HB4586 EngrossedLRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 AN ACT concerning education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections 5 10-20.87 and 34-18.87 and by changing Section 27A-5 as 6 follows: 7 (105 ILCS 5/10-20.87 new) 8 Sec. 10-20.87. Mental health services notification. 9 (a) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each school 10 district shall: 11 (1) notify the parents or guardians of each student 12 enrolled in the school district about any mental health 13 services available in the school in which the student is 14 enrolled, in the school district, or in the community 15 where the school is located; and 16 (2) notify each student enrolled in the school 17 district who is 12 years of age or older of the following 18 information in an age and developmentally appropriate 19 manner: 20 (A) mental health services available in the school 21 in which the student is enrolled, in the school 22 district, or in the community where the school is 23 located; and HB4586 Engrossed LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 2 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 2 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 2 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (B) the student's right to request to receive 2 counseling services or psychotherapy on an outpatient 3 basis under Section 3-550 of the Mental Health and 4 Developmental Disabilities Code. 5 (b) A school district shall provide the notifications 6 required under subsection (a) at the time of enrollment for 7 students enrolling in the school district for the first time, 8 prior to November 1 of each school year, and after January 1 9 but prior to March 1 of each school year. A school district 10 shall consider the languages most commonly spoken in the 11 communities where the school district's schools are located 12 when sending notifications to parents or guardians. A school 13 district may refer parents or guardians to the Care Portal 14 established and maintained by the Department of Human Services 15 under Section 11.4 of the Mental Health and Developmental 16 Disabilities Administrative Act. 17 (105 ILCS 5/27A-5) 18 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466 and 19 103-472) 20 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements. 21 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, 22 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter 23 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit 24 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity 25 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois. HB4586 Engrossed - 2 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 3 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 3 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 3 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article 2 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public 3 school or attendance center to charter school status. In all 4 new applications to establish a charter school in a city 5 having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the 6 charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation 7 does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 8 before April 16, 2003. 9 (b-5) (Blank). 10 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by 11 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner 12 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter 13 school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and 14 the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors 15 or other governing body must include at least one parent or 16 guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 17 who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 18 network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 19 directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 20 Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 21 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 22 year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 23 school's board of directors or other governing body shall 24 complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 25 leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 26 familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and HB4586 Engrossed - 3 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 4 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 4 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 4 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 responsibilities, including financial oversight and 2 accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 3 school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 4 Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 5 and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 6 voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 7 other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 8 professional development training in these same areas. The 9 training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 10 a statewide charter school membership association or may be 11 provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 12 the State Board. 13 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 14 health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 15 requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, 16 preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 17 students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 18 prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 19 school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 20 requirement" does not include any course of study or 21 specialized instructional requirement for which the State 22 Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 23 designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 24 to master and apply as an outcome of their education. 25 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 26 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools HB4586 Engrossed - 4 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 5 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 5 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 5 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall 2 promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 3 non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 4 school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 5 than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 6 school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 7 requires the charter school to follow the list of all 8 non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 9 the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 10 requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 11 term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 12 an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 13 requirements in a charter school contract that are not 14 contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 15 including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the 16 authorizing local school board. 17 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a 18 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a 19 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks, 20 instructional materials, and student activities. 21 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the 22 management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but 23 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each 24 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an 25 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter 26 school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter HB4586 Engrossed - 5 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 6 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 6 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 6 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer 2 in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 3 To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 4 funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 5 charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State 6 Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the 7 charter school filed that year with the federal Internal 8 Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 9 financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 10 require quarterly financial statements from each charter 11 school. 12 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 13 this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 14 all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 15 schools that pertain to special education and the instruction 16 of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 17 exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 18 governing public schools and local school board policies; 19 however, a charter school is not exempt from the following: 20 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code 21 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of 22 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer 23 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants 24 for employment; 25 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and 26 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students; HB4586 Engrossed - 6 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 7 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 7 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 7 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees 2 Tort Immunity Act; 3 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit 4 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of 5 officers, directors, employees, and agents; 6 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act; 7 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 8 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; 9 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act; 10 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 11 report cards; 12 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; 13 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 14 prevention; 15 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student 16 discipline reporting; 17 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; 18 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; 19 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; 20 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code; 21 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 22 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; 23 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; 24 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; 25 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code; 26 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code; HB4586 Engrossed - 7 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 8 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 8 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 8 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; 2 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 3 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code; 4 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; 5 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 6 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 7 10-20.56 of this Code; 8 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 9 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 10 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 11 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and 12 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; and . 13 (37) Sections 10-20.87 and 34-18.87 of this Code. 14 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection 15 (g) is declaratory of existing law. 16 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a 17 school district, the governing body of a State college or 18 university or public community college, or any other public or 19 for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a 20 school building and grounds or any other real property or 21 facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert 22 for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and 23 maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service, 24 activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required 25 to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. 26 Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school HB4586 Engrossed - 8 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 9 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 9 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 9 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the 2 use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any 3 services for which a charter school contracts with a school 4 district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any 5 services for which a charter school contracts with a local 6 school board or with the governing body of a State college or 7 university or public community college shall be provided by 8 the public entity at cost. 9 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established 10 by converting an existing school or attendance center to 11 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is 12 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter 13 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other 14 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district 15 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be 16 subject to negotiation between the charter school and the 17 local school board and shall be set forth in the charter. 18 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age 19 or grade level. 20 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State 21 Board, then the charter school is its own local education 22 agency. 23 (Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 24 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff. 25 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; 26 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff. HB4586 Engrossed - 9 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 10 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 10 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 10 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, 2 eff. 6-30-23.) 3 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-472 but 4 before amendment by P.A. 102-466) 5 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements. 6 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, 7 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter 8 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit 9 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity 10 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois. 11 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article 12 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public 13 school or attendance center to charter school status. In all 14 new applications to establish a charter school in a city 15 having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the 16 charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation 17 does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 18 before April 16, 2003. 19 (b-5) (Blank). 20 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by 21 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner 22 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter 23 school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and 24 the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors 25 or other governing body must include at least one parent or HB4586 Engrossed - 10 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 11 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 11 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 11 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 2 who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 3 network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 4 directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 5 Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 6 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 7 year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 8 school's board of directors or other governing body shall 9 complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 10 leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 11 familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and 12 responsibilities, including financial oversight and 13 accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 14 school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 15 Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 16 and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 17 voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 18 other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 19 professional development training in these same areas. The 20 training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 21 a statewide charter school membership association or may be 22 provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 23 the State Board. 24 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 25 health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 26 requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, HB4586 Engrossed - 11 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 12 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 12 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 12 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 2 students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 3 prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 4 school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 5 requirement" does not include any course of study or 6 specialized instructional requirement for which the State 7 Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 8 designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 9 to master and apply as an outcome of their education. 10 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 11 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools 12 under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall 13 promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 14 non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 15 school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 16 than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 17 school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 18 requires the charter school to follow the list of all 19 non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 20 the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 21 requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 22 term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 23 an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 24 requirements in a charter school contract that are not 25 contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 26 including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the HB4586 Engrossed - 12 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 13 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 13 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 13 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 authorizing local school board. 2 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a 3 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a 4 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks, 5 instructional materials, and student activities. 6 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the 7 management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but 8 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each 9 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an 10 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter 11 school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter 12 school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer 13 in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 14 To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 15 funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 16 charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State 17 Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the 18 charter school filed that year with the federal Internal 19 Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 20 financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 21 require quarterly financial statements from each charter 22 school. 23 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 24 this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 25 all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 26 schools that pertain to special education and the instruction HB4586 Engrossed - 13 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 14 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 14 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 14 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 2 exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 3 governing public schools and local school board policies; 4 however, a charter school is not exempt from the following: 5 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code 6 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of 7 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer 8 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants 9 for employment; 10 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and 11 34-84a of this Code 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 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 19 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; 20 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act; 21 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 22 report cards; 23 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; 24 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 25 prevention; 26 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student HB4586 Engrossed - 14 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 15 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 15 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 15 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 discipline reporting; 2 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; 3 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; 4 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; 5 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code; 6 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 7 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; 8 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; 9 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; 10 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code; 11 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code; 12 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; 13 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 14 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code; 15 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; 16 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 17 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 18 10-20.56 of this Code; 19 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 20 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 21 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 22 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and 23 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; 24 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code; 25 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code; 26 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and HB4586 Engrossed - 15 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 16 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 16 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 16 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and . 2 (37) Sections 10-20.87 and 34-18.87 of this Code. 3 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection 4 (g) is declaratory of existing law. 5 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a 6 school district, the governing body of a State college or 7 university or public community college, or any other public or 8 for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a 9 school building and grounds or any other real property or 10 facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert 11 for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and 12 maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service, 13 activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required 14 to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. 15 Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school 16 district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the 17 use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any 18 services for which a charter school contracts with a school 19 district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any 20 services for which a charter school contracts with a local 21 school board or with the governing body of a State college or 22 university or public community college shall be provided by 23 the public entity at cost. 24 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established 25 by converting an existing school or attendance center to 26 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is HB4586 Engrossed - 16 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 17 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 17 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 17 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter 2 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other 3 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district 4 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be 5 subject to negotiation between the charter school and the 6 local school board and shall be set forth in the charter. 7 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age 8 or grade level. 9 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State 10 Board, then the charter school is its own local education 11 agency. 12 (Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 13 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff. 14 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21; 15 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff. 16 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, 17 eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 8-31-23.) 18 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466) 19 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements. 20 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, 21 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter 22 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit 23 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity 24 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois. 25 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article HB4586 Engrossed - 17 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 18 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 18 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 18 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public 2 school or attendance center to charter school status. In all 3 new applications to establish a charter school in a city 4 having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the 5 charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation 6 does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or 7 before April 16, 2003. 8 (b-5) (Blank). 9 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by 10 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner 11 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter 12 school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and 13 the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors 14 or other governing body must include at least one parent or 15 guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school 16 who may be selected through the charter school or a charter 17 network election, appointment by the charter school's board of 18 directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's 19 Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent. 20 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first 21 year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter 22 school's board of directors or other governing body shall 23 complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development 24 leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient 25 familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and 26 responsibilities, including financial oversight and HB4586 Engrossed - 18 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 19 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 19 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 19 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and 2 school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information 3 Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education 4 and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a 5 voting member of a charter school's board of directors or 6 other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of 7 professional development training in these same areas. The 8 training under this subsection may be provided or certified by 9 a statewide charter school membership association or may be 10 provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by 11 the State Board. 12 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular 13 health and safety requirement" means any health and safety 14 requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, 15 preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for 16 students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or 17 prevent threats to the health and safety of students and 18 school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety 19 requirement" does not include any course of study or 20 specialized instructional requirement for which the State 21 Board has established goals and learning standards or which is 22 designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students 23 to master and apply as an outcome of their education. 24 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular 25 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools 26 under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall HB4586 Engrossed - 19 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 20 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 20 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 20 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of 2 non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter 3 school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later 4 than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter 5 school and its authorizer must contain a provision that 6 requires the charter school to follow the list of all 7 non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by 8 the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety 9 requirements added by the State Board to such list during the 10 term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes 11 an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety 12 requirements in a charter school contract that are not 13 contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, 14 including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the 15 authorizing local school board. 16 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a 17 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a 18 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks, 19 instructional materials, and student activities. 20 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the 21 management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but 22 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each 23 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an 24 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter 25 school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter 26 school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer HB4586 Engrossed - 20 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 21 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 21 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 21 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances. 2 To ensure financial accountability for the use of public 3 funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each 4 charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State 5 Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the 6 charter school filed that year with the federal Internal 7 Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper 8 financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may 9 require quarterly financial statements from each charter 10 school. 11 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of 12 this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 13 all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public 14 schools that pertain to special education and the instruction 15 of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is 16 exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code 17 governing public schools and local school board policies; 18 however, a charter school is not exempt from the following: 19 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code 20 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of 21 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer 22 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants 23 for employment; 24 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and 25 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students; 26 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees HB4586 Engrossed - 21 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 22 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 22 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 22 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 Tort Immunity Act; 2 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit 3 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of 4 officers, directors, employees, and agents; 5 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act; 6 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and 7 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code; 8 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act; 9 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school 10 report cards; 11 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; 12 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying 13 prevention; 14 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student 15 discipline reporting; 16 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; 17 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code; 18 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code; 19 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code; 20 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code; 21 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code; 22 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act; 23 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code; 24 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code; 25 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code; 26 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code; HB4586 Engrossed - 22 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 23 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 23 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 23 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code; 2 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code; 3 (24) Article 26A of this Code; 4 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code; 5 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code; 6 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section 7 10-20.56 of this Code; 8 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code; 9 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code; 10 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code; 11 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and 12 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; 13 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code; 14 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code; 15 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and 16 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and . 17 (37) Sections 10-20.87 and 34-18.87 of this Code. 18 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection 19 (g) is declaratory of existing law. 20 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a 21 school district, the governing body of a State college or 22 university or public community college, or any other public or 23 for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a 24 school building and grounds or any other real property or 25 facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert 26 for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and HB4586 Engrossed - 23 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 24 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 24 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 24 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service, 2 activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required 3 to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. 4 Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school 5 district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the 6 use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any 7 services for which a charter school contracts with a school 8 district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any 9 services for which a charter school contracts with a local 10 school board or with the governing body of a State college or 11 university or public community college shall be provided by 12 the public entity at cost. 13 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established 14 by converting an existing school or attendance center to 15 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is 16 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter 17 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other 18 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district 19 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be 20 subject to negotiation between the charter school and the 21 local school board and shall be set forth in the charter. 22 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age 23 or grade level. 24 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State 25 Board, then the charter school is its own local education 26 agency. HB4586 Engrossed - 24 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 25 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 25 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 25 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 (Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22; 2 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff. 3 7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, 4 eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 5 102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6 6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 7 8-31-23.) 8 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.87 new) 9 Sec. 34-18.87. Mental health services notification. 10 (a) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the school 11 district shall: 12 (1) notify the parents or guardians of each student 13 enrolled in the school district about any mental health 14 services available in the school in which the student is 15 enrolled, in the school district, or in the community 16 where the school is located; and 17 (2) notify each student enrolled in the school 18 district who is 12 years of age or older of the following 19 information in an age and developmentally appropriate 20 manner: 21 (A) mental health services available in the school 22 in which the student is enrolled, in the school 23 district, or in the community where the school is 24 located; and 25 (B) the student's right to request to receive HB4586 Engrossed - 25 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed- 26 -LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 26 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b HB4586 Engrossed - 26 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b 1 counseling services or psychotherapy on an outpatient 2 basis under Section 3-550 of the Mental Health and 3 Developmental Disabilities Code. 4 (b) The school district shall provide the notifications 5 required under subsection (a) at the time of enrollment for 6 students enrolling in the school district for the first time, 7 prior to November 1 of each school year, and after January 1 8 but prior to March 1 of each school year. The school district 9 shall consider the languages most commonly spoken in the 10 communities where the school district's schools are located 11 when sending notifications to parents or guardians. The school 12 district may refer parents or guardians to the Care Portal 13 established and maintained by the Department of Human Services 14 under Section 11.4 of the Mental Health and Developmental 15 Disabilities Administrative Act. HB4586 Engrossed - 26 - LRB103 35815 RJT 65900 b