shall be published
in a community newspaper published in the | 4 | | school district in which the proposed
charter is located and, | 5 | | if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper
published in | 6 | | the county and having circulation in the school district. The
| 7 | | notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than | 8 | | 5 days before
the meeting and shall state that information | 9 | | regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the | 10 | | meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be
posted at | 11 | | appropriate locations in the school or attendance center | 12 | | proposed to
be established as a charter school, the public | 13 | | schools in the school district,
and the local school board | 14 | | office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding | 15 | | a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the | 16 | | proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in | 17 | | accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of | 18 | | this Section.
| 19 | | (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school | 20 | | board shall vote,
in a public meeting, to either grant or deny | 21 | | the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not | 22 | | voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public | 23 | | meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to | 24 | | the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with | 25 | | the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
| 26 | | (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under |
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| 1 | | subsection (e) of this Section , the
local school board shall | 2 | | file a report with the State Board
granting or denying the | 3 | | proposal.
If the local school board has approved the proposal, | 4 | | within Within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's
| 5 | | report, the State Board shall determine whether the approved | 6 | | charter
proposal is consistent with the
provisions of this | 7 | | Article and, if the approved proposal
complies,
certify the | 8 | | proposal pursuant to Section 27A-6 ; provided that for any | 9 | | charter proposal submitted to the State Board within one year | 10 | | after July 30, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-105), | 11 | | the State Board shall have 60 days from receipt to determine | 12 | | such consistency and certify the proposal .
| 13 | | (g) If the local school board votes to deny the proposal, | 14 | | then the charter school applicant has 30 days from the date of | 15 | | that vote to submit an appeal to the Commission. In such | 16 | | instances or in those instances referenced in subsections (d) | 17 | | and (e) of this Section, the Commission shall follow the same | 18 | | process and be subject to the same timelines for review as the | 19 | | local school board. | 20 | | (h) The Commission may reverse a local school board's | 21 | | decision to deny a charter school proposal if the Commission | 22 | | finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with this Article | 23 | | and (ii) is in the best interests of the students the charter | 24 | | school is designed to serve. Final decisions of the Commission | 25 | | are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review | 26 | | Law. |
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| 1 | | (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly | 2 | | authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school | 3 | | boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a | 4 | | statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the | 5 | | charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light | 6 | | of the complexities of joint administration. | 7 | | (Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; | 8 | | 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
| 9 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
| 10 | | Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
| 11 | | (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5 | 12 | | and not
more than
10
school years. A charter may be renewed in | 13 | | incremental periods not to exceed
5
school years.
| 14 | | (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
| 15 | | local school board or the Commission State Board , as the | 16 | | chartering entity,
shall contain:
| 17 | | (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in | 18 | | achieving the goals,
objectives, pupil performance | 19 | | standards, content standards, and other terms of
the | 20 | | initial approved charter proposal; and
| 21 | | (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of | 22 | | administration,
instruction, and other spending categories | 23 | | for the charter school that is
understandable to the | 24 | | general public and that will allow comparison of those
| 25 | | costs to other schools or other comparable organizations, |
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| 1 | | in a format required
by the State Board.
| 2 | | (c) A charter may be revoked
or not renewed if the local | 3 | | school board or the Commission State Board , as the chartering
| 4 | | entity,
clearly demonstrates that the
charter school did any of | 5 | | the
following, or otherwise failed to comply with the | 6 | | requirements of this law:
| 7 | | (1) Committed a material violation of any of the | 8 | | conditions, standards, or
procedures set forth in the | 9 | | charter.
| 10 | | (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward | 11 | | achievement of the
content standards or pupil performance | 12 | | standards identified in the charter.
| 13 | | (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of | 14 | | fiscal management.
| 15 | | (4) Violated any provision of law from which the | 16 | | charter school was not
exempted.
| 17 | | In the case of revocation, the local school board or the | 18 | | Commission State Board , as the chartering entity, shall notify | 19 | | the charter school in writing of the reason why the charter is | 20 | | subject to revocation. The charter school shall submit a | 21 | | written plan to the local school board or the Commission State | 22 | | Board , whichever is applicable, to rectify the problem. The | 23 | | plan shall include a timeline for implementation, which shall | 24 | | not exceed 2 years or the date of the charter's expiration, | 25 | | whichever is earlier. If the local school board or the | 26 | | Commission State Board , as the chartering entity, finds that |
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| 1 | | the charter school has failed to implement the plan of | 2 | | remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the chartering | 3 | | entity shall revoke the charter. Except in situations of an | 4 | | emergency where the health, safety, or education of the charter | 5 | | school's students is at risk, the revocation shall take place | 6 | | at the end of a school year. Nothing in this amendatory Act of | 7 | | the 96th General Assembly shall be construed to prohibit an | 8 | | implementation timetable that is less than 2 years in duration. | 9 | | (d) (Blank).
| 10 | | (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to
deny, | 11 | | revoke or not to
renew a charter shall be provided to the | 12 | | Commission and the State Board.
The Commission State Board may | 13 | | reverse a local board's
decision
if the Commission State Board | 14 | | finds
that the charter school or charter school proposal (i) is | 15 | | in compliance with
this Article, and (ii) is in the best | 16 | | interests of the students it is designed
to serve.
The State | 17 | | Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance | 18 | | by
the charter school of funding in an amount less than that | 19 | | requested in the
proposal submitted to the local school board.
| 20 | | Final decisions of the Commission State Board shall be subject
| 21 | | to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
| 22 | | (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if | 23 | | the Commission
State Board
on appeal reverses a local board's | 24 | | decision
or if a charter school is
approved by referendum,
the | 25 | | Commission
State Board shall act as the
authorized chartering | 26 | | entity for the charter school.
The Commission State Board shall
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| 1 | | approve and certify the charter and shall perform all functions
| 2 | | under this
Article otherwise performed by the local school
| 3 | | board. The State Board shall determine whether the charter | 4 | | proposal approved by the Commission is consistent with the | 5 | | provisions of this Article and, if the approved proposal | 6 | | complies, certify the proposal pursuant to this Article. The | 7 | | State Board shall
report the aggregate number of charter school | 8 | | pupils resident in a school
district to that district
and shall | 9 | | notify the district
of the amount of
funding to be paid by the | 10 | | Commission State Board to the charter school enrolling such
| 11 | | students.
The Commission State Board shall require the
charter | 12 | | school to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that | 13 | | shall be
deemed sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05 | 14 | | notwithstanding any
other requirements of that Section | 15 | | regarding hours of instruction and teacher
certification.
The | 16 | | State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the | 17 | | district
the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the | 18 | | charter school and shall
pay such amounts to the charter | 19 | | school.
| 20 | | (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the | 21 | | Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the | 22 | | student enrollment for each of its charter schools. | 23 | | (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the | 24 | | State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal | 25 | | or State aid attributable to a student with a disability | 26 | | attending the school. |
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| 1 | | (Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)
| 2 | | (105 ILCS 5/27A-12)
| 3 | | Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; report. On or before September 30 | 4 | | of every odd-numbered year, all local school boards with at | 5 | | least one charter school, as well as the Commission, shall | 6 | | submit to the State Board any information required by the State | 7 | | Board pursuant to applicable rule. On or before the second | 8 | | Wednesday in January of every even-numbered year, the State | 9 | | Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly and the | 10 | | Governor on its findings for the previous 2 school years. The | 11 | | State Board's report shall summarize all of the following: | 12 | | (1) The authorizer's strategic vision for chartering | 13 | | and progress toward achieving that vision. | 14 | | (2) The academic and financial performance of all | 15 | | operating charter schools overseen by the authorizer, | 16 | | according to the performance expectations for charter | 17 | | schools set forth in this Article. | 18 | | (3) The status of the authorizer's charter school | 19 | | portfolio, identifying all charter schools in each of the | 20 | | following categories: approved (but not yet open), | 21 | | operating, renewed, transferred, revoked, not renewed, | 22 | | voluntarily closed, or never opened. | 23 | | (4) The authorizing functions provided by the | 24 | | authorizer to the charter schools under its purview, | 25 | | including the authorizer's operating costs and expenses |
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| 1 | | detailed in annual audited financial statements, which | 2 | | must conform with generally accepted accounting | 3 | | principles. Board shall compile
annual evaluations
of
| 4 | | charter schools received from local school boards and shall | 5 | | prepare an annual
report on charter schools.
| 6 | | On or before the second Wednesday of every even-numbered | 7 | | year, the State Board
shall issue a report to the General | 8 | | Assembly and the Governor
on its findings
for the previous 2 | 9 | | school years; provided that the report issued in 2010 need only | 10 | | report on the 2008-2009 school year.
| 11 | | Further, in In the report required by this Section, the | 12 | | State
Board (i) shall
compare the performance of charter school | 13 | | pupils with the performance of
ethnically and economically | 14 | | comparable groups of pupils in other public schools
who are | 15 | | enrolled in academically comparable courses,
(ii) shall review | 16 | | information regarding the regulations and policies from
which
| 17 | | charter schools were released to determine if the exemptions | 18 | | assisted or
impeded
the charter schools in meeting their stated | 19 | | goals and objectives, and (iii)
shall
include suggested changes | 20 | | in State law necessary to strengthen charter schools.
| 21 | | In addition, the State Board shall undertake and report on | 22 | | periodic
evaluations of charter schools that include | 23 | | evaluations of student academic
achievement, the extent to | 24 | | which charter schools are accomplishing their
missions
and | 25 | | goals, the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, and the | 26 | | need for
changes in the approval process for charter schools.
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| 1 | | Based on the information that the State Board receives from | 2 | | authorizers and the State Board's ongoing monitoring of both | 3 | | charter schools and authorizers, the State Board has the power | 4 | | to remove the power to authorize from any authorizer in this | 5 | | State if the authorizer does not demonstrate a commitment to | 6 | | high-quality authorization practices and, if necessary, revoke | 7 | | the chronically low-performing charters authorized by the | 8 | | authorizer at the time of the removal. The State Board shall | 9 | | adopt rules as needed to carry out this power, including | 10 | | provisions to determine the status of schools authorized by an | 11 | | authorizer whose authorizing power is revoked. | 12 | | (Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)
| 13 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 14 | | becoming law.
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