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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
510-22.6, 27A-5, and 34-19 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.6)
7    Sec. 10-22.6. Suspension or expulsion of pupils; school
8searches.
9    (a) To expel pupils guilty of gross disobedience or
10misconduct, including gross disobedience or misconduct
11perpetuated by electronic means, or to expel pupils as provided
12in subsection (d-10) of this Section, and no action shall lie
13against them for such expulsion. Expulsion shall take place
14only after the parents have been requested to appear at a
15meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by
16it, to discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be
17made by registered or certified mail and shall state the time,
18place and purpose of the meeting. The board, or a hearing
19officer appointed by it, at such meeting shall state the
20reasons for dismissal and the date on which the expulsion is to
21become effective. If a hearing officer is appointed by the
22board he shall report to the board a written summary of the
23evidence heard at the meeting and the board may take such

 

 

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1action thereon as it finds appropriate. An expelled pupil may
2be immediately transferred to an alternative program in the
3manner provided in Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil
4must not be denied transfer because of the expulsion, except in
5cases in which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the
6safety of students or staff in the alternative program.
7    (b) To suspend or by policy to authorize the superintendent
8of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean
9of students of any school to suspend pupils guilty of gross
10disobedience or misconduct, or to suspend pupils guilty of
11gross disobedience or misconduct on the school bus from riding
12the school bus, or to suspend pupils as provided in subsection
13(d-10) of this Section, and no action shall lie against them
14for such suspension. The board may by policy authorize the
15superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
16principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend pupils
17guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed 10 school days.
18If a pupil is suspended due to gross disobedience or misconduct
19on a school bus, the board may suspend the pupil in excess of
2010 school days for safety reasons. Any suspension shall be
21reported immediately to the parents or guardian of such pupil
22along with a full statement of the reasons for such suspension
23and a notice of their right to a review. The school board must
24be given a summary of the notice, including the reason for the
25suspension and the suspension length. Upon request of the
26parents or guardian the school board or a hearing officer

 

 

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1appointed by it shall review such action of the superintendent
2or principal, assistant principal, or dean of students. At such
3review the parents or guardian of the pupil may appear and
4discuss the suspension with the board or its hearing officer.
5If a hearing officer is appointed by the board he shall report
6to the board a written summary of the evidence heard at the
7meeting. After its hearing or upon receipt of the written
8report of its hearing officer, the board may take such action
9as it finds appropriate. A pupil who is suspended in excess of
1020 school days may be immediately transferred to an alternative
11program in the manner provided in Article 13A or 13B of this
12Code. A pupil must not be denied transfer because of the
13suspension, except in cases in which such transfer is deemed to
14cause a threat to the safety of students or staff in the
15alternative program.
16    (c) The Department of Human Services shall be invited to
17send a representative to consult with the board at such meeting
18whenever there is evidence that mental illness may be the cause
19for expulsion or suspension.
20    (d) The board may expel a student for a definite period of
21time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a
22case-by-case case by case basis. A student who is determined to
23have brought one of the following objects to school, any
24school-sponsored activity or event, or any activity or event
25that bears a reasonable relationship to school shall be
26expelled for a period of not less than one year:

 

 

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1        (1) A firearm. For the purposes of this Section,
2    "firearm" means any gun, rifle, shotgun, weapon as defined
3    by Section 921 of Title 18 of the United States Code,
4    firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners
5    Identification Card Act, or firearm as defined in Section
6    24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. The expulsion period
7    under this subdivision (1) may be modified by the
8    superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may
9    be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis.
10        (2) A knife, brass knuckles or other knuckle weapon
11    regardless of its composition, a billy club, or any other
12    object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily
13    harm, including "look alikes" of any firearm as defined in
14    subdivision (1) of this subsection (d). The expulsion
15    requirement under this subdivision (2) may be modified by
16    the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination
17    may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis.
18Expulsion or suspension shall be construed in a manner
19consistent with the Federal Individuals with Disabilities
20Education Act. A student who is subject to suspension or
21expulsion as provided in this Section may be eligible for a
22transfer to an alternative school program in accordance with
23Article 13A of the School Code. The provisions of this
24subsection (d) apply in all school districts, including special
25charter districts and districts organized under Article 34.
26    (d-5) The board may suspend or by regulation authorize the

 

 

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1superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
2principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend a
3student for a period not to exceed 10 school days or may expel
4a student for a definite period of time not to exceed 2
5calendar years, as determined on a case-by-case case by case
6basis, if (i) that student has been determined to have made an
7explicit threat on an Internet website against a school
8employee, a student, or any school-related personnel, (ii) the
9Internet website through which the threat was made is a site
10that was accessible within the school at the time the threat
11was made or was available to third parties who worked or
12studied within the school grounds at the time the threat was
13made, and (iii) the threat could be reasonably interpreted as
14threatening to the safety and security of the threatened
15individual because of his or her duties or employment status or
16status as a student inside the school. The provisions of this
17subsection (d-5) apply in all school districts, including
18special charter districts and districts organized under
19Article 34 of this Code.
20    (d-10) In this subsection (d-10), "violent felony" means a
21violent felony as defined in Section 5 of the Medical School
22Matriculant Criminal History Records Check Act.
23    Subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, the
24board may suspend or, by policy, authorize the superintendent
25of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean
26of students of a school to suspend a student for a period not

 

 

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1to exceed 10 school days or may expel a student for a definite
2period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on
3a case-by-case basis, if (i) the student has been convicted of
4a violent felony and (ii) the board or, as authorized by board
5policy, the superintendent of the district or the principal,
6assistant principal, or dean of students of the school
7determines that the student's continued presence in school
8would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general
9welfare of the school. The board may also authorize the
10superintendent of the district to immediately refer or transfer
11the student to another attendance center or alternative school,
12as specified in Article 13A of this Code, if the student has
13been charged with a violent felony.
14    The provisions of this subsection (d-10) apply in all
15school districts, including special charter districts and
16districts organized under Article 34 of this Code.
17    (e) To maintain order and security in the schools, school
18authorities may inspect and search places and areas such as
19lockers, desks, parking lots, and other school property and
20equipment owned or controlled by the school, as well as
21personal effects left in those places and areas by students,
22without notice to or the consent of the student, and without a
23search warrant. As a matter of public policy, the General
24Assembly finds that students have no reasonable expectation of
25privacy in these places and areas or in their personal effects
26left in these places and areas. School authorities may request

 

 

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1the assistance of law enforcement officials for the purpose of
2conducting inspections and searches of lockers, desks, parking
3lots, and other school property and equipment owned or
4controlled by the school for illegal drugs, weapons, or other
5illegal or dangerous substances or materials, including
6searches conducted through the use of specially trained dogs.
7If a search conducted in accordance with this Section produces
8evidence that the student has violated or is violating either
9the law, local ordinance, or the school's policies or rules,
10such evidence may be seized by school authorities, and
11disciplinary action may be taken. School authorities may also
12turn over such evidence to law enforcement authorities. The
13provisions of this subsection (e) apply in all school
14districts, including special charter districts and districts
15organized under Article 34.
16    (f) Suspension or expulsion may include suspension or
17expulsion from school and all school activities and a
18prohibition from being present on school grounds.
19    (g) A school district may adopt a policy providing that if
20a student is suspended or expelled for any reason from any
21public or private school in this or any other state, the
22student must complete the entire term of the suspension or
23expulsion in an alternative school program under Article 13A of
24this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program
25under Article 13B of this Code before being admitted into the
26school district if there is no threat to the safety of students

 

 

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1or staff in the alternative program. This subsection (g)
2applies to all school districts, including special charter
3districts and districts organized under Article 34 of this
4Code.
5(Source: P.A. 96-633, eff. 8-24-09; 96-998, eff. 7-2-10;
697-340, eff. 1-1-12; 97-495, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12;
797-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
9    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
10    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
11nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
12school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
13corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
14authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
15    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
16by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
17school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
18on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
19General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the
20State Board or a local school board to establish a charter
21school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
22operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
23The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
2493rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
25or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory

 

 

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1Act.
2    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
3the teaching of courses through online methods with online
4instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at
5the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes
6without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online
7virtual schools.
8    From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a
9moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
10virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
11school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
12moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
13virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
14April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
15school with virtual-schooling components already approved
16prior to April 1, 2013.
17    On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to
18the General Assembly a report on the effect of
19virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on
20student performance, the costs associated with
21virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall
22include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
23    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
24its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
25provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
26shall 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 Murderer and
26    Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for

 

 

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1    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    and .
15        (9) Subsection (d-10) of Section 10-22.6 of the School
16    Code regarding students charged with or convicted of a
17    violent felony.
18    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
19is declaratory of existing law.
20    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
21school district, the governing body of a State college or
22university or public community college, or any other public or
23for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
24school building and grounds or any other real property or
25facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
26for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and

 

 

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

 

 

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1to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
2board and shall be set forth in the charter.
3    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
4grade level.
5    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
6then the Commission charter school is its own local education
7agency.
8(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12;
997-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/34-19)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-19)
11    Sec. 34-19. By-laws, rules and regulations; business
12transacted at regular meetings; voting; records. The board
13shall, subject to the limitations in this Article, establish
14by-laws, rules and regulations, which shall have the force of
15ordinances, for the proper maintenance of a uniform system of
16discipline for both employees and pupils, and for the entire
17management of the schools, and may fix the school age of
18pupils, the minimum of which in kindergartens shall not be
19under 4 years, except that, based upon an assessment of the
20child's readiness, children who have attended a non-public
21preschool and continued their education at that school through
22kindergarten, were taught in kindergarten by an appropriately
23certified teacher, and will attain the age of 6 years on or
24before December 31 of the year of the 2009-2010 school term and
25each school term thereafter may attend first grade upon

 

 

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1commencement of such term, and in grade schools shall not be
2under 6 years. It may expel, suspend or, subject to the
3limitations of all policies established or adopted under
4Section 14-8.05, otherwise discipline any pupil found guilty of
5gross disobedience, misconduct or other violation of the
6by-laws, rules and regulations, including gross disobedience
7or misconduct perpetuated by electronic means, and may expel,
8suspend, or transfer pupils as provided in subsection (d-10) of
9Section 10-22.6 of this Code. An expelled pupil may be
10immediately transferred to an alternative program in the manner
11provided in Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil must not
12be denied transfer because of the expulsion, except in cases in
13which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety
14of students or staff in the alternative program. A pupil who is
15suspended in excess of 20 school days may be immediately
16transferred to an alternative program in the manner provided in
17Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil must not be denied
18transfer because of the suspension, except in cases in which
19such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety of
20students or staff in the alternative program. The bylaws, rules
21and regulations of the board shall be enacted, money shall be
22appropriated or expended, salaries shall be fixed or changed,
23and textbooks, electronic textbooks, and courses of
24instruction shall be adopted or changed only at the regular
25meetings of the board and by a vote of a majority of the full
26membership of the board; provided that notwithstanding any

 

 

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1other provision of this Article or the School Code, neither the
2board or any local school council may purchase any textbook for
3use in any public school of the district from any textbook
4publisher that fails to furnish any computer diskettes as
5required under Section 28-21. Funds appropriated for textbook
6purchases must be available for electronic textbook purchases
7and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and
8use electronic textbooks at the local school council's
9discretion. The board shall be further encouraged to provide
10opportunities for public hearing and testimony before the
11adoption of bylaws, rules and regulations. Upon all
12propositions requiring for their adoption at least a majority
13of all the members of the board the yeas and nays shall be
14taken and reported. The by-laws, rules and regulations of the
15board shall not be repealed, amended or added to, except by a
16vote of 2/3 of the full membership of the board. The board
17shall keep a record of all its proceedings. Such records and
18all by-laws, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, may be
19proved by a copy thereof certified to be such by the secretary
20of the board, but if they are printed in book or pamphlet form
21which are purported to be published by authority of the board
22they need not be otherwise published and the book or pamphlet
23shall be received as evidence, without further proof, of the
24records, by-laws, rules and regulations, or any part thereof,
25as of the dates thereof as shown in such book or pamphlet, in
26all courts and places where judicial proceedings are had.

 

 

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1    Notwithstanding any other provision in this Article or in
2the School Code, the board may delegate to the general
3superintendent or to the attorney the authorities granted to
4the board in the School Code, provided such delegation and
5appropriate oversight procedures are made pursuant to board
6by-laws, rules and regulations, adopted as herein provided,
7except that the board may not delegate its authorities and
8responsibilities regarding (1) budget approval obligations;
9(2) rule-making functions; (3) desegregation obligations; (4)
10real estate acquisition, sale or lease in excess of 10 years as
11provided in Section 34-21; (5) the levy of taxes; or (6) any
12mandates imposed upon the board by "An Act in relation to
13school reform in cities over 500,000, amending Acts herein
14named", approved December 12, 1988 (P.A. 85-1418).
15(Source: P.A. 96-864, eff. 1-21-10; 96-1403, eff. 7-29-10;
1697-340, eff. 1-1-12; 97-495, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff.
177-13-12.)
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.