Public Act 103-0806
 
HB4175 EnrolledLRB103 34243 RJT 64069 b

    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 changing Sections 
24-24, 27A-5, and 34-84a and by adding Section 22-100 as 
follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/22-100 new)
    Sec. 22-100. Prohibition on physical discipline in 
schools.
    (a) In this Section: 
    "Corporal punishment" means a discipline method in which a 
person deliberately inflicts pain upon a student in response 
to the student's unacceptable behavior or inappropriate 
language, with an aim to halt an offense, prevent its 
recurrence, or set an example for others. "Corporal 
punishment" does not include the use of physical restraint 
under Sections 10-20.33 and 34-18.20.
    "School personnel" means any person who is employed by, 
who is on contract with, or who volunteers in a school 
district, charter school, or nonpublic elementary or secondary 
school, including, but not limited to, school and school 
district administrators, teachers, school social workers, 
school counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, 
paraprofessionals, speech-language pathologists, cafeteria 
workers, custodians, bus drivers, school resource officers, or 
security guards.
    (b) School personnel of any school district, charter 
school, or nonpublic elementary or secondary school may not 
engage in corporal punishment of a student, inflict corporal 
punishment upon a student, or cause corporal punishment to be 
inflicted upon a student. 
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24-24)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24-24)
    Sec. 24-24. Maintenance of discipline. Subject to the 
limitations of all policies established or adopted under 
Section 14-8.05, teachers, other licensed certificated 
educational employees, and any other person, whether or not a 
licensed certificated employee, providing a related service 
for or with respect to a student shall maintain discipline in 
the schools, including school grounds which are owned or 
leased by the board and used for school purposes and 
activities. In all matters relating to the discipline in and 
conduct of the schools and the school children, they stand in 
the relation of parents and guardians to the pupils. This 
relationship shall extend to all activities connected with the 
school program, including all athletic and extracurricular 
programs, and may be exercised at any time for the safety and 
supervision of the pupils in the absence of their parents or 
guardians.
    Nothing in this Section affects the power of the board to 
establish rules with respect to discipline; except that each 
board shall establish a policy on discipline, and the policy 
so established shall provide, subject to the limitations of 
all policies established or adopted under Section 14-8.05, 
that a teacher, any other licensed certificated employee, and 
any other person, whether or not a licensed certificated 
employee, providing a related service for or with respect to a 
student may only use reasonable force as permitted under 
Sections 10-20.33 and 34-18.20 needed to maintain safety for 
the other students, school personnel or persons or for the 
purpose of self defense or the defense of property, shall 
provide that a teacher may remove a student from the classroom 
for disruptive behavior, and shall include provisions which 
provide due process to students. The policy shall prohibit the 
use of corporal punishment, as defined in Section 22-100, in 
all circumstances not include slapping, paddling or prolonged 
maintenance of students in physically painful positions nor 
shall it include the intentional infliction of bodily harm.
    The board may make and enforce reasonable rules of conduct 
and sportsmanship for athletic and extracurricular school 
events. Any person who violates such rules may be denied 
admission to school events for not more than one year, 
provided that written 10 days notice of the violation is given 
such person and a hearing had thereon by the board pursuant to 
its rules and regulations. The administration of any school 
may sign complaints as agents of the school against persons 
committing any offense at school events.
(Source: P.A. 88-346; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-184, eff. 
7-19-95.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466 and 
103-472)
    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. In all 
new applications 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. This limitation 
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 
before April 16, 2003.
    (b-5) (Blank). 
    (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. A charter school's board of directors 
or other governing body must include at least one parent or 
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 
    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 
school's board of directors or other governing body shall 
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and 
responsibilities, including financial oversight and 
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 
professional development training in these same areas. The 
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 
a statewide charter school membership association or may be 
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 
the State Board. 
    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, 
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 
requirement" does not include any course of study or 
specialized instructional requirement for which the State 
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools 
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall 
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 
requires the charter school to follow the list of all 
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 
requirements in a charter school contract that are not 
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the 
authorizing local school board. 
    (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. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter 
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer 
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and 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. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 
require quarterly financial statements from each charter 
school. 
    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction 
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 
governing public schools and local school board policies; 
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this 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 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19, 
    and 34-84a of this 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;
        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 
    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 
    report cards;
        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 
    prevention;
        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student 
    discipline reporting;
        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
        (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 
        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
        (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
        (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
        (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
        (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
        (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
        (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 
        (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
        (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
        (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 
        (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 
    10-20.56 of this Code; 
        (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 
        (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 
        (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 
        (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and 
        (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code.
    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. 
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 authorized by the State 
Board, then the charter school is its own local education 
agency. 
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff. 
8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; 
102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff. 
1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, 
eff. 6-30-23.)
 
    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-472 but 
before amendment by P.A. 102-466)
    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. In all 
new applications 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. This limitation 
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 
before April 16, 2003.
    (b-5) (Blank). 
    (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. A charter school's board of directors 
or other governing body must include at least one parent or 
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 
    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 
school's board of directors or other governing body shall 
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and 
responsibilities, including financial oversight and 
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 
professional development training in these same areas. The 
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 
a statewide charter school membership association or may be 
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 
the State Board. 
    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, 
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 
requirement" does not include any course of study or 
specialized instructional requirement for which the State 
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools 
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall 
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 
requires the charter school to follow the list of all 
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 
requirements in a charter school contract that are not 
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the 
authorizing local school board. 
    (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. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter 
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer 
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and 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. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 
require quarterly financial statements from each charter 
school. 
    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction 
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 
governing public schools and local school board policies; 
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this 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 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19, 
    and 34-84a of this 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;
        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 
    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 
    report cards;
        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 
    prevention;
        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student 
    discipline reporting;
        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
        (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 
        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
        (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
        (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
        (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
        (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
        (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
        (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 
        (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
        (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
        (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 
        (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 
    10-20.56 of this Code; 
        (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 
        (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 
        (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 
        (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
        (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
        (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code; 
        (34) Section 22-95 of this Code; 
        (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and 
        (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act. 
    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. 
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 authorized by the State 
Board, then the charter school is its own local education 
agency. 
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff. 
8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; 
102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff. 
1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, 
eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 8-31-23.)
 
    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)
    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. In all 
new applications 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. This limitation 
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 
before April 16, 2003.
    (b-5) (Blank). 
    (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. A charter school's board of directors 
or other governing body must include at least one parent or 
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 
    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 
school's board of directors or other governing body shall 
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and 
responsibilities, including financial oversight and 
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 
professional development training in these same areas. The 
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 
a statewide charter school membership association or may be 
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 
the State Board. 
    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, 
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 
requirement" does not include any course of study or 
specialized instructional requirement for which the State 
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools 
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall 
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 
requires the charter school to follow the list of all 
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 
requirements in a charter school contract that are not 
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the 
authorizing local school board. 
    (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. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter 
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer 
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and 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. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 
require quarterly financial statements from each charter 
school. 
    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction 
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 
governing public schools and local school board policies; 
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this 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 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19, 
    and 34-84a of this 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;
        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 
    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 
    report cards;
        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 
    prevention;
        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student 
    discipline reporting;
        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
        (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 
        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
        (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
        (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
        (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
        (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
        (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
        (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 
        (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code; 
        (24) Article 26A of this Code;
        (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
        (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 
        (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 
    10-20.56 of this Code; 
        (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 
        (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 
        (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 
        (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
        (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; 
        (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code; 
        (34) Section 22-95 of this Code; 
        (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and 
        (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act. 
    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. 
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 authorized by the State 
Board, then the charter school is its own local education 
agency. 
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff. 
7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, 
eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 
102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 
6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 
8-31-23.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-84a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-84a)
    Sec. 34-84a. Maintenance of discipline.  Subject to the 
limitations of all policies established or adopted under 
Section 14-8.05, teachers, other licensed certificated 
educational employees, and any other person, whether or not a 
licensed certificated employee, providing a related service 
for or with respect to a student shall maintain discipline in 
the schools, including school grounds which are owned or 
leased by the board and used for school purposes and 
activities. In all matters relating to the discipline in and 
conduct of the schools and the school children, they stand in 
the relation of parents and guardians to the pupils. This 
relationship shall extend to all activities connected with the 
school program, including all athletic and extracurricular 
programs, and may be exercised at any time for the safety and 
supervision of the pupils in the absence of their parents or 
guardians.
    Nothing in this Section affects the power of the board to 
establish rules with respect to discipline, except that the 
rules of the board must provide, subject to the limitations of 
all policies established or adopted under Section 14-8.05, 
that a teacher, any other licensed certificated employee, and 
any other person, whether or not a licensed certificated 
employee, providing a related service for or with respect to a 
student may only use reasonable force as permitted under 
Section 34-18.20 needed to maintain safety for the other 
students, shall provide that a teacher may remove a student 
from the classroom for disruptive behavior, and must include 
provisions which provide due process to students. The policy 
shall prohibit the use of corporal punishment, as defined in 
Section 22-100, in all circumstances. 
(Source: P.A. 89-184, eff. 7-19-95.)
 
    Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes 
changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text 
that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section 
represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does 
not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes 
made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other 
Public Act.

Effective Date:  1/1/2025