Bill Amendment: IL HB0397 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: SCH CD-ST CHARTER SCH COMM'N
Status: 2016-05-31 - Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB0397 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HB0397-House_Amendment_001.html
Bill Title: SCH CD-ST CHARTER SCH COMM'N
Status: 2016-05-31 - Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB0397 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HB0397-House_Amendment_001.html
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 397
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 397 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||||
5 | 27A-7.5, 27A-8, and 27A-9 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-7.5) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 27A-7.5. State Charter School Commission. | ||||||
8 | (a) A State Charter School Commission is established as an | ||||||
9 | independent commission with statewide chartering jurisdiction | ||||||
10 | and authority. The Commission shall be under the State Board | ||||||
11 | for administrative purposes only. | ||||||
12 | (a-5) The State Board shall provide administrative support | ||||||
13 | to the Commission as needed. | ||||||
14 | (b) The Commission is responsible for authorizing | ||||||
15 | high-quality charter schools throughout this State, | ||||||
16 | particularly schools designed to expand opportunities for |
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1 | at-risk students, consistent with the purposes of this Article. | ||||||
2 | (c) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, appointed by | ||||||
3 | the State Board. The State Board shall make these appointments | ||||||
4 | from a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor, within 60 | ||||||
5 | days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
6 | 97th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission | ||||||
7 | members. In making the appointments, the State Board shall | ||||||
8 | ensure statewide geographic diversity among Commission | ||||||
9 | members. The Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to | ||||||
10 | the State Board within 60 days after the effective date of this | ||||||
11 | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior | ||||||
12 | to the expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the | ||||||
13 | Governor fails to timely propose a slate of candidates | ||||||
14 | according to the provisions of this subsection (c), then the | ||||||
15 | State Board may appoint the member or members of the | ||||||
16 | Commission. | ||||||
17 | (d) Members appointed to the Commission shall collectively | ||||||
18 | possess strong experience and expertise in public and nonprofit | ||||||
19 | governance, management and finance, public school leadership, | ||||||
20 | higher education, assessments, curriculum and instruction, and | ||||||
21 | public education law. All members of the Commission shall have | ||||||
22 | demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public | ||||||
23 | education, including without limitation charter schooling. At | ||||||
24 | least 3 members must have past experience with urban charter | ||||||
25 | schools. | ||||||
26 | (e) To establish staggered terms of office, the initial |
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1 | term of office for 3 Commission members shall be 4 years and | ||||||
2 | thereafter shall be 4 years; the initial term of office for | ||||||
3 | another 3 members shall be 3 years and thereafter shall be 4 | ||||||
4 | years; and the initial term of office for the remaining 3 | ||||||
5 | members shall be 2 years and thereafter shall be 4 years. The | ||||||
6 | initial appointments must be made no later than October 1, | ||||||
7 | 2011. | ||||||
8 | (f) Whenever a vacancy on the Commission exists, the State | ||||||
9 | Board shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the | ||||||
10 | term. | ||||||
11 | (g) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics | ||||||
12 | Act, the Commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts, | ||||||
13 | grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private | ||||||
14 | entity to carry out the purposes of this Article, subject to | ||||||
15 | the terms and conditions under which they are given, provided | ||||||
16 | that all such terms and conditions are permissible under law. | ||||||
17 | Funds received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into | ||||||
18 | the State Charter School Commission Fund. | ||||||
19 | The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a | ||||||
20 | special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall | ||||||
21 | be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board, acting | ||||||
22 | on behalf and with the consent of the Commission, for | ||||||
23 | operational and administrative costs of the Commission. | ||||||
24 | Subject to appropriation, any funds appropriated for use by | ||||||
25 | the State Board, acting on behalf and with the consent of the | ||||||
26 | Commission, may be used for the following purposes, without |
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1 | limitation: personal services, contractual services, and other | ||||||
2 | operational and administrative costs. The State Board is | ||||||
3 | further authorized to make expenditures with respect to any | ||||||
4 | other amounts deposited in accordance with law into the State | ||||||
5 | Charter School Commission Fund. | ||||||
6 | (g-5) Funds or spending authority for the operation and | ||||||
7 | administrative costs of the Commission shall be appropriated to | ||||||
8 | the State Board in a separate line item. The State | ||||||
9 | Superintendent of Education may not reduce or modify the budget | ||||||
10 | of the Commission or use funds appropriated to the Commission | ||||||
11 | without the approval of the Commission. | ||||||
12 | (h) The Commission shall operate with dedicated resources | ||||||
13 | and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities | ||||||
14 | of charter school authorizing in accordance with this Article. | ||||||
15 | The Commission may employ and fix the compensation of such | ||||||
16 | employees and technical assistants as it deems necessary to | ||||||
17 | carry out its powers and duties under this Article, without | ||||||
18 | regard to the requirements of any civil service or personnel | ||||||
19 | statute; and may establish and administer standards of | ||||||
20 | classification of all such persons with respect to their | ||||||
21 | compensation, duties, performance, and tenure and enter into | ||||||
22 | contracts of employment with such persons for such periods and | ||||||
23 | on such terms as the Commission deems desirable. | ||||||
24 | (i) Every 2 years, the Commission shall provide to the | ||||||
25 | State Board and local school boards a report on best practices | ||||||
26 | in charter school authorizing, including without limitation |
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1 | evaluating applications, oversight of charters, and renewal of | ||||||
2 | charter schools. | ||||||
3 | (j) The Commission may charge a charter school that it | ||||||
4 | authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to | ||||||
5 | the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing | ||||||
6 | administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering | ||||||
7 | authority with respect to the school. This fee must be | ||||||
8 | deposited into the State Charter School Commission Fund. | ||||||
9 | (k) Any charter school authorized by the State Board prior | ||||||
10 | to this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall have | ||||||
11 | its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of | ||||||
12 | the State Board, which shall then become the school's | ||||||
13 | authorizer for all purposes under this Article. However, in no | ||||||
14 | case shall such transfer take place later than July 1, 2012. At | ||||||
15 | this time, all of the powers, duties, assets, liabilities, | ||||||
16 | contracts, property, records, and pending business of the State | ||||||
17 | Board as the school's authorizer must be transferred to the | ||||||
18 | Commission. Any charter school authorized by a local school | ||||||
19 | board or boards may seek transfer of authorization to the | ||||||
20 | Commission during its current term only with the approval of | ||||||
21 | the local school board or boards. At the end of its charter | ||||||
22 | term, a charter school authorized by a local school board or | ||||||
23 | boards must reapply to the board or boards before it may apply | ||||||
24 | for authorization to the Commission under the terms of this | ||||||
25 | amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly. | ||||||
26 | On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th |
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1 | General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to | ||||||
2 | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission | ||||||
3 | shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The | ||||||
4 | Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to | ||||||
5 | the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to | ||||||
6 | matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission. | ||||||
7 | The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the | ||||||
8 | Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any | ||||||
9 | proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule | ||||||
10 | modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois | ||||||
11 | Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider | ||||||
12 | such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
13 | 97th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent | ||||||
14 | with that intent. | ||||||
15 | (l) (Blank). The Commission shall have the responsibility | ||||||
16 | to consider appeals under this Article immediately upon | ||||||
17 | appointment of the initial members of the Commission under | ||||||
18 | subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals pending at the time of | ||||||
19 | initial appointment shall be determined by the Commission; the | ||||||
20 | Commission may extend the time for review as necessary for | ||||||
21 | thorough review, but in no case shall the extension exceed the | ||||||
22 | time that would have been available had the appeal been | ||||||
23 | submitted to the Commission on the date of appointment of its | ||||||
24 | initial members. In any appeal filed with the Commission under | ||||||
25 | this Article, both the applicant and the school district in | ||||||
26 | which the charter school plans to locate shall have the right |
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1 | to request a hearing before the Commission. If more than one | ||||||
2 | entity requests a hearing, then the Commission may hold only | ||||||
3 | one hearing, wherein the applicant and the school district | ||||||
4 | shall have an equal opportunity to present their respective | ||||||
5 | positions.
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6 | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-641, eff. 12-19-11; | ||||||
7 | 97-1156, eff. 1-25-13.)
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8 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
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9 | Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
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10 | (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school | ||||||
11 | established by
referendum under
Section 27A-6.5.
In evaluating | ||||||
12 | any charter
school proposal submitted to it, the local school | ||||||
13 | board and the Commission shall give preference
to proposals | ||||||
14 | that:
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15 | (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental, | ||||||
16 | community,
business, and school personnel support;
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17 | (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement | ||||||
18 | and demonstrate
feasible plans for attaining those levels | ||||||
19 | of achievement; and
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20 | (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial | ||||||
21 | proportion of at-risk
children; provided that nothing in | ||||||
22 | the Charter Schools Law shall be construed
as intended to
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23 | limit the establishment of charter schools to those that | ||||||
24 | serve a substantial
portion of at-risk children or to in | ||||||
25 | any manner restrict, limit, or discourage
the
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1 | establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve | ||||||
2 | other pupil populations
under a nonexclusive, | ||||||
3 | nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
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4 | (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school | ||||||
5 | by converting an
existing public school or attendance center to | ||||||
6 | charter school status, evidence
that the proposed formation of | ||||||
7 | the charter school has received majority support
from certified | ||||||
8 | teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
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9 | attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if | ||||||
10 | applicable, from a
local school council, shall be demonstrated | ||||||
11 | by a petition in support of the
charter school signed by | ||||||
12 | certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter | ||||||
13 | school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a | ||||||
14 | vote of
the local school council held at a public meeting. In | ||||||
15 | the case of all other
proposals to establish a charter school, | ||||||
16 | evidence of sufficient support to fill
the number of pupil | ||||||
17 | seats set forth in the proposal may be
demonstrated by a
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18 | petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and | ||||||
19 | guardians of
students eligible to attend the charter school.
In | ||||||
20 | all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who | ||||||
21 | initiate
the proposal to establish a charter school may elect, | ||||||
22 | in lieu of including any
petition referred to in this | ||||||
23 | subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to
the local | ||||||
24 | school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
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25 | received the support referred to in this subsection by other | ||||||
26 | evidence and
information presented at the public meeting that |
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1 | the local school board is
required to convene under this | ||||||
2 | Section.
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3 | (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal, | ||||||
4 | the local school
board shall convene a public meeting to obtain | ||||||
5 | information to assist the board
in its decision to grant or | ||||||
6 | deny the charter school proposal. A local school board may | ||||||
7 | develop its own process for receiving charter school proposals | ||||||
8 | on an annual basis that follows the same timeframes as set | ||||||
9 | forth in this Article. If a charter school applicant submits a | ||||||
10 | proposal to a local school board outside of the process adopted | ||||||
11 | by that local school board for receiving charter school | ||||||
12 | proposals on an annual basis, the applicant shall not have any | ||||||
13 | right to submit its proposal to the Commission as otherwise | ||||||
14 | authorized in subsections (d) and (e) of this Section. Only | ||||||
15 | after the local school board process is followed may a charter | ||||||
16 | school applicant appeal to the Commission.
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17 | (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section | ||||||
18 | shall be published
in a community newspaper published in the | ||||||
19 | school district in which the proposed
charter is located and, | ||||||
20 | if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper
published in | ||||||
21 | the county and having circulation in the school district. The
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22 | notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than | ||||||
23 | 5 days before
the meeting and shall state that information | ||||||
24 | regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the | ||||||
25 | meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be
posted at | ||||||
26 | appropriate locations in the school or attendance center |
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1 | proposed to
be established as a charter school, the public | ||||||
2 | schools in the school district,
and the local school board | ||||||
3 | office. If 45 days pass without the local school board holding | ||||||
4 | a public meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the | ||||||
5 | proposal to the Commission, where it must be addressed in | ||||||
6 | accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of | ||||||
7 | this Section.
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8 | (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school | ||||||
9 | board shall vote,
in a public meeting, to either grant or deny | ||||||
10 | the charter school proposal. If the local school board has not | ||||||
11 | voted in a public meeting within 30 days after the public | ||||||
12 | meeting, then the charter applicant may submit the proposal to | ||||||
13 | the Commission, where it must be addressed in accordance with | ||||||
14 | the provisions set forth in subsection (g) of this Section.
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15 | (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under | ||||||
16 | subsection (e) of this Section, the
local school board shall | ||||||
17 | file a report with the State Board
granting or denying the | ||||||
18 | proposal.
If the local school board has approved the proposal, | ||||||
19 | within 30 days of receipt of the local school board's
report, | ||||||
20 | the State Board shall determine whether the approved charter
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21 | proposal is consistent with the
provisions of this Article and, | ||||||
22 | if the approved proposal
complies,
certify the proposal | ||||||
23 | pursuant to Section 27A-6.
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24 | (g) If the charter applicant submits the proposal to the | ||||||
25 | Commission as authorized the local school board votes to deny | ||||||
26 | the proposal, then the charter school applicant has 30 days |
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1 | from the date of that vote to submit an appeal to the | ||||||
2 | Commission. In such instances or in those instances referenced | ||||||
3 | in subsections (d) , and (e) , and (i) of this Section, the | ||||||
4 | Commission shall follow the same process and be subject to the | ||||||
5 | same timelines for review as the local school board. | ||||||
6 | (h) The Commission may approve a charter school proposal | ||||||
7 | submitted to it in accordance with subsection (d), (e), or (i) | ||||||
8 | of this Section The Commission may reverse a local school | ||||||
9 | board's decision to deny a charter school proposal if the | ||||||
10 | Commission finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with | ||||||
11 | this Article and (ii) is in the best interests of the students | ||||||
12 | the charter school is designed to serve. Final decisions of the | ||||||
13 | Commission are subject to judicial review under the | ||||||
14 | Administrative Review Law. | ||||||
15 | (i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly | ||||||
16 | authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school | ||||||
17 | boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a | ||||||
18 | statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the | ||||||
19 | charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light | ||||||
20 | of the complexities of joint administration , in which case the | ||||||
21 | charter applicant may submit the proposal to the Commission, | ||||||
22 | where it must be addressed in accordance with the provisions | ||||||
23 | set forth in subsection (g) of this Section . | ||||||
24 | (Source: P.A. 96-105, eff. 7-30-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09; | ||||||
25 | 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)
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1 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-9)
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2 | Sec. 27A-9. Term of charter; renewal.
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3 | (a) A charter may be granted for a period not less than 5 | ||||||
4 | and not
more than
10
school years. A charter may be renewed in | ||||||
5 | incremental periods not to exceed
5
school years.
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6 | (b) A charter school renewal proposal submitted to the
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7 | local school board or the Commission, as the chartering entity,
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8 | shall contain:
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9 | (1) A report on the progress of the charter school in | ||||||
10 | achieving the goals,
objectives, pupil performance | ||||||
11 | standards, content standards, and other terms of
the | ||||||
12 | initial approved charter proposal; and
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13 | (2) A financial statement that discloses the costs of | ||||||
14 | administration,
instruction, and other spending categories | ||||||
15 | for the charter school that is
understandable to the | ||||||
16 | general public and that will allow comparison of those
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17 | costs to other schools or other comparable organizations, | ||||||
18 | in a format required
by the State Board.
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19 | (c) A charter may be revoked
or not renewed if the local | ||||||
20 | school board or the Commission, as the chartering
entity,
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21 | clearly demonstrates that the
charter school did any of the
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22 | following, or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements | ||||||
23 | of this law:
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24 | (1) Committed a material violation of any of the | ||||||
25 | conditions, standards, or
procedures set forth in the | ||||||
26 | charter.
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1 | (2) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward | ||||||
2 | achievement of the
content standards or pupil performance | ||||||
3 | standards identified in the charter.
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4 | (3) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of | ||||||
5 | fiscal management.
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6 | (4) Violated any provision of law from which the | ||||||
7 | charter school was not
exempted.
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8 | In the case of revocation, the local school board or the | ||||||
9 | Commission, as the chartering entity, shall notify the charter | ||||||
10 | school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to | ||||||
11 | revocation. The charter school shall submit a written plan to | ||||||
12 | the local school board or the Commission, whichever is | ||||||
13 | applicable, to rectify the problem. The plan shall include a | ||||||
14 | timeline for implementation, which shall not exceed 2 years or | ||||||
15 | the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier. If | ||||||
16 | the local school board or the Commission, as the chartering | ||||||
17 | entity, finds that the charter school has failed to implement | ||||||
18 | the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, then the | ||||||
19 | chartering entity shall revoke the charter. Except in | ||||||
20 | situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or | ||||||
21 | education of the charter school's students is at risk, the | ||||||
22 | revocation shall take place at the end of a school year. | ||||||
23 | Nothing in this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly | ||||||
24 | shall be construed to prohibit an implementation timetable that | ||||||
25 | is less than 2 years in duration. | ||||||
26 | (d) (Blank).
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1 | (e) The Commission may approve an application for a charter | ||||||
2 | submitted to it in accordance with this Article Notice of a | ||||||
3 | local school board's decision to
deny, revoke or not to
renew a | ||||||
4 | charter shall be provided to the Commission and the State | ||||||
5 | Board.
The Commission may reverse a local board's
decision
if | ||||||
6 | the Commission finds
that the charter school or charter school | ||||||
7 | proposal (i) is in compliance with
this Article , and (ii) is in | ||||||
8 | the best interests of the students it is designed
to serve. The | ||||||
9 | Commission may condition approval of a charter school | ||||||
10 | application
The Commission may condition the granting of an | ||||||
11 | appeal on the acceptance by
the charter school of funding in an | ||||||
12 | amount less than that requested in the
proposal submitted to | ||||||
13 | the local school board.
Final decisions of the Commission are | ||||||
14 | shall be subject
to judicial review under the Administrative | ||||||
15 | Review Law.
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16 | (f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Article, if | ||||||
17 | the Commission approves an application for a charter submitted | ||||||
18 | to it in accordance with this Article or
on appeal reverses a | ||||||
19 | local board's decision
or if a charter school is
approved by | ||||||
20 | referendum under Section 27A-6.5 of this Code ,
the Commission
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21 | shall act as the
authorized chartering entity for the charter | ||||||
22 | school.
The Commission shall execute a
approve the charter | ||||||
23 | agreement and shall perform all functions
under this
Article | ||||||
24 | otherwise performed by the local school
board. The State Board | ||||||
25 | shall determine whether the charter proposal approved by the | ||||||
26 | Commission is consistent with the provisions of this Article |
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1 | and, if the approved proposal complies, certify the proposal | ||||||
2 | pursuant to this Article. The State Board shall
report the | ||||||
3 | aggregate number of charter school pupils resident in a school
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4 | district to that district
and shall notify the district
of the | ||||||
5 | amount of
funding to be paid by the State Board to the charter | ||||||
6 | school enrolling such
students.
The Commission shall require | ||||||
7 | the
charter school to maintain accurate records of daily | ||||||
8 | attendance that shall be
deemed sufficient to file claims under | ||||||
9 | Section 18-8.05 notwithstanding any
other requirements of that | ||||||
10 | Section regarding hours of instruction and teacher
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11 | certification.
The State Board shall withhold from funds | ||||||
12 | otherwise due the district
the funds authorized by this Article | ||||||
13 | to be paid to the charter school and shall
pay such amounts to | ||||||
14 | the charter school.
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15 | (g) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the | ||||||
16 | Commission shall quarterly certify to the State Board the | ||||||
17 | student enrollment for each of its charter schools. | ||||||
18 | (h) For charter schools authorized by the Commission, the | ||||||
19 | State Board shall pay directly to a charter school any federal | ||||||
20 | or State aid attributable to a student with a disability | ||||||
21 | attending the school. | ||||||
22 | (i) The Commission has no authority under subsection (e) of | ||||||
23 | this Section to approve a charter school proposal that has been | ||||||
24 | denied by the local school board. | ||||||
25 | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14.)
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1 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
2 | becoming law.".
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