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Public Act 91-0405
HB0230 Enrolled LRB9100464NTsb
AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections
27A-4 and 27A-7.
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 27A-4 and 27A-7 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
(a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or
amend the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan
in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
education services.
(b) The total number of charter schools operating under
this Article at any one time shall not exceed 45. Not more
than that 15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in
any city having a population exceeding 500,000; not more than
15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the
counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and that
portion of Cook County that is located outside a city having
a population exceeding 500,000, with not more than one
charter school that has been initiated by a board of
education, or by an intergovernmental agreement between or
among boards of education, operating at any one time in the
school district where the charter school is located; and not
more than 15 charter schools shall operate at any one time in
the remainder of the State, with not more than one charter
school that has been initiated by a board of education, or by
an intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
education, operating at any one time in the school district
where the charter school is located.
For purposes of implementing this Section, the State
Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it
receives under Section 27A-6 for its review and
certification, based on the chronological order in which the
submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly
notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of
certified charter schools authorized to operate have been
reached.
(c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
school to a charter school.
(d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the
area served by the local school board. However, no more than
50% of the number of resident pupils enrolled in any one
grade in a school district with only a single attendance
center covering that grade may be enrolled in a charter
school at one time.
(e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more
local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a
single shared charter school, provided that all of the
provisions of this Article are met as to those local school
boards.
(f) No local school board shall require any employee of
the school district to be employed in a charter school.
(g) No local school board shall require any pupil
residing within the geographic boundary of its district to
enroll in a charter school.
(h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment
in a charter school than there are spaces available,
successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However,
priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the
charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter
school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause.
Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public school
or non-public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is
suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed
to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the
school district in which the pupil resides.
(i) No charter school established under this Article may
be authorized to open prior to the school year beginning in
the fall of 1996.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; revised 2-24-98.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
(a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be
submitted to the State Board and the local school board in
the form of a proposed contract entered into between the
local school board and the governing body of a proposed
charter school. The charter school proposal as submitted to
the State Board shall include:
(1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
must include the words "Charter School".
(2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the
charter school, and any other admission criteria that
would be legal if used by a school district.
(3) A description of and address for the physical
plant in which the charter school will be located;
provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to
justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or
approval of a charter school proposal because the
building or buildings in which the charter school is to
be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a
charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a
charter school contract is entered into or submitted for
certification or certified, so long as the proposal or
submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are
potentially available as a charter school facility by the
time the charter school is to open.
(4) The mission statement of the charter school,
which must be consistent with the General Assembly's
declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article
shall be construed to require that, in order to receive
favorable consideration and approval, a charter school
proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter
school will be able to meet each of those declared
purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools
Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that
charter schools must aspire to attain.
(5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
standards to be achieved by the charter school.
(6) In the case of a proposal to establish a
charter school by converting an existing public school or
attendance center to charter school status, evidence that
the proposed formation of the charter school has received
the approval of certified teachers, parents and
guardians, and, if applicable, a local school council as
provided in subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.
(7) A description of the charter school's
educational program, pupil performance standards,
curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of
operation.
(8) A description of the charter school's plan for
evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments
that will be used to measure pupil progress towards
achievement of the school's pupil performance standards,
the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the
procedures for taking corrective action in the event that
pupil performance at the charter school falls below those
standards.
(9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as
proposed are economically sound for both the charter
school and the school district, a proposed budget for the
term of the charter, a description of the manner in which
an annual audit of the financial and administrative
operations of the charter school, including any services
provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and
a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and
other employees who will not attend or be employed in the
charter school.
(10) A description of the governance and operation
of the charter school, including the nature and extent of
parental, professional educator, and community
involvement in the governance and operation of the
charter school.
(11) An explanation of the relationship that will
exist between the charter school and its employees,
including evidence that the terms and conditions of
employment have been addressed with affected employees
and their recognized representative, if any. However, a
bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be
separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed
from employees of a school district in which the charter
school is located.
(12) An agreement between the parties regarding
their respective legal liability and applicable insurance
coverage.
(13) A description of how the charter school plans
to meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a
plan for addressing the transportation needs of
low-income and at-risk pupils.
(14) The proposed effective date and term of the
charter; provided that the first day of the first
academic year and the first day of the fiscal year shall
be no earlier than August 15 and no later than September
15 of a calendar year.
(15) Any other information reasonably required by
the State Board of Education.
(b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be
initiated by individuals or organizations that will have
majority representation on the board of directors or other
governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal
entity that is to be established to operate the proposed
charter school, by a board of education or an
intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
education, or by the board of directors or other governing
body of a discrete legal entity already existing or
established to operate the proposed charter school. The
individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection
may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members,
public community colleges or their instructors or other
representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the
local school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for
development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the
State Board for certification under Section 27A-6.
(c) The local school board may not without the consent
of the governing body of the charter school condition its
approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an
agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
local school board policies from which the charter school is
otherwise exempted under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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