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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | |||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 27A-3, 27A-6, and 27A-7 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
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7 | Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
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8 | "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | emotional,
socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely | |||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | to succeed in a conventional
educational environment.
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11 | "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article | |||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject | |||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants, | |||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not | |||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | renew, or revoke a charter. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | "Commission" means the State Charter School Commission | |||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed | |||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | school board or
board of education of a public school | |||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | district, including special charter
districts and school | |||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | districts located in cities having a population of more
than | |||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | 500,000, organized under the laws of this State.
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23 | "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
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1 | "Union neutrality clause" means a provision whereby a | ||||||
2 | charter school agrees: (1) to be neutral regarding the | ||||||
3 | unionization of any of its employees, such that the charter | ||||||
4 | school will not at any time express a position on the matter of | ||||||
5 | whether its employees will be unionized and such that the | ||||||
6 | charter school will not threaten, intimidate, discriminate | ||||||
7 | against, retaliate against, or take any adverse action against | ||||||
8 | any employees based on their decision to support or oppose | ||||||
9 | union representation;
(2) to provide any bona fide labor | ||||||
10 | organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the | ||||||
11 | charter school's employees work for the purpose of meeting | ||||||
12 | with employees to discuss their right to representation, | ||||||
13 | employment rights under the law, and terms and conditions of | ||||||
14 | employment; and (3) that union recognition shall be through a | ||||||
15 | majority card check verified by a neutral third-party | ||||||
16 | arbitrator mutually selected by the charter school and the | ||||||
17 | bona fide labor organization through alternate striking from a | ||||||
18 | panel of arbitrators provided by the Federal Mediation and | ||||||
19 | Conciliation Service. As used in this definition, "bona fide | ||||||
20 | labor organization" means a labor organization recognized | ||||||
21 | under the National Labor Relations Act or the Illinois | ||||||
22 | Educational Labor Relations Act. As used in this definition, | ||||||
23 | "employees" means non-represented, non-management, and | ||||||
24 | non-confidential employees of a charter school. | ||||||
25 | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
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1 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-6)
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2 | Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and | ||||||
3 | regulations.
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4 | (a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding | ||||||
5 | contract and agreement
between
the charter school and a local | ||||||
6 | school board under the terms of which the local
school board | ||||||
7 | authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate | ||||||
8 | the
charter
school on the terms specified in the contract.
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9 | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, | ||||||
10 | the certified
charter
may
not waive or release the charter | ||||||
11 | school from the State goals, standards, and
assessments | ||||||
12 | established pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code.
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13 | Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the certified | ||||||
14 | charter for a charter
school operating in a city having a | ||||||
15 | population exceeding 500,000 shall
require the charter school | ||||||
16 | to administer any other nationally recognized
standardized | ||||||
17 | tests to its students that the chartering entity administers | ||||||
18 | to
other
students, and the results on such tests shall be | ||||||
19 | included in the
chartering entity's assessment reports.
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20 | (c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a | ||||||
21 | material revision to a
previously certified contract or a | ||||||
22 | renewal shall be made with
the approval of both the local | ||||||
23 | school board and the governing body of the
charter school.
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24 | (c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on | ||||||
25 | how both parties
will address minor violations of the | ||||||
26 | contract.
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1 | (c-10) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
2 | the 103rd General Assembly, any renewal of a certified charter | ||||||
3 | must include a union neutrality clause. | ||||||
4 | (d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a | ||||||
5 | proposed charter
school and the local school board as | ||||||
6 | described in Section 27A-7 must be
submitted to and certified | ||||||
7 | by the State Board before it can take effect. If
the State | ||||||
8 | Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for
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9 | consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the | ||||||
10 | modifications
must be consented to by both the governing body | ||||||
11 | of
the charter school and the local school board, and | ||||||
12 | resubmitted to the State
Board for its certification. If the | ||||||
13 | proposed contract is resubmitted in a form
that is not | ||||||
14 | consistent with this Article, the State
Board may refuse to | ||||||
15 | certify the charter.
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16 | The State Board shall assign a number to each submission | ||||||
17 | or resubmission in
chronological order of receipt, and shall | ||||||
18 | determine whether the proposed
contract is consistent with the | ||||||
19 | provisions of this Article. If the proposed
contract complies, | ||||||
20 | the State Board shall so certify.
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21 | (e) No renewal of a previously certified contract is | ||||||
22 | effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the | ||||||
23 | renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article. A | ||||||
24 | material revision to a previously certified contract may go | ||||||
25 | into effect immediately upon approval of both the local school | ||||||
26 | board and the governing body of the charter school, unless |
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1 | either party requests in writing that the State Board certify | ||||||
2 | that the material revision is consistent with the provisions | ||||||
3 | of this Article. If such a request is made, the proposed | ||||||
4 | material revision is not effective unless and until the State | ||||||
5 | Board so certifies.
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6 | (Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14; | ||||||
7 | 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)
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8 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
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9 | Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
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10 | (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be | ||||||
11 | submitted to the local school board and the State Board for | ||||||
12 | certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a | ||||||
13 | proposed contract
entered
into between the local school board | ||||||
14 | and the governing body of a proposed
charter school. The
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15 | charter school proposal shall include:
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16 | (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which | ||||||
17 | must include the words
"Charter School".
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18 | (2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum | ||||||
19 | and maximum numbers of
pupils to be enrolled in the | ||||||
20 | charter school, and any other admission criteria
that | ||||||
21 | would be legal if used by a school district.
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22 | (3) A description of and address for the physical | ||||||
23 | plant in which the
charter school will be located; | ||||||
24 | provided that nothing in the Article shall be
deemed to | ||||||
25 | justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or |
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1 | approval of a
charter school proposal because the building | ||||||
2 | or buildings in which the charter
school is to be located | ||||||
3 | have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter
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4 | school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter | ||||||
5 | school contract is
entered
into or submitted for | ||||||
6 | certification or certified, so long as the proposal or
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7 | submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are | ||||||
8 | potentially available
as a charter school facility by the | ||||||
9 | time the charter school is to open.
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10 | (4) The mission statement of the charter school, which | ||||||
11 | must be consistent
with the General Assembly's declared | ||||||
12 | purposes; provided that nothing in this
Article shall be | ||||||
13 | construed to require that, in order to receive favorable
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14 | consideration and approval, a charter school proposal | ||||||
15 | demonstrate unequivocally
that the charter school will be | ||||||
16 | able to meet each of those declared purposes,
it
being the | ||||||
17 | intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes | ||||||
18 | be
recognized as goals that
charter schools must aspire to | ||||||
19 | attain.
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20 | (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance | ||||||
21 | standards to be achieved
by the charter school.
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22 | (6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter | ||||||
23 | school by
converting an existing public school or | ||||||
24 | attendance center to charter school
status, evidence that | ||||||
25 | the proposed formation of the charter school has received
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26 | the approval of certified teachers, parents
and
guardians, |
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1 | and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in
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2 | subsection
(b) of Section 27A-8.
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3 | (7) A description of the charter school's educational | ||||||
4 | program, pupil
performance standards, curriculum, school | ||||||
5 | year, school days, and hours of
operation.
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6 | (8) A description of the charter school's plan for | ||||||
7 | evaluating pupil
performance, the types of assessments | ||||||
8 | that will be used to measure pupil
progress towards | ||||||
9 | achievement of the school's pupil performance standards, | ||||||
10 | the
timeline for achievement of those standards, and the | ||||||
11 | procedures for taking
corrective action in the event that | ||||||
12 | pupil performance at the charter school
falls below those | ||||||
13 | standards.
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14 | (9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as proposed | ||||||
15 | are economically
sound
for both the charter school and the | ||||||
16 | school district, a proposed budget for the
term of the | ||||||
17 | charter, a description of the manner in which an annual
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18 | audit of the financial and administrative operations of | ||||||
19 | the charter school,
including any services provided by the | ||||||
20 | school district, are to be conducted,
and
a plan for the | ||||||
21 | displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who | ||||||
22 | will
not attend or be employed in the charter school.
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23 | (10) A description of the governance and operation of | ||||||
24 | the charter school,
including the nature and extent of | ||||||
25 | parental, professional educator, and
community involvement | ||||||
26 | in the governance and operation of the charter school.
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1 | (11) An explanation of the relationship that will | ||||||
2 | exist between the
charter school and its employees, | ||||||
3 | including evidence that the terms and
conditions of | ||||||
4 | employment have been addressed with affected employees and | ||||||
5 | their
recognized representative, if any. However, a | ||||||
6 | bargaining unit of charter
school employees shall be | ||||||
7 | separate and
distinct from any bargaining units formed | ||||||
8 | from employees of a school district
in
which the charter | ||||||
9 | school is located.
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10 | (12) An agreement between the parties regarding their | ||||||
11 | respective
legal liability and applicable insurance | ||||||
12 | coverage.
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13 | (13) A description of how the charter school plans to | ||||||
14 | meet the
transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan | ||||||
15 | for addressing the
transportation needs
of low-income and | ||||||
16 | at-risk pupils.
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17 | (14) The proposed effective date and term of the | ||||||
18 | charter; provided that
the
first day of the first academic | ||||||
19 | year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than | ||||||
20 | September 15 of a
calendar year, and the first day of the | ||||||
21 | fiscal year shall be July 1.
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22 | (14.5) Disclosure of any known active civil or | ||||||
23 | criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law | ||||||
24 | enforcement agency into an organization submitting the | ||||||
25 | charter school proposal or a criminal investigation by a | ||||||
26 | local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into any |
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1 | member of the governing body of that organization. For the | ||||||
2 | purposes of this subdivision (14.5), a known investigation | ||||||
3 | means a request for an interview by a law enforcement | ||||||
4 | agency, a subpoena, an arrest, or an indictment. Such | ||||||
5 | disclosure is required for a period from the initial | ||||||
6 | application submission through 10 business days prior to | ||||||
7 | the authorizer's scheduled decision date. | ||||||
8 | (14.7) A union neutrality clause. | ||||||
9 | (15) Any other information reasonably required by the | ||||||
10 | State Board of
Education.
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11 | (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be | ||||||
12 | initiated by individuals
or organizations that will have
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13 | majority representation on the board of directors or other | ||||||
14 | governing body of
the corporation or other discrete legal | ||||||
15 | entity that is to be established to
operate the proposed | ||||||
16 | charter school, by a board of education or an
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17 | intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of | ||||||
18 | education, or by the
board of directors or other
governing | ||||||
19 | body of a discrete legal entity already existing or | ||||||
20 | established to
operate the proposed
charter school. The | ||||||
21 | individuals or organizations referred to in this
subsection | ||||||
22 | may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
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23 | councils, colleges or
universities or their faculty
members, | ||||||
24 | public community colleges or their instructors or other
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25 | representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
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26 | representatives. The proposal shall be
submitted to the local |
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1 | school board for consideration and, if
appropriate, for
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2 | development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the | ||||||
3 | State Board for
certification under
Section 27A-6.
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4 | (c) The local school board may not without the consent of | ||||||
5 | the governing body
of the charter school condition its | ||||||
6 | approval of a charter school proposal on
acceptance of an | ||||||
7 | agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
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8 | local school board policies from which the charter school is | ||||||
9 | otherwise exempted
under this Article.
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10 | (Source: P.A. 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14; | ||||||
11 | 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-334, eff. 8-10-15.)
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12 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
13 | becoming law.
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