Public Act 1102 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2793 Enrolled LRB098 17391 NHT 52489 b

Public Act 098-1102

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 2-3.160 and by changing Section 27A-5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.160 new)

Sec. 2-3.160. Student discipline report; school discipline improvement plan.

(a) On or before October 31, 2015 and on or before October 31 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education, through the State Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a report on student discipline in all school districts in this State, including State-authorized charter schools. This report shall include data from all public schools within school districts, including district-authorized charter schools. This report must be posted on the Internet website of the State Board of Education. The report shall include data on the issuance of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and removals to alternative settings in lieu of another disciplinary action, disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, limited English proficiency, incident type, and discipline duration.

(b) The State Board of Education shall analyze the data under subsection (a) of this Section on an annual basis and determine the top 20% of school districts for the following metrics:

(1) Total number of out-of-school suspensions divided by the total district enrollment by the last school day in September for the year in which the data was collected, multiplied by 100.

(2) Total number of out-of-school expulsions divided by the total district enrollment by the last school day in September for the year in which the data was collected, multiplied by 100.

(3) Racial disproportionality, defined as the overrepresentation of students of color or white students in comparison to the total number of students of color or white students on October 1st of the school year in which data are collected, with respect to the use of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, which must be calculated using the same method as the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights uses.

The analysis must be based on data collected over 3 consecutive school years, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the State Board of Education shall require each of the school districts that are identified in the top 20% of any of the metrics described in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive years to submit a plan identifying the strategies the school district will implement to reduce the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices or racial disproportionality or both, if applicable. School districts that no longer meet the criteria described in any of the metrics described in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive years shall no longer be required to submit a plan.

This plan may be combined with any other improvement plans required under federal or State law.

The calculation of the top 20% of any of the metrics described in this subsection (b) shall exclude all school districts, State-authorized charter schools, and special charter districts that issued fewer than a total of 10 out-of-school suspensions or expulsions, whichever is applicable, during the school year. The calculation of the top 20% of metric described in subdivision (3) of this subsection (b) shall exclude all school districts with an enrollment of fewer than 50 white students or fewer than 50 students of color.

The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting and posted on the school district's Internet website. Within one year after being identified, the school district shall submit to the State Board of Education and post on the district's Internet website a progress report describing the implementation of the plan and the results achieved.

(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)

Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.

(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(b) A charter school may be established under this Article by creating a new school or by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the State Board or a local school board to establish a charter school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act.

(b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means the teaching of courses through online methods with online instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online virtual schools.

From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This moratorium does not apply to a charter school with virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter school with virtual-schooling components already approved prior to April 1, 2013.

On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to the General Assembly a report on the effect of virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on student performance, the costs associated with virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.

(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by its board of directors or other governing body in the manner provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

(d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable health and safety requirements applicable to public schools under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks, instructional materials, and student activities.

(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an outside, independent contractor retained by the charter school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal Internal Revenue Service.

(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State laws and regulations in the School Code governing public schools and local school board policies, except the following:

(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for employment;

(2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code regarding discipline of students;

(3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act;

(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of officers, directors, employees, and agents;

(5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;

(6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;

(7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school report cards; and

(8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; and .

(9) Section 2-3.160 of the School Code regarding student discipline reporting.

The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) is declaratory of existing law.

(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a school district, the governing body of a State college or university or public community college, or any other public or for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a school building and grounds or any other real property or facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service, activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. However, a charter school that is established on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and that operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to manage or operate the school during the period that commences on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter school contracts with a school district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school contracts with a local school board or with the governing body of a State college or university or public community college shall be provided by the public entity at cost.

(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established by converting an existing school or attendance center to charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other costs for the operation and maintenance of school district facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject to negotiation between the charter school and the local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.

(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or grade level.

(k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, then the Commission charter school is its own local education agency.

(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2014.

Effective Date: 8/26/2014