Sen. Celina Villanueva

Filed: 3/19/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 577

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 577 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5Sections 27A-3, 27A-6, and 27A-7 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
7    Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
8    "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical,
9emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely
10to succeed in a conventional educational environment.
11    "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article
12to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject
13applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants,
14oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not
15renew, or revoke a charter.
16    "Commission" means the State Charter School Commission

 

 

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1established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.
2    "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed
3school board or board of education of a public school
4district, including special charter districts and school
5districts located in cities having a population of more than
6500,000, organized under the laws of this State.
7    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
8    "Union neutrality clause" means a provision whereby a
9charter school agrees: (1) to be neutral regarding the
10unionization of any of its employees, such that the charter
11school will not at any time express a position on the matter of
12whether its employees will be unionized and such that the
13charter school will not threaten, intimidate, discriminate
14against, retaliate against, or take any adverse action against
15any employees based on their decision to support or oppose
16union representation; (2) to provide any bona fide labor
17organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the
18charter school's employees work for the purpose of meeting
19with employees to discuss their right to representation,
20employment rights under the law, and terms and conditions of
21employment; (3) that union recognition shall be through a
22majority card check verified by a neutral third-party
23arbitrator mutually selected by the charter school and the
24bona fide labor organization through alternate striking from a
25panel of arbitrators provided by the Federal Mediation and
26Conciliation Service; and (4) to restrict from subcontracting

 

 

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1any work performed on or about the premises of the charter
2school as part of its normal operations except by mutual
3agreement with a bona fide labor organization and then only to
4a person or firm that is a signatory to a labor agreement with
5a bona fide labor organization that has indicated its interest
6in representing the employees of the subcontractor if the
7subcontractor's employees are not lawfully represented by
8another bona fide labor organization. As used in this
9definition, "bona fide labor organization" means a labor
10organization recognized under the National Labor Relations Act
11or the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Unless the
12context otherwise requires, as used in this definition,
13"employees" means non-represented, non-management, and
14non-confidential employees of a charter school.
15(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
 
16    (105 ILCS 5/27A-6)
17    Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and
18regulations.
19    (a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding
20contract and agreement between the charter school and a local
21school board under the terms of which the local school board
22authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate
23the charter school on the terms specified in the contract.
24    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,
25the certified charter may not waive or release the charter

 

 

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1school from the State goals, standards, and assessments
2established pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code.
3Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the certified
4charter for a charter school operating in a city having a
5population exceeding 500,000 shall require the charter school
6to administer any other nationally recognized standardized
7tests to its students that the chartering entity administers
8to other students, and the results on such tests shall be
9included in the chartering entity's assessment reports.
10    (c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a
11material revision to a previously certified contract or a
12renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local
13school board and the governing body of the charter school.
14    (c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on
15how both parties will address minor violations of the
16contract.
17    (c-10) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of
18the 102nd General Assembly, any renewal of a certified charter
19must include a union neutrality clause.
20    (d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a
21proposed charter school and the local school board as
22described in Section 27A-7 must be submitted to and certified
23by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State
24Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for
25consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the
26modifications must be consented to by both the governing body

 

 

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1of the charter school and the local school board, and
2resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the
3proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not
4consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to
5certify the charter.
6    The State Board shall assign a number to each submission
7or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall
8determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with the
9provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract complies,
10the State Board shall so certify.
11    (e) No renewal of a previously certified contract is
12effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the
13renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article. A
14material revision to a previously certified contract may go
15into effect immediately upon approval of both the local school
16board and the governing body of the charter school, unless
17either party requests in writing that the State Board certify
18that the material revision is consistent with the provisions
19of this Article. If such a request is made, the proposed
20material revision is not effective unless and until the State
21Board so certifies.
22(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;
2399-78, eff. 7-20-15.)
 
24    (105 ILCS 5/27A-7)
25    Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.

 

 

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1    (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be
2submitted to the local school board and the State Board for
3certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a
4proposed contract entered into between the local school board
5and the governing body of a proposed charter school. The
6charter school proposal shall include:
7        (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
8    must include the words "Charter School".
9        (2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
10    and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the
11    charter school, and any other admission criteria that
12    would be legal if used by a school district.
13        (3) A description of and address for the physical
14    plant in which the charter school will be located;
15    provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to
16    justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or
17    approval of a charter school proposal because the building
18    or buildings in which the charter school is to be located
19    have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter
20    school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter
21    school contract is entered into or submitted for
22    certification or certified, so long as the proposal or
23    submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are
24    potentially available as a charter school facility by the
25    time the charter school is to open.
26        (4) The mission statement of the charter school, which

 

 

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1    must be consistent with the General Assembly's declared
2    purposes; provided that nothing in this Article shall be
3    construed to require that, in order to receive favorable
4    consideration and approval, a charter school proposal
5    demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will be
6    able to meet each of those declared purposes, it being the
7    intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes
8    be recognized as goals that charter schools must aspire to
9    attain.
10        (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
11    standards to be achieved by the charter school.
12        (6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
13    school by converting an existing public school or
14    attendance center to charter school status, evidence that
15    the proposed formation of the charter school has received
16    the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians,
17    and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in
18    subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.
19        (7) A description of the charter school's educational
20    program, pupil performance standards, curriculum, school
21    year, school days, and hours of operation.
22        (8) A description of the charter school's plan for
23    evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments
24    that will be used to measure pupil progress towards
25    achievement of the school's pupil performance standards,
26    the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the

 

 

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1    procedures for taking corrective action in the event that
2    pupil performance at the charter school falls below those
3    standards.
4        (9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as proposed
5    are economically sound for both the charter school and the
6    school district, a proposed budget for the term of the
7    charter, a description of the manner in which an annual
8    audit of the financial and administrative operations of
9    the charter school, including any services provided by the
10    school district, are to be conducted, and a plan for the
11    displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who
12    will not attend or be employed in the charter school.
13        (10) A description of the governance and operation of
14    the charter school, including the nature and extent of
15    parental, professional educator, and community involvement
16    in the governance and operation of the charter school.
17        (11) An explanation of the relationship that will
18    exist between the charter school and its employees,
19    including evidence that the terms and conditions of
20    employment have been addressed with affected employees and
21    their recognized representative, if any. However, a
22    bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be
23    separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed
24    from employees of a school district in which the charter
25    school is located.
26        (12) An agreement between the parties regarding their

 

 

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1    respective legal liability and applicable insurance
2    coverage.
3        (13) A description of how the charter school plans to
4    meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan
5    for addressing the transportation needs of low-income and
6    at-risk pupils.
7        (14) The proposed effective date and term of the
8    charter; provided that the first day of the first academic
9    year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than
10    September 15 of a calendar year, and the first day of the
11    fiscal year shall be July 1.
12        (14.5) Disclosure of any known active civil or
13    criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law
14    enforcement agency into an organization submitting the
15    charter school proposal or a criminal investigation by a
16    local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into any
17    member of the governing body of that organization. For the
18    purposes of this subdivision (14.5), a known investigation
19    means a request for an interview by a law enforcement
20    agency, a subpoena, an arrest, or an indictment. Such
21    disclosure is required for a period from the initial
22    application submission through 10 business days prior to
23    the authorizer's scheduled decision date.
24        (14.7) A union neutrality clause.
25        (15) Any other information reasonably required by the
26    State Board of Education.

 

 

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1    (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be
2initiated by individuals or organizations that will have
3majority representation on the board of directors or other
4governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal
5entity that is to be established to operate the proposed
6charter school, by a board of education or an
7intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of
8education, or by the board of directors or other governing
9body of a discrete legal entity already existing or
10established to operate the proposed charter school. The
11individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection
12may be school teachers, school administrators, local school
13councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members,
14public community colleges or their instructors or other
15representatives, corporations, or other entities or their
16representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the local
17school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for
18development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the
19State Board for certification under Section 27A-6.
20    (c) The local school board may not without the consent of
21the governing body of the charter school condition its
22approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an
23agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and
24local school board policies from which the charter school is
25otherwise exempted under this Article.
26(Source: P.A. 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;

 

 

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199-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-334, eff. 8-10-15.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.".