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91_HB0230eng HB0230 Engrossed LRB9100464NTsb 1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections 2 27A-4 and 27A-7. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 6 Sections 27A-4 and 27A-7 as follows: 7 (105 ILCS 5/27A-4) 8 Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions. 9 (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or 10 amend the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan 11 in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be 12 subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional 13 provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of 14 disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, 15 religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special 16 education services. 17 (b) The total number of charter schools operating under 18 this Article at any one time shall not exceed 45. Not more 19 thanthat15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in 20 any city having a population exceeding 500,000; not more than 21 15 charter schools, with not more than one charter school per 22 school district, shall operate at any one time in the 23 counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that 24 portion of Cook County that is located outside a city having 25 a population exceeding 500,000; and not more than 15 charter 26 schools, with not more than one charter school per school 27 district, shall operate at any one time in the remainder of 28 the State. 29 For purposes of implementing this Section, the State 30 Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it 31 receives under Section 27A-6 for its review and HB0230 Engrossed -2- LRB9100464NTsb 1 certification, based on the chronological order in which the 2 submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly 3 notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of 4 certified charter schools authorized to operate have been 5 reached. 6 (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that 7 would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public 8 school to a charter school. 9 (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any 10 pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the 11 area served by the local school board. However, no more than 12 50% of the number of resident pupils enrolled in any one 13 grade in a school district with only a single attendance 14 center covering that grade may be enrolled in a charter 15 school at one time. 16 (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more 17 local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a 18 single shared charter school, provided that all of the 19 provisions of this Article are met as to those local school 20 boards. 21 (f) No local school board shall require any employee of 22 the school district to be employed in a charter school. 23 (g) No local school board shall require any pupil 24 residing within the geographic boundary of its district to 25 enroll in a charter school. 26 (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment 27 in a charter school than there are spaces available, 28 successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However, 29 priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the 30 charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter 31 school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause. 32 Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public school 33 or non-public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is 34 suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed HB0230 Engrossed -3- LRB9100464NTsb 1 to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the 2 school district in which the pupil resides. 3 (i) No charter school established under this Article may 4 be authorized to open prior to the school year beginning in 5 the fall of 1996. 6 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; revised 2-24-98.) 7 (105 ILCS 5/27A-7) 8 Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission. 9 (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be 10 submitted to the State Board and the local school board in 11 the form of a proposed contract entered into between the 12 local school board and the governing body of a proposed 13 charter school. The charter school proposal as submitted to 14 the State Board shall include: 15 (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which 16 must include the words "Charter School". 17 (2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum 18 and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the 19 charter school, and any other admission criteria that 20 would be legal if used by a school district. 21 (3) A description of and address for the physical 22 plant in which the charter school will be located; 23 provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to 24 justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or 25 approval of a charter school proposal because the 26 building or buildings in which the charter school is to 27 be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a 28 charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a 29 charter school contract is entered into or submitted for 30 certification or certified, so long as the proposal or 31 submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are 32 potentially available as a charter school facility by the 33 time the charter school is to open. HB0230 Engrossed -4- LRB9100464NTsb 1 (4) The mission statement of the charter school, 2 which must be consistent with the General Assembly's 3 declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article 4 shall be construed to require that, in order to receive 5 favorable consideration and approval, a charter school 6 proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter 7 school will be able to meet each of those declared 8 purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools 9 Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that 10 charter schools must aspire to attain. 11 (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance 12 standards to be achieved by the charter school. 13 (6) In the case of a proposal to establish a 14 charter school by converting an existing public school or 15 attendance center to charter school status, evidence that 16 the proposed formation of the charter school has received 17 the approval of certified teachers, parents and 18 guardians, and, if applicable, a local school council as 19 provided in subsection (b) of Section 27A-8. 20 (7) A description of the charter school's 21 educational program, pupil performance standards, 22 curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of 23 operation. 24 (8) A description of the charter school's plan for 25 evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments 26 that will be used to measure pupil progress towards 27 achievement of the school's pupil performance standards, 28 the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the 29 procedures for taking corrective action in the event that 30 pupil performance at the charter school falls below those 31 standards. 32 (9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as 33 proposed are economically sound for both the charter 34 school and the school district, a proposed budget for the HB0230 Engrossed -5- LRB9100464NTsb 1 term of the charter, a description of the manner in which 2 an annual audit of the financial and administrative 3 operations of the charter school, including any services 4 provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and 5 a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and 6 other employees who will not attend or be employed in the 7 charter school. 8 (10) A description of the governance and operation 9 of the charter school, including the nature and extent of 10 parental, professional educator, and community 11 involvement in the governance and operation of the 12 charter school. 13 (11) An explanation of the relationship that will 14 exist between the charter school and its employees, 15 including evidence that the terms and conditions of 16 employment have been addressed with affected employees 17 and their recognized representative, if any. However, a 18 bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be 19 separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed 20 from employees of a school district in which the charter 21 school is located. 22 (12) An agreement between the parties regarding 23 their respective legal liability and applicable insurance 24 coverage. 25 (13) A description of how the charter school plans 26 to meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a 27 plan for addressing the transportation needs of 28 low-income and at-risk pupils. 29 (14) The proposed effective date and term of the 30 charter; provided that the first day of the first 31 academic year and the first day of the fiscal year shall 32 be no earlier than August 15 and no later than September 33 15 of a calendar year. 34 (15) Any other information reasonably required by HB0230 Engrossed -6- LRB9100464NTsb 1 the State Board of Education. 2 (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be 3 initiated by individuals or organizations that will have 4 majority representation on the board of directors or other 5 governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal 6 entity that is to be established to operate the proposed 7 charter school, by a board of education or an 8 intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of 9 education, or by the board of directors or other governing 10 body of a discrete legal entity already existing or 11 established to operate the proposed charter school. The 12 individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection 13 may be school teachers, school administrators, local school 14 councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members, 15 public community colleges or their instructors or other 16 representatives, corporations, or other entities or their 17 representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the 18 local school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for 19 development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the 20 State Board for certification under Section 27A-6. 21 (c) The local school board may not without the consent 22 of the governing body of the charter school condition its 23 approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an 24 agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and 25 local school board policies from which the charter school is 26 otherwise exempted under this Article. 27 (Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.) 28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 29 becoming law.