103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3330

 

Introduced 2/7/2024, by Sen. Omar Aquino

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-9
105 ILCS 5/34-18.69

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Provides that an initial charter shall be granted for a period of no more than 3 school years (instead of for a period of 5 school years). Provides that a charter may be renewed in incremental periods not to exceed 3 (instead of 10) school years. Makes conforming changes. Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Specifies that nothing in the provisions concerning a moratorium on school closings, consolidations, and phase-outs affects the Chicago Board of Education's ability to not renew its authorization of a charter or contract school.


LRB103 38421 RJT 68556 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3330LRB103 38421 RJT 68556 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 Sections
527A-9 and 34-18.69 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
7    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
8    (a) An initial charter granted before the effective date
9of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall be
10granted for a period of 5 school years. An initial charter
11granted on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act
12of the 103rd General Assembly shall be granted for a period of
13no more than 3 school years. A charter may be renewed before
14the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
15Assembly in incremental periods not to exceed 10 school years.
16A charter may be renewed on or after the effective date of this
17amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly in incremental
18periods not to exceed 3 school years. Authorizers shall ensure
19that every charter granted on or after January 1, 2017
20includes standards and goals for academic, organizational, and
21financial performance. A charter must meet all standards and
22goals for academic, organizational, and financial performance
23set forth by the authorizer in order to be renewed for a term

 

 

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1in excess of 5 years but not more than 10 years for a charter
2renewed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of
3the 103rd General Assembly or for a full 3-year term for a
4charter renewed on or after the effective date of this
5amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. If an authorizer
6fails to establish standards and goals, a charter shall not be
7renewed for a term in excess of 5 years for a charter renewed
8before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd
9General Assembly or in excess of one year for a charter renewed
10on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
11103rd General Assembly. Nothing contained in this Section
12shall require an authorizer to grant a full 10-year renewal
13term to any particular charter school, but, for a charter
14renewed before the effective date of this amendatory Act of
15the 103rd General Assembly, an authorizer may award a full
1610-year renewal term to charter schools that have a
17demonstrated track record of improving student performance.
18    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
19local school board or the State Board, as the chartering
20entity, shall contain:
21        (1) a report on the progress of the charter school in
22    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
23    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
24    initial approved charter proposal; and
25        (2) a financial statement that discloses the costs of
26    administration, instruction, and other spending categories

 

 

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1    for the charter school that is understandable to the
2    general public and that will allow comparison of those
3    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
4    in a format required by the State Board.
5    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
6school board or the State Board, as the chartering entity,
7clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
8following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
9of this law:
10        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
11    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
12    charter.
13        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
14    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
15    standards identified in the charter.
16        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
17    fiscal management.
18        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the
19    charter school was not exempted.
20    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
21State Board, as the chartering entity, shall notify the
22charter school in writing of the reason why the charter is
23subject to revocation. The charter school shall submit a
24written plan to the local school board or the State Board,
25whichever is applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan
26shall include a timeline for implementation, which shall not

 

 

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1exceed 2 years or the date of the charter's expiration,
2whichever is earlier. If the local school board or the State
3Board, as the chartering entity, finds that the charter school
4has failed to implement the plan of remediation and adhere to
5the timeline, then the chartering entity shall revoke the
6charter. Except in situations of an emergency where the
7health, safety, or education of the charter school's students
8is at risk, the revocation shall take place at the end of a
9school year. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
10prohibit an implementation timetable that is less than 2 years
11in duration. No local school board may arbitrarily or
12capriciously revoke or not renew a charter. Except for
13extenuating circumstances outlined in this Section, if a local
14school board revokes or does not renew a charter, it must
15ensure that all students currently enrolled in the charter
16school are placed in schools that are higher performing than
17that charter school, as defined in the State's federal Every
18Student Succeeds Act accountability plan. In determining
19whether extenuating circumstances exist, a local school board
20must detail, by clear and convincing evidence, that factors
21unrelated to the charter school's accountability designation
22outweigh the charter school's academic performance.
23    (d) (Blank).
24    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
25revoke, or not renew a charter shall be provided to the State
26Board.

 

 

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1    The State Board may reverse a local board's decision to
2revoke or not renew a charter if the State Board finds that the
3charter school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance
4with this Article and (ii) is in the best interests of the
5students it is designed to serve. The State Board may
6condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance by the
7charter school of funding in an amount less than that
8requested in the proposal submitted to the local school board.
9The State Board must appoint and utilize a hearing officer for
10any appeals conducted under this subsection. Final decisions
11of the State Board are subject to judicial review under the
12Administrative Review Law.
13    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
14the State Board on appeal reverses a local board's decision or
15if a charter school is approved by referendum, the State Board
16shall act as the authorized chartering entity for the charter
17school and shall perform all functions under this Article
18otherwise performed by the local school board. The State Board
19shall report the aggregate number of charter school pupils
20resident in a school district to that district and shall
21notify the district of the amount of funding to be paid by the
22State Board to the charter school enrolling such students. The
23charter school shall maintain accurate records of daily
24attendance and student enrollment and shall enter data on the
25students served, their characteristics, their particular
26needs, the programs in which they participate, and their

 

 

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1academic achievement into the statewide student information
2system established by the State Board. The State Board shall
3withhold from funds otherwise due the district the funds
4authorized by this Article to be paid to the charter school and
5shall pay such amounts to the charter school in quarterly
6installments, calculated as follows:
7        (1) The amount of the first quarterly payment shall be
8    based on the projected number of students who will be
9    enrolled in the charter school in the upcoming school
10    year, multiplied by one-fourth of the resident district's
11    per capita tuition amount. Each charter school shall
12    submit its projected enrollment by no later than August 1
13    of each year on a form provided by the State Board for this
14    purpose.
15        (2) The amount of the second quarterly payment shall
16    be calculated such that the aggregate amount of the first
17    and second quarterly installments is equal to the number
18    of students reported as enrolled at the charter school on
19    October 1 in the State Board's student information system,
20    multiplied by one-half of the resident district's per
21    capita tuition amount.
22        (3) The amount of the third quarterly payment shall be
23    based on the number of students enrolled in the charter
24    school on January 1, multiplied by one-fourth of the
25    resident district's per capita tuition amount. Each
26    charter school shall submit its January 1 enrollment by no

 

 

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1    later than January 5 of each year on a form provided by the
2    State Board for this purpose.
3        (4) The amount of the fourth quarterly payment shall
4    be calculated such that the aggregate amount of the third
5    and fourth installments is equal to the number of students
6    reported as enrolled at the charter school on March 1 in
7    the State Board's student information system, multiplied
8    by one-half of the resident district's per capita tuition
9    amount.
10    (g) (Blank).
11    (h) The State Board shall pay directly to a charter school
12it authorizes any federal or State funding attributable to a
13student with a disability attending the school.
14(Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.69)
16    Sec. 34-18.69. Moratorium on school closings,
17consolidations, and phase-outs. The Board shall not approve
18any school closings, consolidations, or phase-outs until the
19Board of Education is seated on January 15, 2025. Nothing in
20this Section affects the Board's ability to not renew its
21authorization of a charter or contract school.
22(Source: P.A. 102-177, eff. 12-17-21 (See Section 15 of P.A.
23102-691 for the effective date of P.A. 102-177).)