Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois Senate Bill SB0144 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB0144 Introduced 1/17/2025, by Sen. Celina Villanueva SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/27A-3105 ILCS 5/27A-4105 ILCS 5/27A-5105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action. LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB0144 Introduced 1/17/2025, by Sen. Celina Villanueva SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/27A-3105 ILCS 5/27A-4105 ILCS 5/27A-5105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 105 ILCS 5/27A-3 105 ILCS 5/27A-4 105 ILCS 5/27A-5 105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10 105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action. LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB0144 Introduced 1/17/2025, by Sen. Celina Villanueva SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	105 ILCS 5/27A-3105 ILCS 5/27A-4105 ILCS 5/27A-5105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 105 ILCS 5/27A-3 105 ILCS 5/27A-4 105 ILCS 5/27A-5 105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10 105 ILCS 5/34-18.69
4	4	105 ILCS 5/27A-3
5	5	105 ILCS 5/27A-4
6	6	105 ILCS 5/27A-5
7	7	105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10
8	8	105 ILCS 5/34-18.69
9	9	Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action.
10	10	LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
11	11	LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
12	12	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
13	13	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
14	14	A BILL FOR
15	15	SB0144LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
16	16	SB0144 LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
17	17	1 AN ACT concerning education.
18	18	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
19	19	3 represented in the General Assembly:
20	20	4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
21	21	5 27A-3, 27A-4, 27A-5, 27A-10.10, and 34-18.69 as follows:
22	22	6 (105 ILCS 5/27A-3)
23	23	7 Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
24	24	8 "At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical,
25	25	9 emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely
26	26	10 to succeed in a conventional educational environment.
27	27	11 "Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article
28	28	12 to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject
29	29	13 applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants,
30	30	14 oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not
31	31	15 renew, or revoke a charter.
32	32	16 "Governing body" means the appropriate local school
33	33	17 councils established under Section 34-2.1 of this Code.
34	34	18 "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed
35	35	19 school board or board of education of a public school
36	36	20 district, including special charter districts and school
37	37	21 districts located in cities having a population of more than
38	38	22 500,000, organized under the laws of this State.
39	39	23 "School action" has the meaning given to that term in
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB0144 Introduced 1/17/2025, by Sen. Celina Villanueva SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
44	44	105 ILCS 5/27A-3105 ILCS 5/27A-4105 ILCS 5/27A-5105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10105 ILCS 5/34-18.69 105 ILCS 5/27A-3 105 ILCS 5/27A-4 105 ILCS 5/27A-5 105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10 105 ILCS 5/34-18.69
45	45	105 ILCS 5/27A-3
46	46	105 ILCS 5/27A-4
47	47	105 ILCS 5/27A-5
48	48	105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10
49	49	105 ILCS 5/34-18.69
50	50	Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action.
51	51	LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
52	52	LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
53	53	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
54	54	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
55	55	A BILL FOR
56	56
57	57
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61	105 ILCS 5/27A-3
62	62	105 ILCS 5/27A-4
63	63	105 ILCS 5/27A-5
64	64	105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10
65	65	105 ILCS 5/34-18.69
66	66
67	67
68	68
69	69	LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
70	70
71	71	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
72	72
73	73
74	74
75	75
76	76
77	77
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83	SB0144 LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
84	84
85	85
86	86	SB0144- 2 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 2 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
87	87	SB0144 - 2 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
88	88	1 Section 34-200 of this Code.
89	89	2 "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
90	90	3 "Union neutrality clause" means a provision whereby a
91	91	4 charter school agrees: (1) to be neutral regarding the
92	92	5 unionization of any of its employees, such that the charter
93	93	6 school will not at any time express a position on the matter of
94	94	7 whether its employees will be unionized and such that the
95	95	8 charter school will not threaten, intimidate, discriminate
96	96	9 against, retaliate against, or take any adverse action against
97	97	10 any employees based on their decision to support or oppose
98	98	11 union representation; (2) to provide any bona fide labor
99	99	12 organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the
100	100	13 charter school's employees work for the purpose of meeting
101	101	14 with employees to discuss their right to representation,
102	102	15 employment rights under the law, and terms and conditions of
103	103	16 employment; and (3) that union recognition shall be through a
104	104	17 majority card check verified by a neutral third-party
105	105	18 arbitrator mutually selected by the charter school and the
106	106	19 bona fide labor organization through alternate striking from a
107	107	20 panel of arbitrators provided by the Federal Mediation and
108	108	21 Conciliation Service. As used in this definition, "bona fide
109	109	22 labor organization" means a labor organization recognized
110	110	23 under the National Labor Relations Act or the Illinois
111	111	24 Educational Labor Relations Act. As used in this definition,
112	112	25 "employees" means non-represented, non-management, and
113	113	26 non-confidential employees of a charter school.
114	114
115	115
116	116
117	117
118	118
119	119	SB0144 - 2 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
120	120
121	121
122	122	SB0144- 3 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 3 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
123	123	SB0144 - 3 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
124	124	1 (Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-416, eff. 8-4-23;
125	125	2 103-605, eff. 7-1-24.)
126	126	3 (105 ILCS 5/27A-4)
127	127	4 Sec. 27A-4. General provisions.
128	128	5 (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend
129	129	6 the provisions of any court-ordered desegregation plan in
130	130	7 effect for any school district. A charter school shall be
131	131	8 subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional
132	132	9 provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
133	133	10 disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin,
134	134	11 religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special
135	135	12 education services.
136	136	13 (b) The total number of charter schools operating under
137	137	14 this Article at any one time shall not exceed 120. Not more
138	138	15 than 70 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any
139	139	16 city having a population exceeding 500,000, with at least 5
140	140	17 charter schools devoted exclusively to students from
141	141	18 low-performing or overcrowded schools operating at any one
142	142	19 time in that city; and not more than 45 charter schools shall
143	143	20 operate at any one time in the remainder of the State, with not
144	144	21 more than one charter school that has been initiated by a board
145	145	22 of education, or by an intergovernmental agreement between or
146	146	23 among boards of education, operating at any one time in the
147	147	24 school district where the charter school is located. In
148	148	25 addition to these charter schools, up to but no more than 5
149	149
150	150
151	151
152	152
153	153
154	154	SB0144 - 3 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
155	155
156	156
157	157	SB0144- 4 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 4 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
158	158	SB0144 - 4 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
159	159	1 charter schools devoted exclusively to re-enrolled high school
160	160	2 dropouts and/or students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping
161	161	3 out may operate at any one time in any city having a population
162	162	4 exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the
163	163	5 contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A-5 of this Code, each
164	164	6 such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the
165	165	7 city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875
166	166	8 enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout
167	167	9 charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each
168	168	10 campus of the dropout charter must be operated, through a
169	169	11 contract or payroll, by the same legal entity as that for which
170	170	12 the charter is approved and certified.
171	171	13 For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board
172	172	14 shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives
173	173	15 under Section 27A-6 for its review and certification, based on
174	174	16 the chronological order in which the submission is received by
175	175	17 it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards
176	176	18 when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools
177	177	19 authorized to operate have been reached.
178	178	20 (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that
179	179	21 would convert any existing private, parochial, or non-public
180	180	22 school to a charter school.
181	181	23 (c-5) No charter shall be granted under this Article to an
182	182	24 organization, or any of its subsidiaries, that operates a
183	183	25 private, parochial, or non-public school or child care
184	184	26 facility.
185	185
186	186
187	187
188	188
189	189
190	190	SB0144 - 4 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
191	191
192	192
193	193	SB0144- 5 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 5 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
194	194	SB0144 - 5 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
195	195	1 (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any
196	196	2 pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area
197	197	3 served by the local school board, provided that the board of
198	198	4 education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may
199	199	5 designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of
200	200	6 the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of
201	201	7 education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to
202	202	8 relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk
203	203	9 students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may
204	204	10 be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to
205	205	11 attend the charter school.
206	206	12 (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local
207	207	13 school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a single
208	208	14 shared charter school, provided that all of the provisions of
209	209	15 this Article are met as to those local school boards.
210	210	16 (f) No local school board shall require any employee of
211	211	17 the school district to be employed in a charter school.
212	212	18 (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing
213	213	19 within the geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a
214	214	20 charter school.
215	215	21 (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment
216	216	22 in a charter school than there are spaces available,
217	217	23 successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However,
218	218	24 priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the
219	219	25 charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter
220	220	26 school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause,
221	221
222	222
223	223
224	224
225	225
226	226	SB0144 - 5 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
227	227
228	228
229	229	SB0144- 6 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 6 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
230	230	SB0144 - 6 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
231	231	1 and priority may be given to pupils residing within the
232	232	2 charter school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been
233	233	3 designated by the board of education in a city having a
234	234	4 population exceeding 500,000.
235	235	5 Any lottery required under this subsection (h) must be
236	236	6 administered and videotaped by the charter school. The
237	237	7 authorizer or its designee must be allowed to be present or
238	238	8 view the lottery in real time. The charter school must
239	239	9 maintain a videotaped record of the lottery, including a
240	240	10 time/date stamp. The charter school shall transmit copies of
241	241	11 the videotape and all records relating to the lottery to the
242	242	12 authorizer on or before September 1 of each year.
243	243	13 Subject to the requirements for priority applicant groups
244	244	14 set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection (h), any lottery
245	245	15 required under this subsection (h) must be administered in a
246	246	16 way that provides each student an equal chance at admission.
247	247	17 If an authorizer makes a determination that a charter school's
248	248	18 lottery is in violation of this subsection (h), it may
249	249	19 administer the lottery directly. After a lottery, each student
250	250	20 randomly selected for admission to the charter school must be
251	251	21 notified. Charter schools may not create an admissions process
252	252	22 subsequent to a lottery that may operate as a barrier to
253	253	23 registration or enrollment.
254	254	24 Charter schools may undertake additional intake
255	255	25 activities, including without limitation student essays,
256	256	26 school-parent compacts, or open houses, but in no event may a
257	257
258	258
259	259
260	260
261	261
262	262	SB0144 - 6 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
263	263
264	264
265	265	SB0144- 7 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 7 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
266	266	SB0144 - 7 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
267	267	1 charter school require participation in these activities as a
268	268	2 condition of enrollment. A charter school must submit an
269	269	3 updated waitlist to the authorizer on a quarterly basis. A
270	270	4 waitlist must be submitted to the authorizer at the same time
271	271	5 as quarterly financial statements, if quarterly financial
272	272	6 statements are required by the authorizer.
273	273	7 Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public
274	274	8 school or non-public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who
275	275	9 is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed
276	276	10 to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the
277	277	11 school district in which the pupil resides. Notwithstanding
278	278	12 anything to the contrary in this subsection (h):
279	279	13 (1) any charter school with a mission exclusive to
280	280	14 educating high school dropouts may grant priority
281	281	15 admission to students who are high school dropouts and/or
282	282	16 students 16 or 15 years old at risk of dropping out and any
283	283	17 charter school with a mission exclusive to educating
284	284	18 students from low-performing or overcrowded schools may
285	285	19 restrict admission to students who are from low-performing
286	286	20 or overcrowded schools; "priority admission" for charter
287	287	21 schools exclusively devoted to re-enrolled dropouts or
288	288	22 students at risk of dropping out means a minimum of 90% of
289	289	23 students enrolled shall be high school dropouts; and
290	290	24 (2) any charter school located in a school district
291	291	25 that contains all or part of a federal military base may
292	292	26 set aside up to 33% of its current charter enrollment to
293	293
294	294
295	295
296	296
297	297
298	298	SB0144 - 7 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
299	299
300	300
301	301	SB0144- 8 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 8 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
302	302	SB0144 - 8 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
303	303	1 students with parents assigned to the federal military
304	304	2 base, with the remaining 67% subject to the general
305	305	3 enrollment and lottery requirements of subsection (d) of
306	306	4 this Section and this subsection (h); if a student with a
307	307	5 parent assigned to the federal military base withdraws
308	308	6 from the charter school during the course of a school year
309	309	7 for reasons other than grade promotion, those students
310	310	8 with parents assigned to the federal military base shall
311	311	9 have preference in filling the vacancy.
312	312	10 (i) (Blank).
313	313	11 (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
314	314	12 contrary, a school district in a city having a population
315	315	13 exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively
316	316	14 bargain with an exclusive representative of its employees over
317	317	15 decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under
318	318	16 Section 27A-8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a
319	319	17 charter under Section 27A-9 of this Code, and the impact of
320	320	18 these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall
321	321	19 have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing,
322	322	20 diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights,
323	323	21 guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10,
324	324	22 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
325	325	23 (k) In this Section:
326	326	24 "Low-performing school" means a public school in a school
327	327	25 district organized under Article 34 of this Code that enrolls
328	328	26 students in any of grades kindergarten through 8 and that is
329	329
330	330
331	331
332	332
333	333
334	334	SB0144 - 8 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
335	335
336	336
337	337	SB0144- 9 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 9 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
338	338	SB0144 - 9 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
339	339	1 ranked within the lowest 10% of schools in that district in
340	340	2 terms of the percentage of students meeting or exceeding
341	341	3 standards on the assessments required under Section 2-3.64a-5
342	342	4 of this Code.
343	343	5 "Overcrowded school" means a public school in a school
344	344	6 district organized under Article 34 of this Code that (i)
345	345	7 enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 8, (ii)
346	346	8 has a percentage of low-income students of 70% or more, as
347	347	9 identified in the most recently available School Report Card
348	348	10 published by the State Board, and (iii) is determined by the
349	349	11 Chicago Board of Education to be in the most severely
350	350	12 overcrowded 5% of schools in the district. On or before
351	351	13 November 1 of each year, the Chicago Board of Education shall
352	352	14 file a report with the State Board on which schools in the
353	353	15 district meet the definition of "overcrowded school".
354	354	16 "Students at risk of dropping out" means students 16 or 15
355	355	17 years old in a public school in a district organized under
356	356	18 Article 34 of this Code that enrolls students in any grades
357	357	19 9-12 who have been absent at least 90 school attendance days of
358	358	20 the previous 180 school attendance days.
359	359	21 (l) For advertisements created after January 1, 2015, any
360	360	22 advertisement, including a radio, television, print, Internet,
361	361	23 social media, or billboard advertisement, purchased by a
362	362	24 school district or public school, including a charter school,
363	363	25 with public funds must include a disclaimer stating that the
364	364	26 advertisement was paid for using public funds.
365	365
366	366
367	367
368	368
369	369
370	370	SB0144 - 9 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
371	371
372	372
373	373	SB0144- 10 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 10 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
374	374	SB0144 - 10 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
375	375	1 This disclaimer requirement does not extend to materials
376	376	2 created by the charter school, including, but not limited to,
377	377	3 a school website, informational pamphlets or leaflets, or
378	378	4 clothing with affixed school logos.
379	379	5 (Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)
380	380	6 (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
381	381	7 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466)
382	382	8 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
383	383	9 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
384	384	10 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
385	385	11 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
386	386	12 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
387	387	13 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
388	388	14 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
389	389	15 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
390	390	16 school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
391	391	17 new applications to establish a charter school in a city
392	392	18 having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
393	393	19 charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
394	394	20 does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
395	395	21 before April 16, 2003.
396	396	22 (b-5) (Blank).
397	397	23 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
398	398	24 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
399	399	25 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
400	400
401	401
402	402
403	403
404	404
405	405	SB0144 - 10 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
406	406
407	407
408	408	SB0144- 11 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 11 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
409	409	SB0144 - 11 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
410	410	1 school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
411	411	2 the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
412	412	3 or other governing body must include at least one parent or
413	413	4 guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
414	414	5 who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
415	415	6 network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
416	416	7 directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
417	417	8 Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
418	418	9 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
419	419	10 year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
420	420	11 school's board of directors or other governing body shall
421	421	12 complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
422	422	13 leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
423	423	14 familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
424	424	15 responsibilities, including financial oversight and
425	425	16 accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
426	426	17 school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
427	427	18 Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
428	428	19 and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
429	429	20 voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
430	430	21 other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
431	431	22 professional development training in these same areas. The
432	432	23 training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
433	433	24 a statewide charter school membership association or may be
434	434	25 provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
435	435	26 the State Board.
436	436
437	437
438	438
439	439
440	440
441	441	SB0144 - 11 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
442	442
443	443
444	444	SB0144- 12 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 12 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
445	445	SB0144 - 12 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
446	446	1 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
447	447	2 health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
448	448	3 requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
449	449	4 preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
450	450	5 students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
451	451	6 prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
452	452	7 school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
453	453	8 requirement" does not include any course of study or
454	454	9 specialized instructional requirement for which the State
455	455	10 Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
456	456	11 designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
457	457	12 to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
458	458	13 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
459	459	14 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
460	460	15 under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
461	461	16 promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
462	462	17 non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
463	463	18 school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
464	464	19 than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
465	465	20 school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
466	466	21 requires the charter school to follow the list of all
467	467	22 non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
468	468	23 the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
469	469	24 requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
470	470	25 term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
471	471	26 an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
472	472
473	473
474	474
475	475
476	476
477	477	SB0144 - 12 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
478	478
479	479
480	480	SB0144- 13 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 13 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
481	481	SB0144 - 13 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
482	482	1 requirements in a charter school contract that are not
483	483	2 contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
484	484	3 including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
485	485	4 authorizing local school board.
486	486	5 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
487	487	6 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
488	488	7 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
489	489	8 instructional materials, and student activities.
490	490	9 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
491	491	10 management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
492	492	11 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
493	493	12 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
494	494	13 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
495	495	14 school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
496	496	15 school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
497	497	16 in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
498	498	17 To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
499	499	18 funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
500	500	19 charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
501	501	20 Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
502	502	21 charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
503	503	22 Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
504	504	23 financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
505	505	24 require quarterly financial statements from each charter
506	506	25 school.
507	507	26 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
508	508
509	509
510	510
511	511
512	512
513	513	SB0144 - 13 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
514	514
515	515
516	516	SB0144- 14 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 14 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
517	517	SB0144 - 14 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
518	518	1 this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
519	519	2 all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
520	520	3 schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
521	521	4 of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
522	522	5 exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
523	523	6 governing public schools and local school board policies;
524	524	7 however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
525	525	8 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
526	526	9 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
527	527	10 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
528	528	11 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
529	529	12 for employment;
530	530	13 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19,
531	531	14 and 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
532	532	15 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
533	533	16 Tort Immunity Act;
534	534	17 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
535	535	18 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
536	536	19 officers, directors, employees, and agents;
537	537	20 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
538	538	21 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
539	539	22 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
540	540	23 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
541	541	24 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
542	542	25 report cards;
543	543	26 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
544	544
545	545
546	546
547	547
548	548
549	549	SB0144 - 14 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
550	550
551	551
552	552	SB0144- 15 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 15 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
553	553	SB0144 - 15 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
554	554	1 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
555	555	2 prevention;
556	556	3 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
557	557	4 discipline reporting;
558	558	5 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
559	559	6 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
560	560	7 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
561	561	8 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
562	562	9 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
563	563	10 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
564	564	11 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
565	565	12 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
566	566	13 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
567	567	14 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
568	568	15 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
569	569	16 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
570	570	17 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
571	571	18 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
572	572	19 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
573	573	20 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
574	574	21 10-20.56 of this Code;
575	575	22 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
576	576	23 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
577	577	24 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
578	578	25 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code;
579	579	26 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
580	580
581	581
582	582
583	583
584	584
585	585	SB0144 - 15 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
586	586
587	587
588	588	SB0144- 16 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 16 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
589	589	SB0144 - 16 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
590	590	1 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
591	591	2 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
592	592	3 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code;
593	593	4 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and
594	594	5 (37) Section 2-3.204 of this Code.
595	595	6 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
596	596	7 (g) is declaratory of existing law.
597	597	8 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
598	598	9 school district, the governing body of a State college or
599	599	10 university or public community college, or any other public or
600	600	11 for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
601	601	12 school building and grounds or any other real property or
602	602	13 facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
603	603	14 for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
604	604	15 maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
605	605	16 activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
606	606	17 to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
607	607	18 Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
608	608	19 district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
609	609	20 use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
610	610	21 services for which a charter school contracts with a school
611	611	22 district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
612	612	23 services for which a charter school contracts with a local
613	613	24 school board or with the governing body of a State college or
614	614	25 university or public community college shall be provided by
615	615	26 the public entity at cost.
616	616
617	617
618	618
619	619
620	620
621	621	SB0144 - 16 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
622	622
623	623
624	624	SB0144- 17 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 17 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
625	625	SB0144 - 17 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
626	626	1 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
627	627	2 by converting an existing school or attendance center to
628	628	3 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
629	629	4 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
630	630	5 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
631	631	6 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
632	632	7 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
633	633	8 subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
634	634	9 local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
635	635	10 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
636	636	11 or grade level.
637	637	12 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
638	638	13 Board, then the charter school is its own local education
639	639	14 agency.
640	640	15 (Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
641	641	16 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
642	642	17 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
643	643	18 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
644	644	19 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,
645	645	20 eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24;
646	646	21 103-641, eff. 7-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25; revised 10-9-24.)
647	647	22 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)
648	648	23 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
649	649	24 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
650	650	25 nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
651	651
652	652
653	653
654	654
655	655
656	656	SB0144 - 17 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
657	657
658	658
659	659	SB0144- 18 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 18 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
660	660	SB0144 - 18 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
661	661	1 school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
662	662	2 corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
663	663	3 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
664	664	4 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
665	665	5 by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
666	666	6 school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
667	667	7 new applications to establish a charter school in a city
668	668	8 having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
669	669	9 charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
670	670	10 does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
671	671	11 before April 16, 2003.
672	672	12 (b-5) (Blank).
673	673	13 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
674	674	14 its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
675	675	15 provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
676	676	16 school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
677	677	17 the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
678	678	18 or other governing body must include at least one parent or
679	679	19 guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
680	680	20 who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
681	681	21 network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
682	682	22 directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
683	683	23 Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
684	684	24 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
685	685	25 year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
686	686	26 school's board of directors or other governing body shall
687	687
688	688
689	689
690	690
691	691
692	692	SB0144 - 18 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
693	693
694	694
695	695	SB0144- 19 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 19 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
696	696	SB0144 - 19 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
697	697	1 complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
698	698	2 leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
699	699	3 familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
700	700	4 responsibilities, including financial oversight and
701	701	5 accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
702	702	6 school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
703	703	7 Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
704	704	8 and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
705	705	9 voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
706	706	10 other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
707	707	11 professional development training in these same areas. The
708	708	12 training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
709	709	13 a statewide charter school membership association or may be
710	710	14 provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
711	711	15 the State Board.
712	712	16 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
713	713	17 health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
714	714	18 requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
715	715	19 preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
716	716	20 students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
717	717	21 prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
718	718	22 school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
719	719	23 requirement" does not include any course of study or
720	720	24 specialized instructional requirement for which the State
721	721	25 Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
722	722	26 designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
723	723
724	724
725	725
726	726
727	727
728	728	SB0144 - 19 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
729	729
730	730
731	731	SB0144- 20 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 20 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
732	732	SB0144 - 20 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
733	733	1 to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
734	734	2 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
735	735	3 health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
736	736	4 under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
737	737	5 promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
738	738	6 non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
739	739	7 school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
740	740	8 than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
741	741	9 school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
742	742	10 requires the charter school to follow the list of all
743	743	11 non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
744	744	12 the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
745	745	13 requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
746	746	14 term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
747	747	15 an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
748	748	16 requirements in a charter school contract that are not
749	749	17 contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
750	750	18 including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
751	751	19 authorizing local school board.
752	752	20 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
753	753	21 charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
754	754	22 charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
755	755	23 instructional materials, and student activities.
756	756	24 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
757	757	25 management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
758	758	26 not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
759	759
760	760
761	761
762	762
763	763
764	764	SB0144 - 20 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
765	765
766	766
767	767	SB0144- 21 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 21 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
768	768	SB0144 - 21 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
769	769	1 charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
770	770	2 outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
771	771	3 school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
772	772	4 school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
773	773	5 in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
774	774	6 To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
775	775	7 funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
776	776	8 charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
777	777	9 Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
778	778	10 charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
779	779	11 Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
780	780	12 financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
781	781	13 require quarterly financial statements from each charter
782	782	14 school. A charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its
783	783	15 budget on direct-service costs for students.
784	784	16 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
785	785	17 this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
786	786	18 all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
787	787	19 schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
788	788	20 of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
789	789	21 exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
790	790	22 governing public schools and local school board policies;
791	791	23 however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
792	792	24 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
793	793	25 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
794	794	26 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
795	795
796	796
797	797
798	798
799	799
800	800	SB0144 - 21 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
801	801
802	802
803	803	SB0144- 22 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 22 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
804	804	SB0144 - 22 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
805	805	1 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
806	806	2 for employment;
807	807	3 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19,
808	808	4 and 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
809	809	5 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
810	810	6 Tort Immunity Act;
811	811	7 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
812	812	8 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
813	813	9 officers, directors, employees, and agents;
814	814	10 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
815	815	11 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
816	816	12 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
817	817	13 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
818	818	14 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
819	819	15 report cards;
820	820	16 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
821	821	17 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
822	822	18 prevention;
823	823	19 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
824	824	20 discipline reporting;
825	825	21 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
826	826	22 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
827	827	23 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
828	828	24 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
829	829	25 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
830	830	26 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
831	831
832	832
833	833
834	834
835	835
836	836	SB0144 - 22 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
837	837
838	838
839	839	SB0144- 23 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 23 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
840	840	SB0144 - 23 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
841	841	1 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
842	842	2 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
843	843	3 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
844	844	4 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
845	845	5 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
846	846	6 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
847	847	7 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
848	848	8 (24) Article 26A of this Code;
849	849	9 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
850	850	10 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
851	851	11 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
852	852	12 10-20.56 of this Code;
853	853	13 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
854	854	14 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
855	855	15 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
856	856	16 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code;
857	857	17 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
858	858	18 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
859	859	19 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
860	860	20 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code;
861	861	21 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and
862	862	22 (37) Section 2-3.204 of this Code.
863	863	23 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
864	864	24 (g) is declaratory of existing law.
865	865	25 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
866	866	26 school district, the governing body of a State college or
867	867
868	868
869	869
870	870
871	871
872	872	SB0144 - 23 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
873	873
874	874
875	875	SB0144- 24 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 24 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
876	876	SB0144 - 24 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
877	877	1 university or public community college, or any other public or
878	878	2 for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
879	879	3 school building and grounds or any other real property or
880	880	4 facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
881	881	5 for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
882	882	6 maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
883	883	7 activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
884	884	8 to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
885	885	9 Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
886	886	10 district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
887	887	11 use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
888	888	12 services for which a charter school contracts with a school
889	889	13 district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
890	890	14 services for which a charter school contracts with a local
891	891	15 school board or with the governing body of a State college or
892	892	16 university or public community college shall be provided by
893	893	17 the public entity at cost.
894	894	18 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
895	895	19 by converting an existing school or attendance center to
896	896	20 charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
897	897	21 deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
898	898	22 agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
899	899	23 costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
900	900	24 facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
901	901	25 subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
902	902	26 local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
903	903
904	904
905	905
906	906
907	907
908	908	SB0144 - 24 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
909	909
910	910
911	911	SB0144- 25 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 25 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
912	912	SB0144 - 25 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
913	913	1 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
914	914	2 or grade level.
915	915	3 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
916	916	4 Board, then the charter school is its own local education
917	917	5 agency.
918	918	6 (Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
919	919	7 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff.
920	920	8 7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676,
921	921	9 eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23;
922	922	10 102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff.
923	923	11 6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605,
924	924	12 eff. 7-1-24; 103-641, eff. 7-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25;
925	925	13 revised 11-26-24.)
926	926	14 (105 ILCS 5/27A-10.10)
927	927	15 Sec. 27A-10.10. School transition plans; school action
928	928	16 public meetings and hearings. Closure of charter school;
929	929	17 unspent public funds; procedures for the disposition of
930	930	18 property and assets.
931	931	19 (a) If a local school board approves a school action, the
932	932	20 governing body of the charter school shall work
933	933	21 collaboratively with local school educators and families of
934	934	22 students attending a charter school that is the subject of a
935	935	23 school action to ensure successful integration of affected
936	936	24 students into new learning environments. For a charter school
937	937	25 closure, the governing body of charter school shall ensure
938	938
939	939
940	940
941	941
942	942
943	943	SB0144 - 25 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
944	944
945	945
946	946	SB0144- 26 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 26 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
947	947	SB0144 - 26 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
948	948	1 that all students of the charter school at the time of the
949	949	2 closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school, and
950	950	3 shall ensure that all teachers of the charter school at the
951	951	4 time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving
952	952	5 school. Upon the closing of a charter school authorized by one
953	953	6 or more local school boards, the governing body of the charter
954	954	7 school or its designee shall refund to the chartering entity
955	955	8 or entities all unspent public funds. The charter school's
956	956	9 other property and assets shall be disposed of under the
957	957	10 provisions of the charter application and contract. If the
958	958	11 application and contract are silent or ambiguous as to the
959	959	12 disposition of any of the school's property or assets, any
960	960	13 property or assets of the charter school purchased with public
961	961	14 funds shall be returned to the school district or districts
962	962	15 from which the charter school draws enrollment, at no cost to
963	963	16 the receiving district or districts, subject to each
964	964	17 district's acceptance of the property or asset. Any unspent
965	965	18 public funds or other property or assets received by the
966	966	19 charter school directly from any State or federal agency shall
967	967	20 be refunded to or revert back to that State or federal agency,
968	968	21 respectively.
969	969	22 (b) The governing body of the charter school shall prepare
970	970	23 and implement a school transition plan to support students
971	971	24 attending a charter school that is the subject of a school
972	972	25 action that accomplishes the goals of this Section. The
973	973	26 governing body must identify and commit specific resources for
974	974
975	975
976	976
977	977
978	978
979	979	SB0144 - 26 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
980	980
981	981
982	982	SB0144- 27 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 27 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
983	983	SB0144 - 27 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
984	984	1 implementation of the school transition plan for a minimum of
985	985	2 the full first academic year after the local school board
986	986	3 approves a school action. Upon the closing of a charter school
987	987	4 authorized by the State Board, the governing body of the
988	988	5 charter school or its designee shall refund all unspent public
989	989	6 funds to the State Board. The charter school's other property
990	990	7 and assets shall be disposed of under the provisions of the
991	991	8 charter application and contract. If the application and
992	992	9 contract are silent or ambiguous as to the disposition of any
993	993	10 of the school's property or assets, any property or assets of
994	994	11 the charter school purchased with public funds shall be
995	995	12 returned to the school district or districts from which the
996	996	13 charter school draws its enrollment, at no cost to the
997	997	14 receiving district or districts, subject to each district's
998	998	15 acceptance of the property or asset. Any unspent public funds
999	999	16 or other property or assets provided by a State agency other
1000	1000	17 than the State Board or by a federal agency shall be refunded
1001	1001	18 to or revert back to that State or federal agency,
1002	1002	19 respectively.
1003	1003	20 (c) The school transition plan shall include the
1004	1004	21 following: If a determination is made to close a charter
1005	1005	22 school located within the boundaries of a school district
1006	1006	23 organized under Article 34 of this Code for at least one school
1007	1007	24 year, the charter school shall give at least 60 days' notice of
1008	1008	25 the closure to all affected students and parents or legal
1009	1009	26 guardians.
1010	1010
1011	1011
1012	1012
1013	1013
1014	1014
1015	1015	SB0144 - 27 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1016	1016
1017	1017
1018	1018	SB0144- 28 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 28 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1019	1019	SB0144 - 28 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1020	1020	1 (1) services to support the academic, social, and
1021	1021	2 emotional needs of students; services to support students
1022	1022	3 with disabilities, homeless students, and English language
1023	1023	4 learners; and services to address security and safety
1024	1024	5 issues;
1025	1025	6 (2) options to enroll in higher performing schools;
1026	1026	7 (3) informational briefings regarding the choice of
1027	1027	8 schools which include all pertinent information to enable
1028	1028	9 the parent or guardian and child to make an informed
1029	1029	10 choice, including the option to visit the schools of
1030	1030	11 choice prior to making a decision;
1031	1031	12 (4) the provision of appropriate transportation if
1032	1032	13 practicable;
1033	1033	14 (5) the departments that are responsible for the
1034	1034	15 oversight;
1035	1035	16 (6) specific programs to be offered; and
1036	1036	17 (7) support to implement plans at receiving schools,
1037	1037	18 specifying the funding source.
1038	1038	19 (d) When implementing a school action, the local school
1039	1039	20 board must make reasonable and demonstrated efforts to ensure
1040	1040	21 that:
1041	1041	22 (1) affected students receive a level of social
1042	1042	23 support service that is comparable to the level of social
1043	1043	24 support service available at the previous school, as long
1044	1044	25 as the need for social support service continues to exist;
1045	1045	26 and
1046	1046
1047	1047
1048	1048
1049	1049
1050	1050
1051	1051	SB0144 - 28 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1052	1052
1053	1053
1054	1054	SB0144- 29 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 29 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1055	1055	SB0144 - 29 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1056	1056	1 (2) class sizes of any receiving school do not exceed
1057	1057	2 those established under the class size policy of the
1058	1058	3 charter school that is the subject of a school action,
1059	1059	4 subject to principal discretion.
1060	1060	5 (e) By October 1 of each year, the governing body of the
1061	1061	6 charter school shall prepare and publish school action
1062	1062	7 guidelines, which shall outline the academic and non-academic
1063	1063	8 criteria for school action and shall be created with the
1064	1064	9 involvement of local school councils, parents, educators, and
1065	1065	10 community organizations. The guidelines, and each subsequent
1066	1066	11 revision to the guidelines, shall be subject to a public
1067	1067	12 comment period of at least 21 days before their approval.
1068	1068	13 (f) By December 1 of each year, the governing body of the
1069	1069	14 charter school shall announce all proposed school actions to
1070	1070	15 be taken at the close of the current academic year consistent
1071	1071	16 with the guidelines.
1072	1072	17 (g) By December 1 of each year, the governing body of the
1073	1073	18 charter school shall publish notice of the proposed school
1074	1074	19 actions.
1075	1075	20 (1) Notice of the proposal for a school action shall
1076	1076	21 include a written statement of the basis for the school
1077	1077	22 action, an explanation of how the school action meets the
1078	1078	23 criteria set forth in the guidelines, and a draft School
1079	1079	24 Transition Plan identifying the items required in this
1080	1080	25 Section for all charter schools affected by the school
1081	1081	26 action. The notice shall state the date, time, and place
1082	1082
1083	1083
1084	1084
1085	1085
1086	1086
1087	1087	SB0144 - 29 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1088	1088
1089	1089
1090	1090	SB0144- 30 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 30 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1091	1091	SB0144 - 30 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1092	1092	1 of the hearing or meeting. For a charter school closure
1093	1093	2 only, 8 months after notice is given, the governing body
1094	1094	3 of the charter school must publish on the district's
1095	1095	4 website a full financial report on the closure, which
1096	1096	5 includes an analysis of the closure's costs and benefits
1097	1097	6 to the district.
1098	1098	7 (2) The governing body of the charter school shall
1099	1099	8 provide notice to the principal, staff, local school
1100	1100	9 council, and parents or guardians of any charter school
1101	1101	10 student that is subject to the proposed school action.
1102	1102	11 (3) The governing body of the charter school shall
1103	1103	12 provide written notice of any proposed school action to
1104	1104	13 the State Senator, State Representative, and alderperson
1105	1105	14 for the charter school or charter schools that are subject
1106	1106	15 to the proposed school action.
1107	1107	16 (4) The governing body of the charter school shall
1108	1108	17 publish notice of proposed school actions on the
1109	1109	18 district's Internet website.
1110	1110	19 (5) The governing body of the charter school shall
1111	1111	20 provide notice of proposed school actions at least 30
1112	1112	21 calendar days in advance of a public hearing or meeting.
1113	1113	22 The notice shall state the date, time, and place of the
1114	1114	23 hearing or meeting. No local school board decision
1115	1115	24 regarding a proposed school action may take place less
1116	1116	25 than 60 days after the announcement of the proposed school
1117	1117	26 action.
1118	1118
1119	1119
1120	1120
1121	1121
1122	1122
1123	1123	SB0144 - 30 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1124	1124
1125	1125
1126	1126	SB0144- 31 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 31 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1127	1127	SB0144 - 31 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1128	1128	1 (h) The governing body of the charter school shall publish
1129	1129	2 a brief summary of the proposed school actions and the date,
1130	1130	3 time, and place of the hearings or meetings in a newspaper of
1131	1131	4 general circulation.
1132	1132	5 (i) The governing body of the charter school shall
1133	1133	6 designate at least 3 opportunities to elicit public comment at
1134	1134	7 a hearing or meeting on a proposed school action and shall
1135	1135	8 convene:
1136	1136	9 (1) at least one public hearing at the centrally
1137	1137	10 located office of the local school board; and
1138	1138	11 (2) at least 2 additional public hearings or meetings
1139	1139	12 at a location convenient to the school community subject
1140	1140	13 to the proposed school action.
1141	1141	14 (j) Public hearings shall be conducted by a qualified
1142	1142	15 independent hearing officer chosen from a list of independent
1143	1143	16 hearing officers. The general counsel of the charter school
1144	1144	17 shall compile and publish a list of independent hearing
1145	1145	18 officers by November 1 of each school year. The independent
1146	1146	19 hearing officer:
1147	1147	20 (1) must be a licensed attorney eligible to practice
1148	1148	21 law in Illinois;
1149	1149	22 (2) must not be an employee of the local school board;
1150	1150	23 and
1151	1151	24 (3) must not have, within the last year, represented
1152	1152	25 in any capacity the local school board, its employees or
1153	1153	26 any labor organization representing its employees; any
1154	1154
1155	1155
1156	1156
1157	1157
1158	1158
1159	1159	SB0144 - 31 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1160	1160
1161	1161
1162	1162	SB0144- 32 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 32 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1163	1163	SB0144 - 32 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1164	1164	1 local school council; or any charter or contract school.
1165	1165	2 The independent hearing officer shall issue a written
1166	1166	3 report that summarizes the hearing and determines whether the
1167	1167	4 governing body of the charter school complied with the
1168	1168	5 requirements of this Section and the guidelines developed
1169	1169	6 under this Section.
1170	1170	7 The governing body of the charter school shall publish the
1171	1171	8 report on the district's Internet website within 5 calendar
1172	1172	9 days after receiving the report and at least 15 days before any
1173	1173	10 local school board action being taken.
1174	1174	11 (k) Public meetings shall be conducted by a representative
1175	1175	12 of the governing body of the charter school. A summary of the
1176	1176	13 public meeting shall be published on the district's Internet
1177	1177	14 website within 5 calendar days after the meeting.
1178	1178	15 (l) If the governing body of the charter school proposes a
1179	1179	16 school action without following the mandates set forth in this
1180	1180	17 Section, the proposed school action shall not be approved by
1181	1181	18 the local school board during the school year in which the
1182	1182	19 school action was proposed.
1183	1183	20 (Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)
1184	1184	21 (105 ILCS 5/34-18.69)
1185	1185	22 Sec. 34-18.69. Moratorium on school closings,
1186	1186	23 consolidations, and phase-outs. The Board shall not approve
1187	1187	24 any school closings, consolidations, or phase-outs, including
1188	1188	25 charter school campuses or networks during the term of a
1189	1189
1190	1190
1191	1191
1192	1192
1193	1193
1194	1194	SB0144 - 32 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1195	1195
1196	1196
1197	1197	SB0144- 33 -LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b SB0144 - 33 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1198	1198	SB0144 - 33 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b
1199	1199	1 contract, until the Board of Education is seated on January
1200	1200	2 15, 2025. Nothing in this Section shall prevent a school
1201	1201	3 district from not renewing a charter school's contract upon
1202	1202	4 its expiration.
1203	1203	5 (Source: P.A. 102-177, eff. 12-17-21 (See Section 15 of P.A.
1204	1204	6 102-691 for the effective date of P.A. 102-177).)
1205	1205
1206	1206
1207	1207
1208	1208
1209	1209
1210	1210	SB0144 - 33 - LRB104 05821 LNS 15852 b