97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3898

 

Introduced 12/11/2011, by Rep. Bill Mitchell

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-9

    Amends the School Code to prohibit the State Charter School Commission from reversing a local school board's decision to deny, revoke, or not to renew a charter if the campus of the charter school is to be located on a public community college campus. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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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
527A-9 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
7    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
8    (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5
9and not more than 10 school years. A charter may be renewed in
10incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
11    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
12local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
13shall contain:
14        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
15    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
16    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
17    initial approved charter proposal; and
18        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
19    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
20    for the charter school that is understandable to the
21    general public and that will allow comparison of those
22    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
23    in a format required by the State Board.

 

 

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1    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
2school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
3clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
4following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
5of this law:
6        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
7    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
8    charter.
9        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
10    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
11    standards identified in the charter.
12        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
13    fiscal management.
14        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
15    charter school was not exempted.
16    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
17Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter
18school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to
19revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to
20the local school board or the Commission, whichever is
21applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a
22timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or
23the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If
24the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering
25entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement
26the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the

 

 

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1chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in
2situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or
3education of the charter school's students is at risk, the
4revocation shall take place at the end of a school year.
5Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly
6shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that
7is less than 2 years in duration.
8    (d) (Blank).
9    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
10revoke or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
11Commission and the State Board. The Commission may reverse a
12local school board's decision if the Commission finds that the
13charter school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance
14with this Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the
15students it is designed to serve. However, the Commission may
16not reverse a local school board's decision if the campus of
17the charter school is to be located on a public community
18college campus. The State Board may condition the granting of
19an appeal on the acceptance by the charter school of funding in
20an amount less than that requested in the proposal submitted to
21the local school board. Final decisions of the Commission shall
22be subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review
23Law.
24    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
25the Commission on appeal reverses a local board's decision or
26if a charter school is approved by referendum, the Commission

 

 

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1shall act as the authorized chartering entity for the charter
2school. The Commission shall approve the charter and shall
3perform all functions under this Article otherwise performed by
4the local school board. The State Board shall determine whether
5the charter proposal approved by the Commission is consistent
6with the provisions of this Article and, if the approved
7proposal complies, certify the proposal pursuant to this
8Article. The State Board shall report the aggregate number of
9charter school pupils resident in a school district to that
10district and shall notify the district of the amount of funding
11to be paid by the Commission to the charter school enrolling
12such students. The Commission shall require the charter school
13to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that shall be
14deemed sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05
15notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
16regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
17State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
18district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
19charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
20school.
21    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
22Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
23student enrollment for each of its charter schools.
24    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
25State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
26or State aid attributable to a student with a disability

 

 

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1attending the school.
2(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.