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Public Act 101-0133
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| HB2205 Enrolled | LRB101 07683 AXK 52731 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
34-230 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/34-230) |
Sec. 34-230. School action public meetings and hearings. |
(a) By October 1 of each year, the chief executive officer |
shall prepare and publish guidelines for school actions. The |
guidelines shall outline the academic and non-academic |
criteria for a school action. These guidelines shall be created |
with the involvement of local school councils, parents, |
educators, and community organizations. These guidelines, and |
each subsequent revision, shall be subject to a public comment |
period of at least 21 days before their approval. |
(b) The chief executive officer shall announce all proposed |
school actions to be taken at the close of the current academic |
year consistent with the guidelines by December 1 of each year. |
(c) On or before December 1 of each year, the chief |
executive officer shall publish notice of the proposed school |
actions. |
(1) Notice of the proposal for a school action shall |
include a written statement of the basis for the school |
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action, an explanation of how the school action meets the |
criteria set forth in the guidelines, and a draft School |
Transition Plan identifying the items required in Section |
34-225 of this Code for all schools affected by the school |
action. The notice shall state the date, time, and place of |
the hearing or meeting. For a school closure only, 8 months |
after notice is given, the chief executive officer must |
publish on the district's website a full financial report |
on the closure that includes an analysis of the closure's |
costs and benefits to the district. |
(2) The chief executive officer or his or her designee |
shall provide notice to the principal, staff, local school |
council, and parents or guardians of any school that is |
subject to the proposed school action. |
(3) The chief executive officer shall provide written |
notice of any proposed school action to the State Senator, |
State Representative, and alderman for the school or |
schools that are subject to the proposed school action. |
(4) The chief executive officer shall publish notice of |
proposed school actions on the district's Internet |
website. |
(5) The chief executive officer shall provide notice of |
proposed school actions at least 30 calendar days in |
advance of a public hearing or meeting. The notice shall |
state the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting. |
No Board decision regarding a proposed school action may |
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take place less than 60 days after the announcement of the |
proposed school action. |
(d) The chief executive officer shall publish a brief |
summary of the proposed school actions and the date, time, and |
place of the hearings or meetings in a newspaper of general |
circulation. |
(e) The chief executive officer shall designate at least 3 |
opportunities to elicit public comment at a hearing or meeting |
on a proposed school action and shall do the following: |
(1) Convene at least one public hearing at the |
centrally located office of the Board. |
(2) Convene at least 2 additional public hearings or |
meetings at a location convenient to the school community |
subject to the proposed school action. |
(f) Public hearings shall be conducted by a qualified |
independent hearing officer chosen from a list of independent |
hearing officers. The general counsel shall compile and publish |
a list of independent hearing officers by November 1 of each |
school year. The independent hearing officer shall have the |
following qualifications: |
(1) he or she must be a licensed attorney eligible to |
practice law in Illinois; |
(2) he or she must not be an employee of the Board; and |
(3) he or she must not have represented the Board, its |
employees or any labor organization representing its |
employees, any local school council, or any charter or |
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contract school in any capacity within the last year. |
The independent hearing officer shall issue a written |
report that summarizes the hearing and determines whether the |
chief executive officer complied with the requirements of this |
Section and the guidelines. |
The chief executive officer shall publish the report on the |
district's Internet website within 5 calendar days after |
receiving the report and at least 15 days prior to any Board |
action being taken. |
(g) Public meetings shall be conducted by a representative |
of the chief executive officer. A summary of the public meeting |
shall be published on the district's Internet website within 5 |
calendar days after the meeting. |
(h) If the chief executive officer proposes a school action |
without following the mandates set forth in this Section, the |
proposed school action shall not be approved by the Board |
during the school year in which the school action was proposed.
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(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11; |
97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1133, eff. 11-30-12.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law.
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