98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB1043

 

Introduced , by Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson, Sr. - Jay Hoffman

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the School Code. Includes among the purposes for which moneys in the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund may be appropriated to the Illinois Finance Authority and the State Board of Education those purposes authorized under the provision concerning State interventions. Provides that the appropriation may be allocated and expended by the State Board for contractual services to provide technical assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that petition for emergency financial assistance grants and as necessary to fulfill the goals and obligations of an intergovernmental agreement between a school district and the State Board of Education for management oversight or an independent authority under the provision concerning State interventions (instead of just to provide technical assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that petition for emergency financial assistance grants). Makes corresponding changes. Provides that an emergency financial assistance grant shall not exceed $2,000 (instead of $1,000) times the number of certain pupils. In the provision concerning State interventions, includes among the possible actions that the State Board of Education shall take, if after 3 years following its placement on academic watch status a school district or school remains on academic watch status, entering into an intergovernmental agreement, pursuant to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, with the school board for the school district or school for management oversight of the planning and operations of the school district or school by the State Board of Education. Makes other changes. 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
51B-8 and 2-3.25f as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/1B-8)  (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8)
7    Sec. 1B-8. There is created in the State Treasury a special
8fund to be known as the School District Emergency Financial
9Assistance Fund (the "Fund"). The School District Emergency
10Financial Assistance Fund shall consist of appropriations,
11loan repayments, grants from the federal government, and
12donations from any public or private source. Moneys in the Fund
13may be appropriated only to the Illinois Finance Authority and
14the State Board for those purposes authorized under this
15Article and Articles 1F and 1H and Section 2-3.25f of this
16Code. The appropriation may be allocated and expended by the
17State Board for contractual services to provide technical
18assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their
19financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that
20petition for emergency financial assistance grants and as
21necessary to fulfill the goals and obligations of an
22intergovernmental agreement between a school district and the
23State Board of Education for management oversight or an

 

 

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1independent authority under Section 2-3.25f of this Code. The
2Illinois Finance Authority may provide loans to school
3districts which are the subject of an approved petition for
4emergency financial assistance under Section 1B-4, 1F-62, or
51H-65, or 2-3.25f of this Code. Neither the State Board of
6Education nor the Illinois Finance Authority may collect any
7fees for providing these services.
8    From the amount allocated to each such school district
9under this Article the State Board shall identify a sum
10sufficient to cover all approved costs of the Financial
11Oversight Panel or intergovernmental agreement between a
12school district and the State Board of Education for management
13oversight or an independent authority established for the
14respective school district. If the State Board and State
15Superintendent of Education have not approved emergency
16financial assistance in conjunction with the appointment of a
17Financial Oversight Panel or the entry into an
18intergovernmental agreement between a school district and the
19State Board of Education for management oversight or an
20independent authority, the Panel's approved costs shall be paid
21from deductions from the district's general State aid.
22    The Financial Oversight Panel or a school board that has
23entered into an intergovernmental agreement between the school
24district and the State Board of Education for management
25oversight or an independent authority may prepare and file with
26the State Superintendent a proposal for emergency financial

 

 

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1assistance for the school district and for its operations
2budget. No expenditures from the Fund shall be authorized by
3the State Superintendent until he or she has approved the
4request of the Panel or the school board, either as submitted
5or in such lesser amount determined by the State
6Superintendent.
7    The maximum amount of an emergency financial assistance
8loan which may be allocated to any school district under this
9Article, including moneys necessary for the operations of any
10Financial Oversight the Panel, shall not exceed $4,000 times
11the number of pupils enrolled in the school district during the
12school year ending June 30 prior to the date of approval by the
13State Board of the petition for emergency financial assistance,
14as certified to the school local board or and the Panel or both
15by the State Superintendent. An emergency financial assistance
16grant shall not exceed $2,000 $1,000 times the number of such
17pupils. A school district may receive both a loan and a grant.
18    The payment of an emergency State financial assistance
19grant or loan shall be subject to appropriation by the General
20Assembly. Payment of the emergency State financial assistance
21loan is subject to the applicable provisions of the Illinois
22Finance Authority Act. Emergency State financial assistance
23allocated and paid to a school district under this Article may
24be applied to any fund or funds from which the local board of
25education of that district is authorized to make expenditures
26by law.

 

 

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1    Any emergency financial assistance grant proposed by the
2Financial Oversight Panel or the school board that has entered
3into an intergovernmental agreement between the school
4district and the State Board of Education for management
5oversight or an independent authority and approved by the State
6Superintendent may be paid in its entirety during the initial
7year of the Panel's existence or the term of the
8intergovernmental agreement between the school district and
9the State Board of Education for management oversight or an
10independent authority or spread in equal or declining amounts
11over a period of years not to exceed the period of the Panel's
12existence or the term of the intergovernmental agreement
13between the school district and the State Board of Education
14for management oversight or an independent authority. An
15emergency financial assistance loan proposed by the Financial
16Oversight Panel or the school board that has entered into an
17intergovernmental agreement between the school district and
18the State Board of Education for management oversight or an
19independent authority and approved by the Illinois Finance
20Authority may be paid in its entirety during the initial year
21of the Panel's existence or the term of the intergovernmental
22agreement between the school district and the State Board of
23Education for management oversight or an independent authority
24or spread in equal or declining amounts over a period of years
25not to exceed the period of the Panel's existence or the term
26of the intergovernmental agreement between the school district

 

 

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1and the State Board of Education for management oversight or an
2independent authority. All loans made by the Illinois Finance
3Authority for a school district shall be required to be repaid,
4with simple interest over the term of the loan at a rate equal
5to 50% of the one-year Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) yield
6as last published by the Board of Governors of the Federal
7Reserve System before the date on which the district's loan is
8approved by the Illinois Finance Authority, not later than the
9date the Financial Oversight Panel ceases to exist or the
10expiration of the intergovernmental agreement between the
11school district and the State Board of Education for management
12oversight or an independent authority. The Panel or the school
13board that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement
14between the school district and the State Board of Education
15for management oversight or an independent authority shall
16establish and the Illinois Finance Authority shall approve the
17terms and conditions, including the schedule, of repayments.
18The schedule shall provide for repayments commencing July 1 of
19each year or upon each fiscal year's receipt of moneys from a
20tax levy for emergency financial assistance. Repayment shall be
21incorporated into the annual budget of the school district and
22may be made from any fund or funds of the district in which
23there are moneys available. An emergency financial assistance
24loan to the Panel or school district shall not be considered
25part of the calculation of a school district's debt for
26purposes of the limitation specified in Section 19-1 of this

 

 

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1Code. Default on repayment is subject to the Illinois Grant
2Funds Recovery Act. When moneys are repaid as provided herein
3they shall not be made available to the school local board for
4further use as emergency financial assistance under this
5Article at any time thereafter. All repayments required to be
6made by a school district shall be received by the State Board
7and deposited in the School District Emergency Financial
8Assistance Fund.
9    In establishing the terms and conditions for the repayment
10obligation of the school district, the Panel or the school
11board that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement
12between the school district and the State Board of Education
13for management oversight or an independent authority shall
14annually determine whether a separate local property tax levy
15is required. The school board of any school district with a tax
16rate for educational purposes for the prior year of less than
17120% of the maximum rate for educational purposes authorized by
18Section 17-2 shall provide for a separate tax levy for
19emergency financial assistance repayment purposes. Such tax
20levy shall not be subject to referendum approval. The amount of
21the levy shall be equal to the amount necessary to meet the
22annual repayment obligations of the school district as
23established by the Panel or the school board that has entered
24into an intergovernmental agreement between the school
25district and the State Board of Education for management
26oversight or an independent authority, or 20% of the amount

 

 

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1levied for educational purposes for the prior year, whichever
2is less. However, no school district shall be required to levy
3the tax if the district's operating tax rate as determined
4under Section 18-8 or 18-8.05 exceeds 200% of the district's
5tax rate for educational purposes for the prior year.
6(Source: P.A. 97-429, eff. 8-16-11.)
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25f)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.25f)
8    Sec. 2-3.25f. State interventions.
9    (a) The State Board of Education shall provide technical
10assistance to assist with the development and implementation of
11School and District Improvement Plans.
12    Schools or school districts that fail to make reasonable
13efforts to implement an approved Improvement Plan may suffer
14loss of State funds by school district, attendance center, or
15program as the State Board of Education deems appropriate.
16    (a-5) In this subsection (a-5), "school" means any of the
17following named public schools or their successor name:
18        (1) Dirksen Middle School in Dolton School District
19    149.
20        (2) Diekman Elementary School in Dolton School
21    District 149.
22        (3) Caroline Sibley Elementary School in Dolton School
23    District 149.
24        (4) Berger-Vandenberg Elementary School in Dolton
25    School District 149.

 

 

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1        (5) Carol Moseley Braun School in Dolton School
2    District 149.
3        (6) New Beginnings Learning Academy in Dolton School
4    District 149.
5        (7) McKinley Junior High School in South Holland School
6    District 150.
7        (8) Greenwood Elementary School in South Holland
8    School District 150.
9        (9) McKinley Elementary School in South Holland School
10    District 150.
11        (10) Eisenhower School in South Holland School
12    District 151.
13        (11) Madison School in South Holland School District
14    151.
15        (12) Taft School in South Holland School District 151.
16        (13) Wolcott School in Thornton School District 154.
17        (14) Memorial Junior High School in Lansing School
18    District 158.
19        (15) Oak Glen Elementary School in Lansing School
20    District 158.
21        (16) Lester Crawl Primary Center in Lansing School
22    District 158.
23        (17) Brookwood Junior High School in Brookwood School
24    District 167.
25        (18) Brookwood Middle School in Brookwood School
26    District 167.

 

 

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1        (19) Hickory Bend Elementary School in Brookwood
2    School District 167.
3        (20) Medgar Evers Primary Academic Center in Ford
4    Heights School District 169.
5        (21) Nathan Hale Elementary School in Sunnybrook
6    School District 171.
7        (22) Ira F. Aldridge Elementary School in City of
8    Chicago School District 299.
9        (23) William E.B. DuBois Elementary School in City of
10    Chicago School District 299.
11    If, after 2 years following its placement on academic watch
12status, a school remains on academic watch status, then,
13subject to federal appropriation money being available, the
14State Board of Education shall allow the school board to opt in
15the process of operating that school on a pilot full-year
16school plan approved by the State Board of Education upon
17expiration of its teachers' current collective bargaining
18agreement until the expiration of the next collective
19bargaining agreement. A school board must notify the State
20Board of Education of its intent to opt in the process of
21operating a school on a pilot full-year school plan.
22    (b) In addition, if after 3 years following its placement
23on academic watch status a school district or school remains on
24academic watch status, the State Board of Education shall take
25one of the following actions for the district or school:
26        (1) The State Board of Education may authorize the

 

 

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1    State Superintendent of Education to direct the regional
2    superintendent of schools to remove school board members
3    pursuant to Section 3-14.28 of this Code. Prior to such
4    direction the State Board of Education shall permit members
5    of the local board of education to present written and oral
6    comments to the State Board of Education. The State Board
7    of Education may direct the State Superintendent of
8    Education to appoint an Independent Authority that shall
9    exercise such powers and duties as may be necessary to
10    operate a school or school district for purposes of
11    improving pupil performance and school improvement. The
12    State Superintendent of Education shall designate one
13    member of the Independent Authority to serve as chairman.
14    The Independent Authority shall serve for a period of time
15    specified by the State Board of Education upon the
16    recommendation of the State Superintendent of Education.
17        (2) The State Board of Education may (A) change the
18    recognition status of the school district or school to
19    nonrecognized, or (B) authorize the State Superintendent
20    of Education to direct the reassignment of pupils or direct
21    the reassignment or replacement of school district
22    personnel who are relevant to the failure to meet adequate
23    yearly progress criteria. If a school district is
24    nonrecognized in its entirety, it shall automatically be
25    dissolved on July 1 following that nonrecognition and its
26    territory realigned with another school district or

 

 

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1    districts by the regional board of school trustees in
2    accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 7-11 of
3    the School Code. The effective date of the nonrecognition
4    of a school shall be July 1 following the nonrecognition.
5        (3) The State Board of Education may enter into an
6    intergovernmental agreement, pursuant to the
7    Intergovernmental Cooperation Act and the Constitution of
8    the State of Illinois, with the school board for the school
9    district or school for management oversight of the planning
10    and operations of the school district or school by the
11    State Board of Education. A school board that enters into
12    an intergovernmental agreement with the State Board of
13    Education under this paragraph (3) may prepare and file
14    with the State Superintendent of Education a proposal for
15    emergency financial assistance for the school district in
16    accordance with Section 1B-8 of this Code. A school
17    district may receive both a loan and a grant.
18    (c) All federal requirements apply to schools and school
19districts utilizing federal funds under Title I, Part A of the
20federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
21(Source: P.A. 97-370, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
22    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    105 ILCS 5/1B-8from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8
4    105 ILCS 5/2-3.25ffrom Ch. 122, par. 2-3.25f