98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB2779

 

Introduced 1/30/2014, by Sen. Linda Holmes

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/27A-8
105 ILCS 5/27A-9

    Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Provide that if the State Charter School Commission or any other State entity to which an appeal may be submitted under the Law reverses a local school board's decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter, the reversal may not be implemented unless the question of whether a charter school shall be established or continue operating has been submitted to the electors of the school district at a regular election and approved by a majority of the electors voting on the question. Sets forth requirements for the referendum.


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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-8 and 27A-9 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
7    Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
8    (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school
9established by referendum under Section 27A-6.5. In evaluating
10any charter school proposal submitted to it, the local school
11board and the Commission shall give preference to proposals
12that:
13        (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental,
14    community, business, and school personnel support;
15        (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement
16    and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining those levels
17    of achievement; and
18        (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
19    proportion of at-risk children; provided that nothing in
20    the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to
21    limit the establishment of charter schools to those that
22    serve a substantial portion of at-risk children or to in
23    any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the

 

 

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1    establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve
2    other pupil populations under a nonexclusive,
3    nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
4    (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school
5by converting an existing public school or attendance center to
6charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of
7the charter school has received majority support from certified
8teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
9attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if
10applicable, from a local school council, shall be demonstrated
11by a petition in support of the charter school signed by
12certified teachers and a petition in support of the charter
13school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a
14vote of the local school council held at a public meeting. In
15the case of all other proposals to establish a charter school,
16evidence of sufficient support to fill the number of pupil
17seats set forth in the proposal may be demonstrated by a
18petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and
19guardians of students eligible to attend the charter school. In
20all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who
21initiate the proposal to establish a charter school may elect,
22in lieu of including any petition referred to in this
23subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to the local
24school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
25received the support referred to in this subsection by other
26evidence and information presented at the public meeting that

 

 

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1the local school board is required to convene under this
2Section.
3    (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal,
4the local school board shall convene a public meeting to obtain
5information to assist the board in its decision to grant or
6deny the charter school proposal. A local school board may
7develop its own process for receiving charter school proposals
8on an annual basis that follows the same timeframes as set
9forth in this Article. Only after the local school board
10process is followed may a charter school applicant appeal to
11the Commission.
12    (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section
13shall be published in a community newspaper published in the
14school district in which the proposed charter is located and,
15if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper published in
16the county and having circulation in the school district. The
17notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than
185 days before the meeting and shall state that information
19regarding a charter school proposal will be heard at the
20meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be posted at
21appropriate locations in the school or attendance center
22proposed to be established as a charter school, the public
23schools in the school district, and the local school board
24office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding
25a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the
26proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in

 

 

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1accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of
2this Section.
3    (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school
4board shall vote, in a public meeting, to either grant or deny
5the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not
6voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public
7meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to
8the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with
9the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
10    (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under
11subsection (e) of this Section, the local school board shall
12file a report with the State Board granting or denying the
13proposal. If the local school board has approved the proposal,
14within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's report,
15the State Board shall determine whether the approved charter
16proposal is consistent with the provisions of this Article and,
17if the approved proposal complies, certify the proposal
18pursuant to Section 27A-6.
19    (g) If the local school board votes to deny the proposal,
20then the charter school applicant has 30 days from the date of
21that vote to submit an appeal to the Commission. In such
22instances or in those instances referenced in subsections (d)
23and (e) of this Section, the Commission shall follow the same
24process and be subject to the same timelines for review as the
25local school board.
26    (h) The Commission may reverse a local school board's

 

 

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1decision to deny a charter school proposal if the Commission
2finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with this Article
3and (ii) is in the best interests of the students the charter
4school is designed to serve. If the Commission or any other
5State entity to which an appeal may be submitted under this
6Article reverses a local school board's decision to deny a
7charter school proposal, the reversal may not be implemented
8unless the establishment of a charter school has been approved
9by referendum under subsection (e-5) of Section 27A-9 of this
10Code. Final decisions of the Commission are subject to judicial
11review under the Administrative Review Law.
12    (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly
13authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school
14boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a
15statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the
16charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light
17of the complexities of joint administration.
18(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09;
1996-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
 
20    (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
21    Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
22    (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5
23and not more than 10 school years. A charter may be renewed in
24incremental periods not to exceed 5 school years.
25    (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the

 

 

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1local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
2shall contain:
3        (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in
4    achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance
5    standards, content standards, and other terms of the
6    initial approved charter proposal; and
7        (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of
8    administration, instruction, and other spending categories
9    for the charter school that is understandable to the
10    general public and that will allow comparison of those
11    costs to other schools or other comparable organizations,
12    in a format required by the State Board.
13    (c) A charter may be revoked or not renewed if the local
14school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
15clearly demonstrates that the charter school did any of the
16following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements
17of this law:
18        (1) Committed a material violation of any of the
19    conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the
20    charter.
21        (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward
22    achievement of the content standards or pupil performance
23    standards identified in the charter.
24        (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of
25    fiscal management.
26        (4) Violated any provision of law from which the

 

 

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1    charter school was not exempted.
2    In the case of revocation, the local school board or the
3Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter
4school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to
5revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to
6the local school board or the Commission, whichever is
7applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a
8timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or
9the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If
10the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering
11entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement
12the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the
13chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in
14situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or
15education of the charter school's students is at risk, the
16revocation shall take place at the end of a school year.
17Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly
18shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that
19is less than 2 years in duration.
20    (d) (Blank).
21    (e) Notice of a local school board's decision to deny,
22revoke, or not to renew a charter shall be provided to the
23Commission and the State Board. The Commission may reverse a
24local school board's decision if the Commission finds that the
25charter school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance
26with this Article, and (ii) is in the best interests of the

 

 

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1students it is designed to serve. If the Commission or any
2other State entity to which an appeal may be submitted under
3this Article reverses a local school board's decision, the
4reversal may not be implemented unless the establishment or
5continued operation of a charter school has been approved by
6referendum under subsection (e-5) of this Section. The State
7Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance
8by the charter school of funding in an amount less than that
9requested in the proposal submitted to the local school board.
10Final decisions of the Commission shall be subject to judicial
11review under the Administrative Review Law.
12    (e-5) If the Commission or any other State entity to which
13an appeal may be submitted under this Article reverses a local
14school board's decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a
15charter, the reversal may not be implemented unless the
16question of whether a charter school shall be established or
17continue operating has been submitted to the electors of the
18school district at a regular election and approved by a
19majority of the electors voting on the question. The Commission
20or other State entity must certify the question to the proper
21election authority. The election authority must submit the
22question at an election in accordance with the Election Code,
23which election must be at least 6 months after notice of the
24local school board's decision is provided to the State entity.
25    The election authority must submit the question in
26substantially the following form for the establishment of a

 

 

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1charter school:
 
2    Shall (name of proposed charter school) under charter
3school proposal (charter school proposal number) be
4established?
 
5The election authority must submit the question in
6substantially the following form for the continued operation of
7a charter school:
 
8    Shall (name of charter school) continue operating?
 
9The election authority must record the votes as "Yes" or "No".
10    If a majority of the electors voting on the question vote
11in the affirmative, the Commission or other State entity may
12implement its reversal of the local school board's decision to
13deny, revoke, or not renew a charter, subject to the other
14requirements of this Article.
15    (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if
16the Commission on appeal reverses a local school board's
17decision or if a charter school is approved by referendum under
18Section 27A-6.5 of this Code, the Commission shall act as the
19authorized chartering entity for the charter school. The
20Commission shall approve the charter and shall perform all
21functions under this Article otherwise performed by the local
22school board. The State Board shall determine whether the

 

 

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1charter proposal approved by the Commission is consistent with
2the provisions of this Article and, if the approved proposal
3complies, certify the proposal pursuant to this Article. The
4State Board shall report the aggregate number of charter school
5pupils resident in a school district to that district and shall
6notify the district of the amount of funding to be paid by the
7Commission to the charter school enrolling such students. The
8Commission shall require the charter school to maintain
9accurate records of daily attendance that shall be deemed
10sufficient to file claims under Section 18-8.05
11notwithstanding any other requirements of that Section
12regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
13State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
14district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
15charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
16school.
17    (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
18Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the
19student enrollment for each of its charter schools.
20    (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the
21State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal
22or State aid attributable to a student with a disability
23attending the school.
24(Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)