Public Act 90-0103 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0103
SB555 Enrolled SRS90S0014KSch
AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
10-22.31 and adding Section 10-22.31.1.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. The School Code is amended by changing
Section 10-22.31 and adding Section 10-22.31.1 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/10-22.31) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31)
Sec. 10-22.31. Special education.
(a) To enter into joint agreements with other school
boards to provide the needed special educational facilities
and to employ a director and other professional workers as
defined in Section 14-1.10 and to establish facilities as
defined in Section 14-1.08 for the types of children
described in Sections 14-1.02 through 14-1.07. The director
(who may be employed under a multi-year contract as provided
in subsection (c) of this Section) and other professional
workers may be employed by one district, which shall be
reimbursed on a mutually agreed basis by other districts that
are parties to the joint agreement. Such agreements may
provide that one district may supply professional workers for
a joint program conducted in another district. Such
agreement shall provide that any full-time school
psychologist who is employed by a joint agreement program and
spends over 50% of his or her time in one school district
shall not be required to work a different teaching schedule
than the other school psychologists in that district. Such
agreement shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
for administration, staff, programs, financing, housing,
transportation, and an advisory body, and shall provide for
the withdrawal of districts from the joint agreement. Except
as otherwise provided in Section 10-22.31.1, the withdrawal
of districts from the joint agreement shall be by petition to
the regional board of school trustees. Such agreement may be
amended at any time as provided in the joint agreement or, if
the joint agreement does not so provide, then such agreement
may be amended at any time upon the adoption of concurring
resolutions by the school boards of all member districts. A
fully executed copy of any such agreement or amendment
entered into on or after January 1, 1989 shall be filed with
the State Board of Education. Such petitions for withdrawal
shall be made to the regional board of school trustees of all
counties having jurisdiction over one or more of the
districts in the joint agreement. Upon receipt of a petition
for withdrawal, the regional boards of school trustees having
jurisdiction over the cooperating districts shall publish
notice of and conduct a joint hearing on the issue as
provided in Section 7-6. No such petition may be considered,
however, unless in compliance with Section 7-8. If approved
by a 2/3 vote of all trustees of those regional boards, at a
joint meeting, the withdrawal takes effect as provided in
Section 7-9 of this Act.
(b) To either (1) designate an administrative district
to act as fiscal and legal agent for the districts that are
parties to the joint agreement, or (2) designate a governing
board composed of one member of the school board of each
cooperating district and designated by such boards to act in
accordance with the joint agreement. No such governing board
may levy taxes and no such governing board may incur any
indebtedness except within an annual budget for the joint
agreement approved by the governing board and by the boards
of at least a majority of the cooperating school districts or
a number of districts greater than a majority if required by
the joint agreement. If more than 17 school districts are
parties to the joint agreement, the governing board may
appoint an executive board of at least 7 members to
administer the joint agreement in accordance with its terms.
At least a majority of the members appointed to the executive
board shall be members of the school boards of the
cooperating districts. If the governing board wishes to
appoint members who are not school board members, they shall
be superintendents from the cooperating districts.
(c) To employ a director of a joint agreement program
under a multi-year contract. No such contract can be offered
or accepted for less than or more than 3 years, except for a
person serving as a director of a special education joint
agreement for the first time in Illinois. In such a case,
the initial contract shall be for a 2 year period. Such
contract may be discontinued at any time by mutual agreement
of the contracting parties, or may be extended for an
additional 3 years at the end of any year.
The contract year is July 1 through the following June
30th, unless the contract specifically provides otherwise.
Notice of intent not to renew a contract when given by a
controlling board or administrative district must be in
writing stating the specific reason therefor. Notice of
intent not to renew the contract must be given by the
controlling board or the administrative district at least 90
days before the contract expires. Failure to do so will
automatically extend the contract for one additional year.
By accepting the terms of the multi-year contract, the
director of a special education joint agreement waives all
rights granted under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 for the
duration of his or her employment as a director of a special
education joint agreement.
(d) To designate a district that is a party to the joint
agreement as the issuer of bonds or notes for the purposes
and in the manner provided in this Section. It is not
necessary for such district to also be the administrative
district for the joint agreement, nor is it necessary for the
same district to be designated as the issuer of all series of
bonds or notes issued hereunder. Any district so designated
may, from time to time, borrow money and, in evidence of its
obligation to repay the borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds
or notes for the purpose of acquiring, constructing,
altering, repairing, enlarging and equipping any building or
portion thereof, together with any land or interest therein,
necessary to provide special educational facilities and
services as defined in Section 14-1.08. Title in and to any
such facilities shall be held in accordance with the joint
agreement.
Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a
resolution of the board of education of the issuing district.
The resolution may contain such covenants as may be deemed
necessary or advisable by the district to assure the payment
of the bonds or notes. The resolution shall be effective
immediately upon its adoption.
Prior to the issuance of such bonds or notes, each school
district that is a party to the joint agreement shall agree,
whether by amendment to the joint agreement or by resolution
of the board of education, to be jointly and severally liable
for the payment of the bonds and notes. The bonds or notes
shall be payable solely and only from the payments made
pursuant to such agreement.
Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
indebtedness of any district, including the issuing district,
within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory
limitation.
As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
the agreement by a district to pay the bonds and notes shall
be irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal from
membership in the joint special education program.
(e) If a district whose employees are on strike was,
prior to the strike, sending students with disabilities to
special educational facilities and services in another
district or cooperative, the district affected by the strike
shall continue to send such students during the strike and
shall be eligible to receive appropriate State reimbursement.
(f) With respect to those joint agreements that have a
governing board composed of one member of the school board of
each cooperating district and designated by those boards to
act in accordance with the joint agreement, the governing
board shall have, in addition to its other powers under this
Section, the authority to issue bonds or notes for the
purposes and in the manner provided in this subsection. The
governing board of the joint agreement may from time to time
borrow money and, in evidence of its obligation to repay the
borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds or notes for the
purpose of acquiring, constructing, altering, repairing,
enlarging and equipping any building or portion thereof,
together with any land or interest therein, necessary to
provide special educational facilities and services as
defined in Section 14-1.08 and including also facilities for
activities of administration and educational support
personnel employees. Title in and to any such facilities
shall be held in accordance with the joint agreement.
Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a
resolution of the governing board. The resolution may
contain such covenants as may be deemed necessary or
advisable by the governing board to assure the payment of the
bonds or notes and interest accruing thereon. The resolution
shall be effective immediately upon its adoption.
Each school district that is a party to the joint
agreement shall be automatically liable, by virtue of its
membership in the joint agreement, for its proportionate
share of the principal amount of the bonds and notes plus
interest accruing thereon, as provided in the resolution.
Subject to the joint and several liability hereinafter
provided for, the resolution may provide for different
payment schedules for different districts except that the
aggregate amount of scheduled payments for each district
shall be equal to its proportionate share of the debt service
in the bonds or notes based upon the fraction that its
equalized assessed valuation bears to the total equalized
assessed valuation of all the district members of the joint
agreement as adjusted in the manner hereinafter provided. In
computing that fraction the most recent available equalized
assessed valuation at the time of the issuance of the bonds
and notes shall be used, and the equalized assessed valuation
of any district maintaining grades K to 12 shall be doubled
in both the numerator and denominator of the fraction used
for all of the districts that are members of the joint
agreement. In case of default in payment by any member, each
school district that is a party to the joint agreement shall
automatically be jointly and severally liable for the amount
of any deficiency. The bonds or notes and interest thereon
shall be payable solely and only from the funds made
available pursuant to the procedures set forth in this
subsection. No project authorized under this subsection may
require an annual contribution for bond payments from any
member district in excess of 0.15% of the value of taxable
property as equalized or assessed by the Department of
Revenue in the case of districts maintaining grades K-8 or
9-12 and 0.30% of the value of taxable property as equalized
or assessed by the Department of Revenue in the case of
districts maintaining grades K-12. This limitation on taxing
authority is expressly applicable to taxing authority
provided under Section 17-9 and other applicable Sections of
this Act. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be
construed as an exception to the property tax limitations
contained in Section 17-2, 17-2.2a, 17-5, or any other
applicable Section of this Act.
Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
indebtedness of any district within the meaning of any
constitutional or statutory limitation.
As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
the obligation of a district to pay its proportionate share
of the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes as
required in this Section shall be a general obligation of the
district payable from any and all sources of revenue
designated for that purpose by the board of education of the
district and shall be irrevocable notwithstanding the
district's withdrawal from membership in the joint special
education program.
(Source: P.A. 88-125; 88-686, eff. 1-24-95; 89-397, eff.
8-20-95; 89-613, eff. 8-9-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
(105 ILCS 5/10-22.31.1 new)
Sec. 10-22.31.1. Withdrawal from certain joint agreement
programs. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section
10-22.31, a community unit school district that is the only
school district in its county that is a member of its special
education joint agreement program and that had a 1994-95
average daily attendance of at least 550, but not more than
650, and a 1994 equalized assessed valuation of at least
$40,000,000, but not more than $43,000,000, may withdraw from
its special education joint agreement program consisting of
at least 19 school districts located in at least 9 different
counties upon approval by the school board of the community
unit district and notification to and the filing of an intent
to withdraw statement with the governing board of the joint
agreement program. Such notification and statement shall
specify the effective date of the withdrawal, which in no
case shall be less than 60 days after the date of the filing
of the petition. Upon receipt of the notification and
statement, the governing board of the joint agreement program
shall distribute a copy to each member district of the joint
agreement and shall initiate any appropriate allocation of
assets and liabilities among the remaining member districts
to take effect upon the date of the withdrawal. The
withdrawal shall take effect upon the date specified in the
notification and statement.
Section 99. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.