Rep. Jerry L. Mitchell

Filed: 3/31/2011

 

 


 

 


 
09700HB2401ham001LRB097 07704 NHT 53669 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2401

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2401 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
527A-4 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
7    Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.
8    (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend
9the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan in
10effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
11subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
12provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
13disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
14religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
15education services.
16    (b) The total number of charter schools operating under

 

 

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1this Article at any one time shall not exceed 120. Not more
2than 70 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any
3city having a population exceeding 500,000 and not more than 45
4charter schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder
5of the State, with not more than one charter school that has
6been initiated by a board of education, or by an
7intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
8education, operating at any one time in the school district
9where the charter school is located. In addition to these
10charter schools, up to but no more than 5 charter schools
11devoted exclusively to re-enrolled high school dropouts may
12operate at any one time in any city having a population
13exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the
14contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A-5 of this Code, each
15such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the
16city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875
17enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout
18charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each
19campus of the dropout charter must be operated, through a
20contract or payroll, by the same legal entity as that for which
21the charter is approved and certified.
22    For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board
23shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives
24under Section 27A-6 for its review and certification, based on
25the chronological order in which the submission is received by
26it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards

 

 

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1when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools
2authorized to operate have been reached.
3    (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
4would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
5school to a charter school.
6    (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
7pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area
8served by the local school board, provided that the board of
9education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
10designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of
11the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of
12education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to
13relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk
14students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may
15be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to
16attend the charter school.
17    (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local
18school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a single shared
19charter school, provided that all of the provisions of this
20Article are met as to those local school boards.
21    (f) No local school board shall require any employee of the
22school district to be employed in a charter school.
23    (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing
24within the geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a
25charter school.
26    (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in

 

 

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1a charter school than there are spaces available, successful
2applicants shall be selected by lottery. However, priority
3shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the charter
4school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school
5the previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and
6priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter
7school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated
8by the board of education in a city having a population
9exceeding 500,000. Dual enrollment at both a charter school and
10a public school or non-public school shall not be allowed. A
11pupil who is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall
12be deemed to be suspended or expelled from the public schools
13of the school district in which the pupil resides.
14Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection
15(h), any charter school with a mission exclusive to educating
16high school dropouts may restrict admission to students who are
17high school dropouts.
18    (i) (Blank).
19    (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
20contrary, a school district in a city having a population
21exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively bargain
22with an exclusive representative of its employees over
23decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under
24Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a
25charter under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of
26these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall

 

 

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1have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing,
2diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights,
3guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10,
414, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
5(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)".