Rep. Jay Hoffman

Filed: 3/27/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4775

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4775, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
610-22.6, 27A-5, and 34-19 as follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.6)
8    Sec. 10-22.6. Suspension or expulsion of pupils; school
9searches.
10    (a) To expel pupils guilty of gross disobedience or
11misconduct, including gross disobedience or misconduct
12perpetuated by electronic means, or to expel pupils as provided
13in subsection (d-10) of this Section, and no action shall lie
14against them for such expulsion. Expulsion shall take place
15only after the parents have been requested to appear at a
16meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by

 

 

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1it, to discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be
2made by registered or certified mail and shall state the time,
3place and purpose of the meeting. The board, or a hearing
4officer appointed by it, at such meeting shall state the
5reasons for dismissal and the date on which the expulsion is to
6become effective. If a hearing officer is appointed by the
7board he shall report to the board a written summary of the
8evidence heard at the meeting and the board may take such
9action thereon as it finds appropriate. An expelled pupil may
10be immediately transferred to an alternative program in the
11manner provided in Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil
12must not be denied transfer because of the expulsion, except in
13cases in which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the
14safety of students or staff in the alternative program.
15    (b) To suspend or by policy to authorize the superintendent
16of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean
17of students of any school to suspend pupils guilty of gross
18disobedience or misconduct, or to suspend pupils guilty of
19gross disobedience or misconduct on the school bus from riding
20the school bus, or to suspend pupils as provided in subsection
21(d-10) of this Section, and no action shall lie against them
22for such suspension. The board may by policy authorize the
23superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant
24principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend pupils
25guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed 10 school days.
26If a pupil is suspended due to gross disobedience or misconduct

 

 

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1on a school bus, the board may suspend the pupil in excess of
210 school days for safety reasons. Any suspension shall be
3reported immediately to the parents or guardian of such pupil
4along with a full statement of the reasons for such suspension
5and a notice of their right to a review. The school board must
6be given a summary of the notice, including the reason for the
7suspension and the suspension length. Upon request of the
8parents or guardian the school board or a hearing officer
9appointed by it shall review such action of the superintendent
10or principal, assistant principal, or dean of students. At such
11review the parents or guardian of the pupil may appear and
12discuss the suspension with the board or its hearing officer.
13If a hearing officer is appointed by the board he shall report
14to the board a written summary of the evidence heard at the
15meeting. After its hearing or upon receipt of the written
16report of its hearing officer, the board may take such action
17as it finds appropriate. A pupil who is suspended in excess of
1820 school days may be immediately transferred to an alternative
19program in the manner provided in Article 13A or 13B of this
20Code. A pupil must not be denied transfer because of the
21suspension, except in cases in which such transfer is deemed to
22cause a threat to the safety of students or staff in the
23alternative program.
24    (c) The Department of Human Services shall be invited to
25send a representative to consult with the board at such meeting
26whenever there is evidence that mental illness may be the cause

 

 

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1for expulsion or suspension.
2    (d) The board may expel a student for a definite period of
3time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a
4case-by-case case by case basis. A student who is determined to
5have brought one of the following objects to school, any
6school-sponsored activity or event, or any activity or event
7that bears a reasonable relationship to school shall be
8expelled for a period of not less than one year:
9        (1) A firearm. For the purposes of this Section,
10    "firearm" means any gun, rifle, shotgun, weapon as defined
11    by Section 921 of Title 18 of the United States Code,
12    firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the Firearm Owners
13    Identification Card Act, or firearm as defined in Section
14    24-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. The expulsion period
15    under this subdivision (1) may be modified by the
16    superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may
17    be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis.
18        (2) A knife, brass knuckles or other knuckle weapon
19    regardless of its composition, a billy club, or any other
20    object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily
21    harm, including "look alikes" of any firearm as defined in
22    subdivision (1) of this subsection (d). The expulsion
23    requirement under this subdivision (2) may be modified by
24    the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination
25    may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis.
26Expulsion or suspension shall be construed in a manner

 

 

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

 

 

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1Article 34 of this Code.
2    (d-10) In this subsection (d-10), "violent felony" means a
3violent felony as defined in Section 5 of the Medical School
4Matriculant Criminal History Records Check Act.
5    Subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, the
6board may suspend or, by policy, authorize the superintendent
7of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean
8of students of a school to suspend a student for a period not
9to exceed 10 school days or may expel a student for a definite
10period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on
11a case-by-case basis, if (i) the student has been convicted of
12a violent felony and (ii) the board or, as authorized by board
13policy, the superintendent of the district or the principal,
14assistant principal, or dean of students of the school
15determines that the student's continued presence in school
16would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general
17welfare of the school. The board may also authorize the
18superintendent of the district to immediately refer or transfer
19the student to another attendance center or alternative school,
20as specified in Article 13A of this Code, if the student has
21been charged with a violent felony.
22    The provisions of this subsection (d-10) apply in all
23school districts, including special charter districts and
24districts organized under Article 34 of this Code.
25    (e) To maintain order and security in the schools, school
26authorities may inspect and search places and areas such as

 

 

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1lockers, desks, parking lots, and other school property and
2equipment owned or controlled by the school, as well as
3personal effects left in those places and areas by students,
4without notice to or the consent of the student, and without a
5search warrant. As a matter of public policy, the General
6Assembly finds that students have no reasonable expectation of
7privacy in these places and areas or in their personal effects
8left in these places and areas. School authorities may request
9the assistance of law enforcement officials for the purpose of
10conducting inspections and searches of lockers, desks, parking
11lots, and other school property and equipment owned or
12controlled by the school for illegal drugs, weapons, or other
13illegal or dangerous substances or materials, including
14searches conducted through the use of specially trained dogs.
15If a search conducted in accordance with this Section produces
16evidence that the student has violated or is violating either
17the law, local ordinance, or the school's policies or rules,
18such evidence may be seized by school authorities, and
19disciplinary action may be taken. School authorities may also
20turn over such evidence to law enforcement authorities. The
21provisions of this subsection (e) apply in all school
22districts, including special charter districts and districts
23organized under Article 34.
24    (f) Suspension or expulsion may include suspension or
25expulsion from school and all school activities and a
26prohibition from being present on school grounds.

 

 

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1    (g) A school district may adopt a policy providing that if
2a student is suspended or expelled for any reason from any
3public or private school in this or any other state, the
4student must complete the entire term of the suspension or
5expulsion in an alternative school program under Article 13A of
6this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program
7under Article 13B of this Code before being admitted into the
8school district if there is no threat to the safety of students
9or staff in the alternative program. This subsection (g)
10applies to all school districts, including special charter
11districts and districts organized under Article 34 of this
12Code.
13(Source: P.A. 96-633, eff. 8-24-09; 96-998, eff. 7-2-10;
1497-340, eff. 1-1-12; 97-495, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12;
1597-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
 
16    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
17    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
18    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
19nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
20school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
21corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
22authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
23    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
24by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
25school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning

 

 

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1on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
2General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the
3State Board or a local school board to establish a charter
4school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
5operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
6The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
793rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
8or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
9Act.
10    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
11the teaching of courses through online methods with online
12instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at
13the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes
14without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online
15virtual schools.
16    From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a
17moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
18virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
19school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
20moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
21virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
22April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
23school with virtual-schooling components already approved
24prior to April 1, 2013.
25    On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to
26the General Assembly a report on the effect of

 

 

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1virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on
2student performance, the costs associated with
3virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall
4include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
5    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
6its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
7provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
8shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
9Meetings Act.
10    (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
11health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
12under the laws of the State of Illinois.
13    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
14charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
15charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
16instructional materials, and student activities.
17    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
18management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
19not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
20charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
21outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
22school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must
23submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the
24Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
25Internal Revenue Service.
26    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of

 

 

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1this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
2its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State
3laws and regulations in the School Code governing public
4schools and local school board policies, except the following:
5        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code
6    regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the
7    Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
8    Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for
9    employment;
10        (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code
11    regarding discipline of students;
12        (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
13    Tort Immunity Act;
14        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
15    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
16    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
17        (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
18        (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;
19        (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school
20    report cards; and
21        (8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
22    and .
23        (9) Subsection (d-10) of Section 10-22.6 of the School
24    Code regarding students charged with or convicted of a
25    violent felony.
26    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)

 

 

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1is declaratory of existing law.
2    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
3school district, the governing body of a State college or
4university or public community college, or any other public or
5for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
6school building and grounds or any other real property or
7facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
8for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
9maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
10activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
11perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
12However, a charter school that is established on or after the
13effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
14Assembly and that operates in a city having a population
15exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
16manage or operate the school during the period that commences
17on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
18General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005
19school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this
20Section, a school district may charge a charter school
21reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
22grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
23school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
24the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
25contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
26of a State college or university or public community college

 

 

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1shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
2    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
3by converting an existing school or attendance center to
4charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
5deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
6agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
7costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
8facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
9to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
10board and shall be set forth in the charter.
11    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
12grade level.
13    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
14then the Commission charter school is its own local education
15agency.
16(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12;
1797-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/34-19)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-19)
19    Sec. 34-19. By-laws, rules and regulations; business
20transacted at regular meetings; voting; records. The board
21shall, subject to the limitations in this Article, establish
22by-laws, rules and regulations, which shall have the force of
23ordinances, for the proper maintenance of a uniform system of
24discipline for both employees and pupils, and for the entire
25management of the schools, and may fix the school age of

 

 

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1pupils, the minimum of which in kindergartens shall not be
2under 4 years, except that, based upon an assessment of the
3child's readiness, children who have attended a non-public
4preschool and continued their education at that school through
5kindergarten, were taught in kindergarten by an appropriately
6certified teacher, and will attain the age of 6 years on or
7before December 31 of the year of the 2009-2010 school term and
8each school term thereafter may attend first grade upon
9commencement of such term, and in grade schools shall not be
10under 6 years. It may expel, suspend or, subject to the
11limitations of all policies established or adopted under
12Section 14-8.05, otherwise discipline any pupil found guilty of
13gross disobedience, misconduct or other violation of the
14by-laws, rules and regulations, including gross disobedience
15or misconduct perpetuated by electronic means, and may expel,
16suspend, or transfer pupils as provided in subsection (d-10) of
17Section 10-22.6 of this Code. An expelled pupil may be
18immediately transferred to an alternative program in the manner
19provided in Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil must not
20be denied transfer because of the expulsion, except in cases in
21which such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety
22of students or staff in the alternative program. A pupil who is
23suspended in excess of 20 school days may be immediately
24transferred to an alternative program in the manner provided in
25Article 13A or 13B of this Code. A pupil must not be denied
26transfer because of the suspension, except in cases in which

 

 

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1such transfer is deemed to cause a threat to the safety of
2students or staff in the alternative program. The bylaws, rules
3and regulations of the board shall be enacted, money shall be
4appropriated or expended, salaries shall be fixed or changed,
5and textbooks, electronic textbooks, and courses of
6instruction shall be adopted or changed only at the regular
7meetings of the board and by a vote of a majority of the full
8membership of the board; provided that notwithstanding any
9other provision of this Article or the School Code, neither the
10board or any local school council may purchase any textbook for
11use in any public school of the district from any textbook
12publisher that fails to furnish any computer diskettes as
13required under Section 28-21. Funds appropriated for textbook
14purchases must be available for electronic textbook purchases
15and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and
16use electronic textbooks at the local school council's
17discretion. The board shall be further encouraged to provide
18opportunities for public hearing and testimony before the
19adoption of bylaws, rules and regulations. Upon all
20propositions requiring for their adoption at least a majority
21of all the members of the board the yeas and nays shall be
22taken and reported. The by-laws, rules and regulations of the
23board shall not be repealed, amended or added to, except by a
24vote of 2/3 of the full membership of the board. The board
25shall keep a record of all its proceedings. Such records and
26all by-laws, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, may be

 

 

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1proved by a copy thereof certified to be such by the secretary
2of the board, but if they are printed in book or pamphlet form
3which are purported to be published by authority of the board
4they need not be otherwise published and the book or pamphlet
5shall be received as evidence, without further proof, of the
6records, by-laws, rules and regulations, or any part thereof,
7as of the dates thereof as shown in such book or pamphlet, in
8all courts and places where judicial proceedings are had.
9    Notwithstanding any other provision in this Article or in
10the School Code, the board may delegate to the general
11superintendent or to the attorney the authorities granted to
12the board in the School Code, provided such delegation and
13appropriate oversight procedures are made pursuant to board
14by-laws, rules and regulations, adopted as herein provided,
15except that the board may not delegate its authorities and
16responsibilities regarding (1) budget approval obligations;
17(2) rule-making functions; (3) desegregation obligations; (4)
18real estate acquisition, sale or lease in excess of 10 years as
19provided in Section 34-21; (5) the levy of taxes; or (6) any
20mandates imposed upon the board by "An Act in relation to
21school reform in cities over 500,000, amending Acts herein
22named", approved December 12, 1988 (P.A. 85-1418).
23(Source: P.A. 96-864, eff. 1-21-10; 96-1403, eff. 7-29-10;
2497-340, eff. 1-1-12; 97-495, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff.
257-13-12.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.".