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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
510-22.31 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.31)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31)
7    Sec. 10-22.31. Special education.
8    (a) To enter into joint agreements with other school boards
9to provide the needed special educational facilities and to
10employ a director and other professional workers as defined in
11Section 14-1.10 and to establish facilities as defined in
12Section 14-1.08 for the types of children described in Sections
1314-1.02 and 14-1.03a. The director (who may be employed under a
14contract as provided in subsection (c) of this Section) and
15other professional workers may be employed by one district,
16which shall be reimbursed on a mutually agreed basis by other
17districts that are parties to the joint agreement. Such
18agreements may provide that one district may supply
19professional workers for a joint program conducted in another
20district. Such agreement shall provide that any full-time
21professional worker who is employed by a joint agreement
22program and spends over 50% of his or her time in one school
23district shall not be required to work a different teaching

 

 

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1schedule than the other professional worker in that district.
2Such agreement shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
3for administration, staff, programs, financing, housing,
4transportation, an advisory body, and the method or methods to
5be employed for disposing of property upon the withdrawal of a
6school district or dissolution of the joint agreement and shall
7specify procedures for the withdrawal of districts from the
8joint agreement as long as these procedures are consistent with
9this Section. Such agreement may be amended at any time as
10provided in the joint agreement or, if the joint agreement does
11not so provide, then such agreement may be amended at any time
12upon the adoption of concurring resolutions by the school
13boards of all member districts, provided that no later than 6
14months after August 28, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act
1596-783), all existing agreements shall be amended to be
16consistent with Public Act 96-783. Such an amendment may
17include the removal of a school district from or the addition
18of a school district to the joint agreement without a petition
19as otherwise required in this Section if all member districts
20adopt concurring resolutions to that effect. A fully executed
21copy of any such agreement or amendment entered into on or
22after January 1, 1989 shall be filed with the State Board of
23Education. Petitions for withdrawal shall be made to the
24regional board or boards of school trustees exercising
25oversight or governance over any of the districts in the joint
26agreement. Upon receipt of a petition for withdrawal, the

 

 

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1regional board of school trustees shall publish notice of and
2conduct a hearing or, in instances in which more than one
3regional board of school trustees exercises oversight or
4governance over any of the districts in the joint agreement, a
5joint hearing, in accordance with rules adopted by the State
6Board of Education. In instances in which a single regional
7board of school trustees holds the hearing, approval of the
8petition must be by a two-thirds majority vote of the school
9trustees. In instances in which a joint hearing of 2 or more
10regional boards of school trustees is required, approval of the
11petition must be by a two-thirds majority of all those school
12trustees present and voting. Notwithstanding the provisions of
13Article 6 of this Code, in instances in which the competent
14regional board or boards of school trustees has been abolished,
15petitions for withdrawal shall be made to the school boards of
16those districts that fall under the oversight or governance of
17the abolished regional board of school trustees in accordance
18with rules adopted by the State Board of Education. If any
19petition is approved pursuant to this subsection (a), the
20withdrawal takes effect as provided in Section 7-9 of this Act.
21The changes to this Section made by Public Act 96-769 apply to
22all changes to special education joint agreement membership
23initiated after July 1, 2009.
24    (b) To either (1) designate an administrative district to
25act as fiscal and legal agent for the districts that are
26parties to the joint agreement, or (2) designate a governing

 

 

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1board composed of one member of the school board of each
2cooperating district and designated by such boards to act in
3accordance with the joint agreement. No such governing board
4may levy taxes and no such governing board may incur any
5indebtedness except within an annual budget for the joint
6agreement approved by the governing board and by the boards of
7at least a majority of the cooperating school districts or a
8number of districts greater than a majority if required by the
9joint agreement. The governing board may appoint an executive
10board of at least 7 members to administer the joint agreement
11in accordance with its terms. However, if 7 or more school
12districts are parties to a joint agreement that does not have
13an administrative district: (i) at least a majority of the
14members appointed by the governing board to the executive board
15shall be members of the school boards of the cooperating
16districts; or (ii) if the governing board wishes to appoint
17members who are not school board members, they shall be
18superintendents from the cooperating districts.
19    (c) To employ a full-time director of special education of
20the joint agreement program under a one-year or multi-year
21contract. No such contract can be offered or accepted for less
22than one year. Such contract may be discontinued at any time by
23mutual agreement of the contracting parties, or may be extended
24for an additional one-year or multi-year period at the end of
25any year.
26    The contract year is July 1 through the following June

 

 

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130th, unless the contract specifically provides otherwise.
2Notice of intent not to renew a contract when given by a
3controlling board or administrative district must be in writing
4stating the specific reason therefor. Notice of intent not to
5renew the contract must be given by the controlling board or
6the administrative district at least 90 days before the
7contract expires. Failure to do so will automatically extend
8the contract for one additional year.
9    By accepting the terms of the contract, the director of a
10special education joint agreement waives all rights granted
11under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 for the duration of his or
12her employment as a director of a special education joint
13agreement.
14    (d) To designate a district that is a party to the joint
15agreement as the issuer of bonds or notes for the purposes and
16in the manner provided in this Section. It is not necessary for
17such district to also be the administrative district for the
18joint agreement, nor is it necessary for the same district to
19be designated as the issuer of all series of bonds or notes
20issued hereunder. Any district so designated may, from time to
21time, borrow money and, in evidence of its obligation to repay
22the borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds or notes for the
23purpose of acquiring, constructing, altering, repairing,
24enlarging and equipping any building or portion thereof,
25together with any land or interest therein, necessary to
26provide special educational facilities and services as defined

 

 

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1in Section 14-1.08. Title in and to any such facilities shall
2be held in accordance with the joint agreement.
3    Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a resolution
4of the board of education of the issuing district. The
5resolution may contain such covenants as may be deemed
6necessary or advisable by the district to assure the payment of
7the bonds or notes. The resolution shall be effective
8immediately upon its adoption.
9    Prior to the issuance of such bonds or notes, each school
10district that is a party to the joint agreement shall agree,
11whether by amendment to the joint agreement or by resolution of
12the board of education, to be jointly and severally liable for
13the payment of the bonds and notes. The bonds or notes shall be
14payable solely and only from the payments made pursuant to such
15agreement.
16    Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
17bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
18indebtedness of any district, including the issuing district,
19within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory
20limitation.
21    As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
22the agreement by a district to pay the bonds and notes shall be
23irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal from
24membership in the joint special education program.
25    (e) If a district whose employees are on strike was, prior
26to the strike, sending students with disabilities to special

 

 

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1educational facilities and services in another district or
2cooperative, the district affected by the strike shall continue
3to send such students during the strike and shall be eligible
4to receive appropriate State reimbursement.
5    (f) With respect to those joint agreements that have a
6governing board composed of one member of the school board of
7each cooperating district and designated by those boards to act
8in accordance with the joint agreement, the governing board
9shall have, in addition to its other powers under this Section,
10the authority to issue bonds or notes for the purposes and in
11the manner provided in this subsection. The governing board of
12the joint agreement may from time to time borrow money and, in
13evidence of its obligation to repay the borrowing, issue its
14negotiable bonds or notes for the purpose of acquiring,
15constructing, altering, repairing, enlarging and equipping any
16building or portion thereof, together with any land or interest
17therein, necessary to provide special educational facilities
18and services as defined in Section 14-1.08 and including also
19facilities for activities of administration and educational
20support personnel employees. Title in and to any such
21facilities shall be held in accordance with the joint
22agreement.
23    Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a resolution
24of the governing board. The resolution may contain such
25covenants as may be deemed necessary or advisable by the
26governing board to assure the payment of the bonds or notes and

 

 

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1interest accruing thereon. The resolution shall be effective
2immediately upon its adoption.
3    Each school district that is a party to the joint agreement
4shall be automatically liable, by virtue of its membership in
5the joint agreement, for its proportionate share of the
6principal amount of the bonds and notes plus interest accruing
7thereon, as provided in the resolution. Subject to the joint
8and several liability hereinafter provided for, the resolution
9may provide for different payment schedules for different
10districts except that the aggregate amount of scheduled
11payments for each district shall be equal to its proportionate
12share of the debt service in the bonds or notes based upon the
13fraction that its equalized assessed valuation bears to the
14total equalized assessed valuation of all the district members
15of the joint agreement as adjusted in the manner hereinafter
16provided. In computing that fraction the most recent available
17equalized assessed valuation at the time of the issuance of the
18bonds and notes shall be used, and the equalized assessed
19valuation of any district maintaining grades K to 12 shall be
20doubled in both the numerator and denominator of the fraction
21used for all of the districts that are members of the joint
22agreement. In case of default in payment by any member, each
23school district that is a party to the joint agreement shall
24automatically be jointly and severally liable for the amount of
25any deficiency. The bonds or notes and interest thereon shall
26be payable solely and only from the funds made available

 

 

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1pursuant to the procedures set forth in this subsection. No
2project authorized under this subsection may require an annual
3contribution for bond payments from any member district in
4excess of 0.15% of the value of taxable property as equalized
5or assessed by the Department of Revenue in the case of
6districts maintaining grades K-8 or 9-12 and 0.30% of the value
7of taxable property as equalized or assessed by the Department
8of Revenue in the case of districts maintaining grades K-12.
9This limitation on taxing authority is expressly applicable to
10taxing authority provided under Section 17-9 and other
11applicable Sections of this Act. Nothing contained in this
12subsection shall be construed as an exception to the property
13tax limitations contained in Section 17-2, 17-2.2a, 17-5, or
14any other applicable Section of this Act.
15    Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
16bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
17indebtedness of any district within the meaning of any
18constitutional or statutory limitation.
19    As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
20the obligation of a district to pay its proportionate share of
21the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes as
22required in this Section shall be a general obligation of the
23district payable from any and all sources of revenue designated
24for that purpose by the board of education of the district and
25shall be irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal
26from membership in the joint special education program.

 

 

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1    (g) A member district wishing to withdraw from a joint
2agreement may obtain from its school board a written resolution
3approving the withdrawal. The withdrawing district must then
4present a written petition for withdrawal from the joint
5agreement to the other member districts within such timelines
6designated by the joint agreement. Under no circumstances may
7the petition be presented to the other member districts less
8than 12 months from the date of the proposed withdrawal, unless
9the member districts agree to waive this timeline. Upon
10approval by school board written resolution of all of the
11remaining member districts, the petitioning member district
12shall be withdrawn from the joint agreement effective the
13following July 1 and shall notify the State Board of Education
14of the approved withdrawal in writing and must submit a
15comprehensive plan developed under subsection (g-5) for review
16by the State Board. If the petition for withdrawal is not
17approved and the petitioning member district is a part of a
18Class II county school unit outside of a city of 500,000 or
19more inhabitants, the petitioning member district may appeal
20the disapproval decision to the trustees of schools of the
21township that has jurisdiction and authority over the
22withdrawing district. If a withdrawing district is not under
23the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of a
24township, a hearing panel shall be established by the chief
25administrative officer of the intermediate service center
26having jurisdiction over the withdrawing district. The hearing

 

 

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1panel shall be made up of 3 persons who have a demonstrated
2interest and background in education. Each hearing panel member
3must reside within an educational service region of 2,000,000
4or more inhabitants but not within the withdrawing district and
5may not be a current school board member or employee of the
6withdrawing district or hold any county office. None of the
7hearing panel members may reside within the same school
8district. The hearing panel shall serve without remuneration;
9however, the necessary expenses, including travel, attendant
10upon any meeting or hearing in relation to these proceedings
11must be paid. Prior to the hearing, the withdrawing district
12shall (i) provide written notification to all parents or
13guardians of students with disabilities residing within the
14district of its intent to withdraw from the special education
15joint agreement; (ii) hold a public hearing to allow for
16members of the community, parents or guardians of students with
17disabilities, or any other interested parties an opportunity to
18review the plan for educating students after the withdrawal and
19to provide feedback on the plan; and (iii) prepare and provide
20a comprehensive plan as outlined under subsection (g-5). The
21trustees of schools of the township having jurisdiction and
22authority over the withdrawing district or the hearing panel
23established by the chief administrative officer of the
24intermediate service center having jurisdiction over the
25withdrawing district shall convene and hear testimony to
26determine whether the withdrawing district has presented

 

 

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1sufficient evidence that the district, standing alone, will
2provide a full continuum of services and support to all its
3students with disabilities in the foreseeable future. If the
4trustees of schools of the township having jurisdiction and
5authority over the withdrawing district or the hearing panel
6established by the chief administrative officer of the
7intermediate service center having jurisdiction over the
8withdrawing district approves the petition for withdrawal,
9then the petitioning member district shall be withdrawn from
10the joint agreement effective the following July 1 and shall
11notify the State Board of Education of the approved withdrawal
12in writing.
13    (g-5) Each withdrawing district shall develop a
14comprehensive plan that includes the administrative policies
15and procedures outlined in Sections 226.50, 226.100, 226.110,
16226.180, 226.230, 226.250, 226.260, 226.300, 226.310, 226.320,
17226.330, 226.340, 226.350, 226.500, 226.520, 226.530, 226.540,
18226.560, 226.700, 226.740, 226.800, and 226.820 and Subpart G
19of Part 226 of Title 23 of the Illinois Administrative Code and
20all relevant portions of the federal Individuals with
21Disabilities Education Act. The withdrawing district must also
22demonstrate its ability to provide education for a wide range
23of students with disabilities, including a full continuum of
24support and services. To demonstrate an appropriate plan for
25educating all currently enrolled students with disabilities
26upon withdrawal from the joint agreement, the withdrawing

 

 

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1district must provide a written plan for educating and placing
2all currently eligible students with disabilities.
3    (h) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 96-783
4apply to withdrawals from or dissolutions of special education
5joint agreements initiated after August 28, 2009 (the effective
6date of Public Act 96-783).
7    (i) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (g), and (h) of this
8Section or any other provision of this Code to the contrary, an
9elementary school district that maintains grades up to and
10including grade 8, that had a 2014-2015 best 3 months' average
11daily attendance of 5,209.57, and that had a 2014 equalized
12assessed valuation of at least $451,500,000, but not more than
13$452,000,000, may withdraw from its special education joint
14agreement program consisting of 6 school districts upon
15submission and approval of the comprehensive plan, in
16compliance with the applicable requirements of Section 14-4.01
17of this Code, in addition to the approval by the school board
18of the elementary school district and notification to and the
19filing of an intent to withdraw statement with the governing
20board of the joint agreement program. Such notification and
21statement shall specify the effective date of the withdrawal,
22which in no case shall be less than 60 days after the date of
23the filing of the notification and statement. Upon receipt of
24the notification and statement, the governing board of the
25joint agreement program shall distribute a copy to each member
26district of the joint agreement and shall initiate any

 

 

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1appropriate allocation of assets and liabilities among the
2remaining member districts to take effect upon the date of the
3withdrawal. The withdrawal shall take effect upon the date
4specified in the notification and statement.
5(Source: P.A. 99-729, eff. 8-5-16; 100-66, eff. 8-11-17.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.