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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, All children in Illinois are entitled to the
3facilities and resources needed for a high-quality education;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois charter public school law does not
6contain a provision for charter public school facilities
7funding; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Charter public schools in this State have limited
9access to capital funds for facilities from local or state
10sources, making it difficult to secure adequate and affordable
11facilities; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Charter public schools have confronted this
13problem by either paying rent to operate in a district-run
14facility or paying for independent facilities out of their
15general operating funds; and
 
16    WHEREAS, This produces inequity between charter public
17schools and district-run schools in terms of the proportion of
18funds available for direct classroom instruction; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Eleven jurisdictions (Arizona, California,
20Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico,

 

 

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1Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington D.C.) currently
2offer facilities support for charter public schools;
3therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
6CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Task Force on Charter Public School
7Facilities is created to examine charter public school
8facilities issues, including the following:
9        (1) An analysis of the current capital funds and
10    facilities provisions in the Illinois Charter Schools Law
11    for the purpose of ensuring equitable access;
12        (2) A comparative analysis of charter public school
13    facilities funding and access across the United States; and
14        (3) Recommendations for ensuring that charter public
15    schools have equitable access to safe and appropriate
16    facilities; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the
18following members:
19        (l) one member appointed by the President of the
20    Senate;
21        (2) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
22    Senate;
23        (3) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
24    Representatives;

 

 

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1        (4) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
2    House of Representatives;
3        (5) the State Superintendent of Education or his or her
4    designee;
5        (6) the chief executive officer of a school district in
6    a city having a population exceeding 500,000 or his or her
7    designee;
8        (7) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
9    Representatives, upon recommendation of an organization
10    representing teachers in a school district in a city having
11    a population exceeding 500,000;
12        (8) one member appointed by the President of the
13    Senate, upon recommendation of the largest statewide
14    organization representing teachers;
15        (9) one member appointed by the Governor, upon
16    recommendation of a statewide organization representing
17    charter public schools in this State;
18        (10) a principal of a currently operating,
19    high-performing charter public school in this State,
20    appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
21        (11) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
22    Senate, upon recommendation of the largest charter public
23    school in this State;
24        (12) one member appointed by the Governor who is a
25    representative of a community organization that operates
26    charter public schools, upon recommendation of that

 

 

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1    community organization;
2        (13) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the
3    House of Representatives, upon recommendation of an
4    organization representing the business community in this
5    State;
6        (14) one member appointed by the Governor, upon
7    recommendation of an education advocacy group that
8    organizes parents and supports high-quality public-school
9    options, including high-quality public charter schools;
10        (15) one member appointed by the state superintendent
11    representing one of the ten currently operating
12    Commission-approved charter public schools in this State,
13    upon recommendation of the leadership of the
14    Commission-approved charter public schools;
15        (16) one member appointed by the Governor, upon
16    recommendation of a large, non-profit community
17    development financial institution (CDFI) in Illinois that
18    provides or has provided specialized loans, real estate
19    development, and additional forms of financial assistance
20    to charter public schools in this State; and
21        (17) one member appointed by the state superintendent
22    who represents a charter school outside of the City of
23    Chicago; and be it further
 
24    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall elect a
25chairperson from among their membership and that the State

 

 

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1Charter School Commission shall provide administrative
2support; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall be
4appointed within 30 days after the adoption of this resolution
5and shall begin meeting no later than 30 days after the
6appointments are finalized; in the event the appointments by
7the Governor are not made within 30 days after the adoption of
8this resolution, the State Superintendent shall make such
9appointments within 15 days of the appointment deadline; and be
10it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a report making
12recommendations on any changes to State laws with regard to
13charter public school facilities access on or before January 1,
142021, and that the Task Force shall be dissolved upon issuance
15of this report; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17delivered to the Governor, the State Superintendent of
18Education, the State Charter School Commission, and the Chief
19Executive Officer of the City of Chicago School District 299.