Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 3/14/2011

 

 


 

 


 
09700SB0079sam001LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 79

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 79 as follows:
 
3on page 1, line 1, after "education", by inserting ", which may
4be referred to as the Charter School Quality Law"; and
 
5on page 1, immediately below line 3, by inserting the
6following:
 
7    "Section 3. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
8Section 5.786 as follows:
 
9    (30 ILCS 105/5.786 new)
10    Sec. 5.786. The State Charter School Commission Fund."; and
 
11on page 6, line 18, by replacing "on the recommendation of a"
12with "from"; and
 

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 2 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1on page 6, line 19, after "Governor", by inserting ", within 60
2days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
397th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission
4members"; and
 
5on page 6, line 21, after the period, by inserting "The
6Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to the State Board
7within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
8of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior to the
9expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the Governor
10fails to timely propose a slate of candidates according to the
11provisions of this subsection (c), then the State Board may
12appoint the member or members of the Commission."; and
 
13on page 7, by replacing lines 2 and 3 with the following:
14"demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public
15education, including without limitation charter schooling.";
16and
 
17on page 7, line 15, by replacing "The" with "Subject to the
18State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, the"; and
 
19on page 7, line 20, after the period, by inserting "Funds
20received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into the
21State Charter School Commission Fund."; and
 

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 3 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1on page 7, immediately below line 20, by inserting the
2following:
3    "The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a
4special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
5be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for
6operational and administrative costs of the Commission."; and
 
7on page 8, line 7, after the period, by inserting "This fee
8must be deposited into the State Charter School Commission
9Fund."; and
 
10on page 8, by replacing line 10 with the following:
11"its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of
12the State Board,"; and
 
13on page 8, line 12, after "Article.", by inserting "However, in
14no case shall such transfer take place later than July 1,
152012."; and
 
16on page 8, by replacing line 16 with the following:
17"authorized by a local school board or boards may seek transfer
18of authorization to the"; and
 
19on page 8, line 18, after "board", by inserting "or boards";
20and
 

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 4 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1on page 8, line 19, after "board", by inserting "or boards";
2and
 
3on page 8, line 20, by replacing "that board" with "the board
4or boards"; and
 
5on page 8, immediately below line 22, by inserting the
6following:
7    "On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th
8General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to
9matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission
10shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The
11Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to
12the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to
13matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission.
14The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the
15Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any
16proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule
17modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois
18Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider
19such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the
2097th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent
21with that intent.
22    (l) The Commission shall have the responsibility to
23consider appeals under this Article immediately upon
24appointment of the initial members of the Commission under

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 5 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals pending at the time of
2initial appointment shall be determined by the Commission; the
3Commission may extend the time for review as necessary for
4thorough review, but in no case shall the extension exceed the
5time that would have been available had the appeal been
6submitted to the Commission on the date of appointment of its
7initial members. In any appeal filed with the Commission under
8this Article, both the applicant and the school district in
9which the charter school plans to locate shall have the right
10to request a hearing before the Commission. If more than one
11entity requests a hearing, then the Commission may hold only
12one hearing, wherein the applicant and the school district
13shall have an equal opportunity to present their respective
14positions."; and
 
15on page 9, line 26, after "authorize", by inserting ", except
16for willful or wanton misconduct"; and
 
17on page 14, immediately below line 6, by inserting the
18following:
19    "(h) The Commission may reverse a local school board's
20decision to deny a charter school proposal if the Commission
21finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with this Article
22and (ii) is in the best interests of the students the charter
23school is designed to serve. Final decisions of the Commission
24are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 6 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1Law.
2    (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly
3authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school
4boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a
5statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the
6charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light
7of the complexities of joint administration."; and
 
8on page 16, by replacing lines 16 through 19 with the
9following:
10"interests of the students it is designed to serve. The State
11Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance
12by the charter school of funding in an amount less than that
13requested in the proposal submitted to the local school
14board."; and
 
15on page 17, by replacing lines 15 through 19 with the
16following:
17"regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
18State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
19district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
20charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
21school."; and
 
22on page 17, by deleting lines 23 through 26; and
 

 

 

09700SB0079sam001- 7 -LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

1on page 18, by deleting lines 1 through 12; and
 
2on page 18, line 13, by replacing "(j)" with "(h)".