103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1120

 

Introduced 1/12/2023, by Rep. Will Guzzardi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-3
105 ILCS 5/27A-6
105 ILCS 5/27A-7

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Provides that any renewal of a certified charter must include a union neutrality clause. Requires a union neutrality clause to be included in a charter school proposal. Defines "union neutrality clause". Effective immediately.


LRB103 04755 RJT 49764 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1120LRB103 04755 RJT 49764 b

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 Sections
527A-3, 27A-6, and 27A-7 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
7    Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
8    "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical,
9emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely
10to succeed in a conventional educational environment.
11    "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article
12to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject
13applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants,
14oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not
15renew, or revoke a charter.
16    "Commission" means the State Charter School Commission
17established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.
18    "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed
19school board or board of education of a public school
20district, including special charter districts and school
21districts located in cities having a population of more than
22500,000, organized under the laws of this State.
23    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.

 

 

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1    "Union neutrality clause" means a provision whereby a
2charter school agrees: (1) to be neutral regarding the
3unionization of any of its employees, such that the charter
4school will not at any time express a position on the matter of
5whether its employees will be unionized and such that the
6charter school will not threaten, intimidate, discriminate
7against, retaliate against, or take any adverse action against
8any employees based on their decision to support or oppose
9union representation; (2) to provide any bona fide labor
10organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the
11charter school's employees work for the purpose of meeting
12with employees to discuss their right to representation,
13employment rights under the law, and terms and conditions of
14employment; and (3) that union recognition shall be through a
15majority card check verified by a neutral third-party
16arbitrator mutually selected by the charter school and the
17bona fide labor organization through alternate striking from a
18panel of arbitrators provided by the Federal Mediation and
19Conciliation Service. As used in this definition, "bona fide
20labor organization" means a labor organization recognized
21under the National Labor Relations Act or the Illinois
22Educational Labor Relations Act. As used in this definition,
23"employees" means non-represented, non-management, and
24non-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)
2    Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and
3regulations.
4    (a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding
5contract and agreement between the charter school and a local
6school board under the terms of which the local school board
7authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate
8the charter school on the terms specified in the contract.
9    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
10the certified charter may not waive or release the charter
11school from the State goals, standards, and assessments
12established pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code.
13Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the certified
14charter for a charter school operating in a city having a
15population exceeding 500,000 shall require the charter school
16to administer any other nationally recognized standardized
17tests to its students that the chartering entity administers
18to other students, and the results on such tests shall be
19included in the chartering entity's assessment reports.
20    (c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a
21material revision to a previously certified contract or a
22renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local
23school board and the governing body of the charter school.
24    (c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on
25how both parties will address minor violations of the
26contract.

 

 

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1    (c-10) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of
2the 103rd General Assembly, any renewal of a certified charter
3must include a union neutrality clause.
4    (d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a
5proposed charter school and the local school board as
6described in Section 27A-7 must be submitted to and certified
7by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State
8Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for
9consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the
10modifications must be consented to by both the governing body
11of the charter school and the local school board, and
12resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the
13proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not
14consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to
15certify the charter.
16    The State Board shall assign a number to each submission
17or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall
18determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with the
19provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract complies,
20the State Board shall so certify.
21    (e) No renewal of a previously certified contract is
22effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the
23renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article. A
24material revision to a previously certified contract may go
25into effect immediately upon approval of both the local school
26board and the governing body of the charter school, unless

 

 

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1either party requests in writing that the State Board certify
2that the material revision is consistent with the provisions
3of this Article. If such a request is made, the proposed
4material revision is not effective unless and until the State
5Board so certifies.
6(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;
799-78, eff. 7-20-15.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
9    Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.
10    (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be
11submitted to the local school board and the State Board for
12certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a
13proposed contract entered into between the local school board
14and the governing body of a proposed charter school. The
15charter school proposal shall include:
16        (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
17    must include the words "Charter School".
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
20        (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
21    standards to be achieved by the charter school.
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
26    the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians,

 

 

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1    and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in
2    subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
10        (12) An agreement between the parties regarding their
11    respective legal liability and applicable insurance
12    coverage.
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.
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.
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.
11    (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be
12initiated by individuals or organizations that will have
13majority representation on the board of directors or other
14governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal
15entity that is to be established to operate the proposed
16charter school, by a board of education or an
17intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
18education, or by the board of directors or other governing
19body of a discrete legal entity already existing or
20established to operate the proposed charter school. The
21individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection
22may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
23councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members,
24public community colleges or their instructors or other
25representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
26representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the local

 

 

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1school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for
2development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the
3State Board for certification under Section 27A-6.
4    (c) The local school board may not without the consent of
5the governing body of the charter school condition its
6approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an
7agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
8local school board policies from which the charter school is
9otherwise exempted under this Article.
10(Source: P.A. 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;
1199-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-334, eff. 8-10-15.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
13becoming law.