101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4306

 

Introduced 1/28/2020, by Rep. Sonya M. Harper

 

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

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. With respect to a charter school's retention of an outside, independent contractor to audit the charter school's finances, provides that the contractor shall not be an employee of the charter school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. Effective July 1, 2020.


LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4306LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 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 Section
527A-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
7    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 101-50)
8    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
9    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
10nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
11school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
12corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
13authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
14    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
15by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
16school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
17on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3), in
18all new applications to establish a charter school in a city
19having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the charter
20school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this
21Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter schools
22existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the effective
23date of Public Act 93-3).

 

 

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1    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
2a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and
3instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with
4their teachers at remote locations and with students
5participating at different times.
6    From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a
7moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
8virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
9school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
10moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
11virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
12April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
13school with virtual-schooling components already approved
14prior to April 1, 2013.
15    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
16its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
17provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
18shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
19Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the
20effective date of Public Act 101-291) this amendatory Act of
21the 101st General Assembly, a charter school's board of
22directors or other governing body must include at least one
23parent or guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter
24school who may be selected through the charter school or a
25charter network election, appointment by the charter school's
26board of directors or other governing body, or by the charter

 

 

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1school's Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
2    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the
3effective date of Public Act 101-291) this amendatory Act of
4the 101st General Assembly or within the first year of his or
5her first term, every voting member of a charter school's board
6of directors or other governing body shall complete a minimum
7of 4 hours of professional development leadership training to
8ensure that each member has sufficient familiarity with the
9board's or governing body's role and responsibilities,
10including financial oversight and accountability of the
11school, evaluating the principal's and school's performance,
12adherence to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
13Meetings Act Acts, and compliance with education and labor law.
14In each subsequent year of his or her term, a voting member of
15a charter school's board of directors or other governing body
16shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of professional development
17training in these same areas. The training under this
18subsection may be provided or certified by a statewide charter
19school membership association or may be provided or certified
20by other qualified providers approved by the State Board of
21Education.
22    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
23health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
24requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
25preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
26students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or

 

 

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1prevent threats to the health and safety of students and school
2personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety requirement" does
3not include any course of study or specialized instructional
4requirement for which the State Board has established goals and
5learning standards or which is designed primarily to impart
6knowledge and skills for students to master and apply as an
7outcome of their education.
8    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
9health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
10under the laws of the State of Illinois. On or before September
111, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its
12Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety
13requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall be
14updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter
15contract between a charter school and its authorizer must
16contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow
17the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements
18promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health
19and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list
20during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d)
21precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health
22and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are
23not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
24including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
25authorizing local school board.
26    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a

 

 

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1charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
2charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
3instructional materials, and student activities.
4    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
5management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
6not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
7charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
8outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
9school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
10school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
11in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
12To ensure financial accountability for the use of public funds,
13on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
14charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
15Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the charter
16school filed that year with the federal Internal Revenue
17Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper financial
18oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may require
19quarterly financial statements from each charter school.
20    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
21this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, all
22federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools
23that pertain to special education and the instruction of
24English learners, and its charter. A charter school is exempt
25from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
26governing public schools and local school board policies;

 

 

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1however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
2        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding
3    criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
4    Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent
5    Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for
6    employment;
7        (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
8    34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
9        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
10    Tort Immunity Act;
11        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
12    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
13    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
14        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
15        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
16    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
17        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
18        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report
19    cards;
20        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
21        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
22    prevention;
23        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
24    discipline reporting;
25        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
26        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;

 

 

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1        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
2        (14) Section 26-18 of this Code;
3        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; and
4        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code.
5    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
6is declaratory of existing law.
7    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
8school district, the governing body of a State college or
9university or public community college, or any other public or
10for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
11school building and grounds or any other real property or
12facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
13for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
14maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
15activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
16perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
17However, a charter school that is established on or after April
1816, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that
19operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
20not contract with a for-profit entity to manage or operate the
21school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
22effective date of Public Act 93-3) and concludes at the end of
23the 2004-2005 school year. Except as provided in subsection (i)
24of this Section, a school district may charge a charter school
25reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
26grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter

 

 

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1school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
2the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
3contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
4of a State college or university or public community college
5shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
6    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
7by converting an existing school or attendance center to
8charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
9deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
10agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
11costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
12facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
13to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
14board and shall be set forth in the charter.
15    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
16grade level.
17    (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or
18Commission, then the charter school is its own local education
19agency.
20(Source: P.A. 100-29, eff. 1-1-18; 100-156, eff. 1-1-18;
21100-163, eff. 1-1-18; 100-413, eff. 1-1-18; 100-468, eff.
226-1-18; 100-726, eff. 1-1-19; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-81,
23eff. 7-12-19; 101-291, eff. 1-1-20; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19;
24101-543, eff. 8-23-19; revised 9-19-19.)
 
25    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 101-50)

 

 

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1    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
2    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
3nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
4school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
5corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
6authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
7    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
8by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
9school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
10on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3), in
11all new applications to establish a charter school in a city
12having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the charter
13school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this
14Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter schools
15existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the effective
16date of Public Act 93-3).
17    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
18a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and
19instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with
20their teachers at remote locations and with students
21participating at different times.
22    From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a
23moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
24virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
25school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
26moratorium does not apply to a charter school with

 

 

HB4306- 10 -LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 b

1virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
2April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
3school with virtual-schooling components already approved
4prior to April 1, 2013.
5    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
6its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
7provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
8shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
9Meetings Act. No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the
10effective date of Public Act 101-291) this amendatory Act of
11the 101st General Assembly, a charter school's board of
12directors or other governing body must include at least one
13parent or guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter
14school who may be selected through the charter school or a
15charter network election, appointment by the charter school's
16board of directors or other governing body, or by the charter
17school's Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
18    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 (one year after the
19effective date of Public Act 101-291) this amendatory Act of
20the 101st General Assembly or within the first year of his or
21her first term, every voting member of a charter school's board
22of directors or other governing body shall complete a minimum
23of 4 hours of professional development leadership training to
24ensure that each member has sufficient familiarity with the
25board's or governing body's role and responsibilities,
26including financial oversight and accountability of the

 

 

HB4306- 11 -LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 b

1school, evaluating the principal's and school's performance,
2adherence to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
3Meetings Act Acts, and compliance with education and labor law.
4In each subsequent year of his or her term, a voting member of
5a charter school's board of directors or other governing body
6shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of professional development
7training in these same areas. The training under this
8subsection may be provided or certified by a statewide charter
9school membership association or may be provided or certified
10by other qualified providers approved by the State Board of
11Education.
12    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
13health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
14requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
15preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
16students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
17prevent threats to the health and safety of students and school
18personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety requirement" does
19not include any course of study or specialized instructional
20requirement for which the State Board has established goals and
21learning standards or which is designed primarily to impart
22knowledge and skills for students to master and apply as an
23outcome of their education.
24    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
25health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
26under the laws of the State of Illinois. On or before September

 

 

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11, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its
2Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety
3requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall be
4updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter
5contract between a charter school and its authorizer must
6contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow
7the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements
8promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health
9and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list
10during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d)
11precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health
12and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are
13not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
14including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
15authorizing local school board.
16    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
17charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
18charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
19instructional materials, and student activities.
20    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
21management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
22not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
23charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
24outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
25school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
26school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer

 

 

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1in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
2To ensure financial accountability for the use of public funds,
3on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
4charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
5Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the charter
6school filed that year with the federal Internal Revenue
7Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper financial
8oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may require
9quarterly financial statements from each charter school.
10    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
11this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, all
12federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools
13that pertain to special education and the instruction of
14English learners, and its charter. A charter school is exempt
15from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
16governing public schools and local school board policies;
17however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
18        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding
19    criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
20    Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent
21    Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for
22    employment;
23        (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
24    34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
25        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
26    Tort Immunity Act;

 

 

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1        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
2    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
3    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
4        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
5        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
6    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
7        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
8        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report
9    cards;
10        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
11        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
12    prevention;
13        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
14    discipline reporting;
15        (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
16        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
17        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
18        (14) Section 26-18 of this Code;
19        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; and
20        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; and .
21        (17) (16) The Seizure Smart School Act.
22    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
23is declaratory of existing law.
24    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
25school district, the governing body of a State college or
26university or public community college, or any other public or

 

 

HB4306- 15 -LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 b

1for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
2school building and grounds or any other real property or
3facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
4for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
5maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
6activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
7perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
8However, a charter school that is established on or after April
916, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that
10operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
11not contract with a for-profit entity to manage or operate the
12school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
13effective date of Public Act 93-3) and concludes at the end of
14the 2004-2005 school year. Except as provided in subsection (i)
15of this Section, a school district may charge a charter school
16reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
17grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
18school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
19the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
20contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
21of a State college or university or public community college
22shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
23    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
24by converting an existing school or attendance center to
25charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
26deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter

 

 

HB4306- 16 -LRB101 15133 NHT 64272 b

1agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
2costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
3facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
4to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
5board and shall be set forth in the charter.
6    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
7grade level.
8    (k) If the charter school is approved by the State Board or
9Commission, then the charter school is its own local education
10agency.
11(Source: P.A. 100-29, eff. 1-1-18; 100-156, eff. 1-1-18;
12100-163, eff. 1-1-18; 100-413, eff. 1-1-18; 100-468, eff.
136-1-18; 100-726, eff. 1-1-19; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-50,
14eff. 7-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-291, eff. 1-1-20;
15101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-543, eff. 8-23-19; revised
169-19-19.)
 
17    Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
18changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
19that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
20represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
21not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
22made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
23Public Act.
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
252020.