105 ILCS 5/ School Code.

(105 ILCS 5/27-24.7) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-24.7)

Sec. 27-24.7. School code to apply.

The provisions of this Act not inconsistent with the provisions of the Driver Education Act shall apply to the conduct of instruction offered by a school district under the provisions of the Driver Education Act.

(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-24.8) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-24.8)

Sec. 27-24.8. Rules and regulations. The State Board may promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of the Driver Education Act for the administration of the Driver Education Act.

(Source: P.A. 81-1508.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-24.9)

Sec. 27-24.9. Driver education standards. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall adopt course content standards for driver education for those persons under the age of 18 years, which shall include the operation and equipment of motor vehicles.

(Source: P.A. 97-1025, eff. 1-1-13.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-24.10)

Sec. 27-24.10. Cost report. The State Board of Education shall annually prepare a report to be posted on the State Board's Internet website that indicates the approximate per capita driver education cost for each school district required to provide driver education. This report, compiled each spring from data reported the previous school year, shall be computed from expenditure data for driver education submitted by school districts on the annual financial statements required pursuant to Section 3-15.1 of this Code and the number of students provided driver education for that school year, as required to be reported under Section 27-24.5 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 97-1025, eff. 1-1-13.)

(105 ILCS 5/prec. Sec. 27-25 heading)

NUCLEAR ENERGY EDUCATION ACT (Repealed)(Source: Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-25)

Sec. 27-25. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 76-1835. Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-25.1)

Sec. 27-25.1. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 81-1508. Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-25.2)

Sec. 27-25.2. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 81-1508. Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-25.3)

Sec. 27-25.3. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 81-1508. Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-25.4)

Sec. 27-25.4. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 81-1508. Repealed by P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-26)

Sec. 27-26. (Repealed).

(Source: P.A. 78-1245. Repealed by P.A. 94-600, eff. 8-16-05.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-27) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-27)

Sec. 27-27. When school districts use a system of categorizing classes of instruction by degree of difficulty and issues grades in accordance therewith, identification of said system shall be reflected in the affected students' class ranking and permanent records.

(Source: P.A. 81-707.)

(105 ILCS 5/Art. 27A heading) ARTICLE 27A CHARTER SCHOOLS

(105 ILCS 5/27A-1)

Sec. 27A-1. Short title and application. This Article may be cited as the Charter Schools Law. This Article applies in all school districts, including special charter districts and school districts located in cities having a population of more than 500,000.

(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-2)

Sec. 27A-2. Legislative declaration.

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) Encouraging educational excellence is in the best interests of the people of this State.

(2) There are educators, community members, and parents in Illinois who can offer flexible and innovative educational techniques and programs, but who lack an avenue through which to provide them within the public school system.

(3) The enactment of legislation authorizing charter schools to operate in Illinois will promote new options within the public school system and will provide pupils, educators, community members, and parents with the stimulus to strive for educational excellence.

(b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that this Article is enacted for the following purposes:

(1) To improve pupil learning by creating schools with high, rigorous standards for pupil performance.

(2) To increase learning opportunities for all pupils, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for at-risk pupils, consistent, however, with an equal commitment to increase learning opportunities for all other groups of pupils in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special education services.

(3) To encourage the use of teaching methods that may be different in some respects than others regularly used in the public school system.

(4) To allow the development of new, different, or alternative forms of measuring pupil learning and achievement.

(5) To create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site.

(6) To provide parents and pupils with expanded choices within the public school system.

(7) To encourage parental and community involvement with public schools.

(8) To hold charter schools accountable for meeting rigorous school content standards and to provide those schools with the opportunity to improve accountability.

(c) In authorizing charter schools, it is the intent of the General Assembly to create a legitimate avenue for parents, teachers, and community members to take responsible risks and create new, innovative, and more flexible ways of educating children within the public school system. The General Assembly seeks to create opportunities within the public school system of Illinois for development of innovative and accountable teaching techniques. The provisions of this Article should be interpreted liberally to support the findings and goals of this Section and to advance a renewed commitment by the State of Illinois to the mission, goals, and diversity of public education.

(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-3)

Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:

"At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical, emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely to succeed in a conventional educational environment.

"Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants, oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not renew, or revoke a charter.

"Commission" means the State Charter School Commission established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.

"Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed school board or board of education of a public school district, including special charter districts and school districts located in cities having a population of more than 500,000, organized under the laws of this State.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-4)

Sec. 27A-4. General Provisions.

(a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special education services.

(b) The total number of charter schools operating under this Article at any one time shall not exceed 120. Not more than 70 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any city having a population exceeding 500,000, with at least 5 charter schools devoted exclusively to students from low-performing or overcrowded schools operating at any one time in that city; and not more than 45 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder of the State, with not more than one charter school that has been initiated by a board of education, or by an intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of education, operating at any one time in the school district where the charter school is located. In addition to these charter schools, up to but no more than 5 charter schools devoted exclusively to re-enrolled high school dropouts and/or students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping out may operate at any one time in any city having a population exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A-5 of this Code, each such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875 enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each campus of the dropout charter must be operated, through a contract or payroll, by the same legal entity as that for which the charter is approved and certified.

For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives under Section 27A-6 for its review and certification, based on the chronological order in which the submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools authorized to operate have been reached.

(c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public school to a charter school.

(d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area served by the local school board, provided that the board of education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to attend the charter school.

(e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a single shared charter school, provided that all of the provisions of this Article are met as to those local school boards.

(f) No local school board shall require any employee of the school district to be employed in a charter school.

(g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing within the geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a charter school.

(h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in a charter school than there are spaces available, successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However, priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated by the board of education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000. Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public school or non-public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the school district in which the pupil resides. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection (h), any charter school with a mission exclusive to educating high school dropouts may grant priority admission to students who are high school dropouts and/or students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping out and any charter school with a mission exclusive to educating students from low-performing or overcrowded schools may restrict admission to students who are from low-performing or overcrowded schools. "Priority admission" for charter schools exclusively devoted to re-enrolled dropouts or students at risk of dropping out means a minimum of 90% of students enrolled shall be high school dropouts.

(i) (Blank).

(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a school district in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively bargain with an exclusive representative of its employees over decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a charter under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing, diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights, guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.

(k) In this Section:

"Low-performing school" means a public school in a school district organized under Article 34 of this Code that enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 8 and that is ranked within the lowest 10% of schools in that district in terms of the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

"Overcrowded school" means a public school in a school district organized under Article 34 of this Code that (i) enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 8, (ii) has a percentage of low-income students of 70% or more, as identified in the most recently available School Report Card published by the State Board of Education, and (iii) is determined by the Chicago Board of Education to be in the most severely overcrowded 5% of schools in the district. On or before November 1 of each year, the Chicago Board of Education shall file a report with the State Board of Education on which schools in the district meet the definition of "overcrowded school". "Students at risk of dropping out" means students 16 or 15 years old in a public school in a district organized under Article 34 of this Code that enrolls students in any grades 9-12 who have been absent at least 90 school attendance days of the previous 180 school attendance days.

(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 97-151, eff. 1-1-12; 97-624, eff. 11-28-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)

Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.

(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(b) A charter school may be established under this Article by creating a new school or by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the State Board or a local school board to establish a charter school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory Act.

(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by its board of directors or other governing body in the manner provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.

(d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable health and safety requirements applicable to public schools under the laws of the State of Illinois.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks, instructional materials, and student activities.

(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an outside, independent contractor retained by the charter school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal Internal Revenue Service.

(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State laws and regulations in the School Code governing public schools and local school board policies, except the following:

(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for employment;

(2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code regarding discipline of students;

(3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act;

(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of officers, directors, employees, and agents;

(5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;

(6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;

(7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school report cards; and

(8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act.

The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) is declaratory of existing law.

(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a school district, the governing body of a State college or university or public community college, or any other public or for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a school building and grounds or any other real property or facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service, activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. However, a charter school that is established on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and that operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to manage or operate the school during the period that commences on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter school contracts with a school district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school contracts with a local school board or with the governing body of a State college or university or public community college shall be provided by the public entity at cost.

(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established by converting an existing school or attendance center to charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other costs for the operation and maintenance of school district facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject to negotiation between the charter school and the local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.

(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or grade level.

(k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, then the Commission charter school is its own local education agency.

(Source: P.A. 96-104, eff. 1-1-10; 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-107, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-6)

Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and regulations.

(a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding contract and agreement between the charter school and a local school board under the terms of which the local school board authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate the charter school on the terms specified in the contract.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the certified charter may not waive or release the charter school from the State goals, standards, and assessments established pursuant to Section 2-3.64. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the certified charter for a charter school operating in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 shall require the charter school to administer any other nationally recognized standardized tests to its students that the chartering entity administers to other students, and the results on such tests shall be included in the chartering entity's assessment reports.

(c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a material revision to a previously certified contract or a renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local school board and the governing body of the charter school.

(c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on how both parties will address minor violations of the contract.

(d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a proposed charter school and the local school board as described in Section 27A-7 must be submitted to and certified by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the modifications must be consented to by both the governing body of the charter school and the local school board, and resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to certify the charter.

The State Board shall assign a number to each submission or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with the provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract complies, the State Board shall so certify.

(e) No material revision to a previously certified contract or a renewal shall be effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the revision or renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article.

(Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03.)