97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB0079

 

Introduced 1/27/2011, by Sen. Heather Steans

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-3
105 ILCS 5/27A-5
105 ILCS 5/27A-7.5 new
105 ILCS 5/27A-7.10 new
105 ILCS 5/27A-8
105 ILCS 5/27A-9
105 ILCS 5/27A-12

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Establishes a State Charter School Commission as an independent State agency with statewide chartering jurisdiction and authority, consisting of 9 members appointed by the State Board of Education on the recommendation of a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor. Provides that the Commission is responsible for authorizing high-quality charter schools throughout this State. Allows the Commission to charge a charter school that it authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering authority with respect to the school. Provides that any charter school authorized by the State Board prior to the amendatory Act shall have its authorization transferred immediately to the Commission, which shall then become the school's authorizer. Provides that any charter school authorized by a school board may seek approval from the Commission during its current term only with the approval of the school board, and provides that at the end of its charter term, a charter school authorized by a school board must reapply to that board before it may apply for authorization to the Commission. Makes additional changes concerning the Commission, and makes changes concerning authorizers, immunity, the submission of information, and reporting. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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-3, 27A-5, 27A-8, 27A-9, and 27A-12 and by adding Sections
627A-7.5 and 27A-7.10 as follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
8    Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
9    "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical,
10emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely
11to succeed in a conventional educational environment.
12    "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article
13to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject
14applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants,
15oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not
16renew, or revoke a charter.
17    "Commission" means the State Charter School Commission
18established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.
19    "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed
20school board or board of education of a public school district,
21including special charter districts and school districts
22located in cities having a population of more than 500,000,
23organized under the laws of this State.

 

 

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1    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
2(Source: P.A. 89-450, eff. 4-10-96.)
 
3    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
4    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
5    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
6nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
7school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
8corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
9authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
10    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
11by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
12school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
13on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
14General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the
15State Board or a local school board to establish a charter
16school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
17operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
18The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
1993rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
20or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
21Act.
22    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
23its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
24provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
25shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open

 

 

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1Meetings Act.
2    (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
3health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
4under the laws of the State of Illinois.
5    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
6charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
7charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
8instructional materials, and student activities.
9    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
10management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
11not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
12charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
13outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
14school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must
15submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the
16Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
17Internal Revenue Service.
18    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
19this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
20its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State
21laws and regulations in the School Code governing public
22schools and local school board policies, except the following:
23        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code
24    regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the
25    Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child
26    Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of

 

 

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1    applicants for employment;
2        (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code
3    regarding discipline of students;
4        (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
5    Tort Immunity Act;
6        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
7    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
8    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
9        (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
10        (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;
11        (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school
12    report cards; and
13        (8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act.
14    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
15is declaratory of existing law.
16    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
17school district, the governing body of a State college or
18university or public community college, or any other public or
19for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
20school building and grounds or any other real property or
21facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
22for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
23maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
24activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
25perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
26However, a charter school that is established on or after the

 

 

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1effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
2Assembly and that operates in a city having a population
3exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
4manage or operate the school during the period that commences
5on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
6General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005
7school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this
8Section, a school district may charge a charter school
9reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
10grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
11school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
12the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
13contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
14of a State college or university or public community college
15shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
16    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
17by converting an existing school or attendance center to
18charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
19deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
20agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
21costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
22facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
23to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
24board and shall be set forth in the charter.
25    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
26grade level.

 

 

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1    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
2then the Commission charter school is its own local education
3agency.
4(Source: P.A. 96-104, eff. 1-1-10; 96-105, eff. 7-30-09;
596-107, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; 96-1000, eff.
67-2-10.)
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.5 new)
8    Sec. 27A-7.5. State Charter School Commission.
9    (a) A State Charter School Commission is established as an
10independent State agency with statewide chartering
11jurisdiction and authority.
12    (b) The Commission is responsible for authorizing
13high-quality charter schools throughout this State,
14particularly schools designed to expand opportunities for
15at-risk students, consistent with the purposes of this Article.
16    (c) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, appointed by
17the State Board. The State Board shall make these appointments
18on the recommendation of a slate of candidates proposed by the
19Governor. In making the appointments, the State Board shall
20ensure statewide geographic diversity among Commission
21members.
22    (d) Members appointed to the Commission shall collectively
23possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit
24governance, management and finance, public school leadership,
25higher education, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and

 

 

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1public education law. All members of the Commission shall have
2demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to charter
3schooling as one strategy for strengthening public education.
4    (e) To establish staggered terms of office, the initial
5term of office for 3 Commission members shall be 4 years and
6thereafter shall be 4 years; the initial term of office for
7another 3 members shall be 3 years and thereafter shall be 4
8years; and the initial term of office for the remaining 3
9members shall be 2 years and thereafter shall be 4 years. The
10initial appointments must be made no later than October 1,
112011.
12    (f) Whenever a vacancy on the Commission exists, the State
13Board shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the
14term.
15    (g) The Commission is authorized to receive and expend
16gifts, grants, and donations of any kind from any public or
17private entity to carry out the purposes of this Article,
18subject to the terms and conditions under which they are given,
19provided that all such terms and conditions are permissible
20under law.
21    (h) The Commission shall operate with dedicated resources
22and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities
23of charter school authorizing in accordance with this Article.
24    (i) Every 2 years, the Commission shall provide to the
25State Board and local school boards a report on best practices
26in charter school authorizing, including without limitation

 

 

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1evaluating applications, oversight of charters, and renewal of
2charter schools.
3    (j) The Commission may charge a charter school that it
4authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to
5the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing
6administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering
7authority with respect to the school.
8    (k) Any charter school authorized by the State Board prior
9to this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall have
10its authorization transferred immediately to the Commission,
11which shall then become the school's authorizer for all
12purposes under this Article. At this time, all of the powers,
13duties, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, records, and
14pending business of the State Board as the school's authorizer
15must be transferred to the Commission. Any charter school
16authorized by a local school board may seek approval from the
17Commission during its current term only with the approval of
18the local school board. At the end of its charter term, a
19charter school authorized by a local school board must reapply
20to that board before it may apply for authorization to the
21Commission under the terms of this amendatory Act of the 97th
22General Assembly.
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.10 new)
24    Sec. 27A-7.10. Authorizer powers and duties; immunity;
25principles and standards.

 

 

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1    (a) Authorizers are responsible for executing, in
2accordance with this Article, all of the following powers and
3duties:
4        (1) Soliciting and evaluating charter applications.
5        (2) Approving quality charter applications that meet
6    identified educational needs and promote a diversity of
7    educational choices.
8        (3) Declining to approve weak or inadequate charter
9    applications.
10        (4) Negotiating and executing sound charter contracts
11    with each approved charter school.
12        (5) Monitoring, in accordance with charter contract
13    terms, the performance and legal compliance of charter
14    schools.
15        (6) Determining whether each charter contract merits
16    renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation.
17    (b) An authorizing entity may delegate its duties to
18officers, employees, and contractors.
19    (c) Regulation by authorizers is limited to the powers and
20duties set forth in subsection (a) of this Section and must be
21consistent with the spirit and intent of this Article.
22    (d) An authorizing entity, members of the local school
23board, or the Commission, in their official capacity, and
24employees of an authorizer are immune from civil and criminal
25liability with respect to all activities related to a charter
26school that they authorize.

 

 

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1    (e) The Commission and all local school boards that have a
2charter school operating are required to develop and maintain
3chartering policies and practices consistent with recognized
4principles and standards for quality charter authorizing in all
5major areas of authorizing responsibility, including all of the
6following:
7        (1) Organizational capacity and infrastructure.
8        (2) Soliciting and evaluating charter applications.
9        (3) Performance contracting.
10        (4) Ongoing charter school oversight and evaluation.
11        (5) Charter renewal decision-making.
12    Authorizers shall carry out all their duties under this
13Article in a manner consistent with nationally recognized
14principles and standards and with the spirit and intent of this
15Article.
 
16    (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
17    Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
18    (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school
19established by referendum under Section 27A-6.5. In evaluating
20any charter school proposal submitted to it, the local school
21board and the Commission shall give preference to proposals
22that:
23        (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental,
24    community, business, and school personnel support;
25        (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement

 

 

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1    and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining those levels
2    of achievement; and
3        (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
4    proportion of at-risk children; provided that nothing in
5    the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to
6    limit the establishment of charter schools to those that
7    serve a substantial portion of at-risk children or to in
8    any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the
9    establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve
10    other pupil populations under a nonexclusive,
11    nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
12    (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school
13by converting an existing public school or attendance center to
14charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of
15the charter school has received majority support from certified
16teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
17attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if
18applicable, from a local school council, shall be demonstrated
19by a petition in support of the charter school signed by
20certified teachers and a petition in support of the charter
21school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a
22vote of the local school council held at a public meeting. In
23the case of all other proposals to establish a charter school,
24evidence of sufficient support to fill the number of pupil
25seats set forth in the proposal may be demonstrated by a
26petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and

 

 

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1guardians of students eligible to attend the charter school. In
2all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who
3initiate the proposal to establish a charter school may elect,
4in lieu of including any petition referred to in this
5subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to the local
6school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
7received the support referred to in this subsection by other
8evidence and information presented at the public meeting that
9the local school board is required to convene under this
10Section.
11    (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal,
12the local school board shall convene a public meeting to obtain
13information to assist the board in its decision to grant or
14deny the charter school proposal.
15    (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section
16shall be published in a community newspaper published in the
17school district in which the proposed charter is located and,
18if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper published in
19the county and having circulation in the school district. The
20notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than
215 days before the meeting and shall state that information
22regarding a charter school proposal will be heard at the
23meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be posted at
24appropriate locations in the school or attendance center
25proposed to be established as a charter school, the public
26schools in the school district, and the local school board

 

 

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1office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding
2a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the
3proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in
4accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of
5this Section.
6    (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school
7board shall vote, in a public meeting, to either grant or deny
8the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not
9voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public
10meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to
11the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with
12the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
13    (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under
14subsection (e) of this Section, the local school board shall
15file a report with the State Board granting or denying the
16proposal. If the local school board has approved the proposal,
17within Within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's
18report, the State Board shall determine whether the approved
19charter proposal is consistent with the provisions of this
20Article and, if the approved proposal complies, certify the
21proposal pursuant to Section 27A-6; provided that for any
22charter proposal submitted to the State Board within one year
23after July 30, 2009 (the effective date of Public Act 96-105),
24the State Board shall have 60 days from receipt to determine
25such consistency and certify the proposal.
26    (g) If the local school board votes to deny the proposal,

 

 

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1then the charter school applicant has 30 days from the date of
2that vote to submit an appeal to the Commission. In such
3instances or in those instances referenced in subsections (d)
4and (e) of this Section, the Commission shall follow the same
5process and be subject to the same timelines for review as the
6local school board.
7(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09;
896-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
10    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
11    (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5
12and not more than 10 school years. A charter may be renewed in
13incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
14    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
15local school board or the Commission State Board, as the
16chartering entity, shall contain:
17        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
18    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
19    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
20    initial approved charter proposal; and
21        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
22    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
23    for the charter school that is understandable to the
24    general public and that will allow comparison of those
25    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,

 

 

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

 

 

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1the charter school has failed to implement the plan of
2remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the chartering
3entity shall revoke the charter. Except in situations of an
4emergency where the health, safety, or education of the charter
5school's students is at risk, the revocation shall take place
6at the end of a school year. Nothing in this amendatory Act of
7the 96th General Assembly shall be construed to prohibit an
8implementation timetable that is less than 2 years in duration.
9    (d) (Blank).
10    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
11revoke or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
12Commission and the State Board. The Commission State Board may
13reverse a local board's decision if the Commission State Board
14finds that the charter school or charter school proposal (i) is
15in compliance with this Article, and (ii) is in the best
16interests of the students it is designed to serve. The State
17Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance
18by the charter school of funding in an amount less than that
19requested in the proposal submitted to the local school board.
20Final decisions of the Commission State Board shall be subject
21to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
22    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
23the Commission State Board on appeal reverses a local board's
24decision or if a charter school is approved by referendum, the
25Commission State Board shall act as the authorized chartering
26entity for the charter school. The Commission State Board shall

 

 

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1approve and certify the charter and shall perform all functions
2under this Article otherwise performed by the local school
3board. The State Board shall determine whether the charter
4proposal approved by the Commission is consistent with the
5provisions of this Article and, if the approved proposal
6complies, certify the proposal pursuant this Article. The State
7Board shall report the aggregate number of charter school
8pupils resident in a school district to that district and shall
9notify the district of the amount of funding to be paid by the
10Commission State Board to the charter school enrolling such
11students. The Commission State Board shall require the charter
12school to maintain accurate records of daily attendance that
13shall be deemed sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05
14notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
15regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
16State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
17district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
18charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
19school.
20    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
21Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
22student enrollment for each of its charter schools.
23    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, based
24on the quarterly attendance totals, the State Board shall
25withhold from the State payments for each school district with
26students residing in the school district and attending the

 

 

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1charter school an amount equal to 100% of the local school
2board's operating expenses per pupil for each student in the
3resident school district multiplied by the number of students
4enrolled in the charter school from the resident school
5district. The State Board shall send the sum of these
6withholdings to each charter school in equal quarterly
7payments, subject to the oversight fee reductions pursuant to
8Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.
9    (i) Subject to the oversight fee pursuant to Section
1027A-7.5 of this Code, the intent of this Section is to provide
11funding for Commission charter schools based on these schools'
12most recent quarterly attendance total.
13    (j) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
14State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
15or State aid attributable to a student with a disability
16attending the school.
17(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/27A-12)
19    Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; report. On or before September 30
20of every odd-numbered year, all local school boards with at
21least one charter school, as well as the Commission, shall
22submit to the State Board any information required by the State
23Board pursuant to applicable rule. On or before the second
24Wednesday in January of every even-numbered year, the State
25Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly and the

 

 

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1Governor on its findings for the previous 2 school years. The
2State Board's report shall summarize all of the following:
3        (1) The authorizer's strategic vision for chartering
4    and progress toward achieving that vision.
5        (2) The academic and financial performance of all
6    operating charter schools overseen by the authorizer,
7    according to the performance expectations for charter
8    schools set forth in this Article.
9        (3) The status of the authorizer's charter school
10    portfolio, identifying all charter schools in each of the
11    following categories: approved (but not yet open),
12    operating, renewed, transferred, revoked, not renewed,
13    voluntarily closed, or never opened.
14        (4) The authorizing functions provided by the
15    authorizer to the charter schools under its purview,
16    including the authorizer's operating costs and expenses
17    detailed in annual audited financial statements, which
18    must conform with generally accepted accounting
19    principles. Board shall compile annual evaluations of
20    charter schools received from local school boards and shall
21    prepare an annual report on charter schools.
22    On or before the second Wednesday of every even-numbered
23year, the State Board shall issue a report to the General
24Assembly and the Governor on its findings for the previous 2
25school years; provided that the report issued in 2010 need only
26report on the 2008-2009 school year.

 

 

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1    Further, in In the report required by this Section, the
2State Board (i) shall compare the performance of charter school
3pupils with the performance of ethnically and economically
4comparable groups of pupils in other public schools who are
5enrolled in academically comparable courses, (ii) shall review
6information regarding the regulations and policies from which
7charter schools were released to determine if the exemptions
8assisted or impeded the charter schools in meeting their stated
9goals and objectives, and (iii) shall include suggested changes
10in State law necessary to strengthen charter schools.
11    In addition, the State Board shall undertake and report on
12periodic evaluations of charter schools that include
13evaluations of student academic achievement, the extent to
14which charter schools are accomplishing their missions and
15goals, the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, and the
16need for changes in the approval process for charter schools.
17    Based on the information that the State Board receives from
18authorizers and the State Board's ongoing monitoring of both
19charter schools and authorizers, the State Board has the power
20to remove the power to authorize from any authorizer in this
21State if the authorizer does not demonstrate a commitment to
22high-quality authorization practices and, if necessary, revoke
23the chronically low-performing charters authorized by the
24authorizer at the time of the removal. The State Board shall
25adopt rules as needed to carry out this power, including
26provisions to determine the status of schools authorized by an

 

 

SB0079- 21 -LRB097 05361 NHT 45416 b

1authorizer whose authorizing power is revoked.
2(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.