Bill Amendment: IL HB4577 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: SCH CD-STUDENT ACCOUNT-UNPAID

Status: 2024-04-19 - House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4577 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4577-House_Amendment_001.html

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Rep. Joyce Mason

Filed: 4/12/2024

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4577
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4577 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
Sections 10-20.9a, 10-20.13, 27A-5, and 34-21.6 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/10-20.9a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-20.9a)
Sec. 10-20.9a. Final grade; promotion.
(a) Teachers shall administer the approved marking system
or other approved means of evaluating pupil progress. The
teacher shall maintain the responsibility and right to
determine grades and other evaluations of students within the
grading policies of the district based upon his or her
professional judgment of available criteria pertinent to any
given subject area or activity for which he or she is
responsible. District policy shall provide the procedure and
reasons by and for which a grade may be changed; provided that

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no grade or evaluation shall be changed without notification
to the teacher concerning the nature and reasons for such
change. If such a change is made, the person making the change
shall assume such responsibility for determining the grade or
evaluation, and shall initial such change.
(b) School districts shall not promote students to the
next higher grade level based upon age or any other social
reasons not related to the academic performance of the
students. On or before September 1, 1998, school boards shall
adopt and enforce a policy on promotion as they deem necessary
to ensure that students meet local goals and objectives and
can perform at the expected grade level prior to promotion.
Decisions to promote or retain students in any classes shall
be based on successful completion of the curriculum,
attendance, performance based on the assessments required
under Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code, the Iowa Test of Basic
Skills, or other testing or any other criteria established by
the school board. Students determined by the local district to
not qualify for promotion to the next higher grade shall be
provided remedial assistance, which may include, but shall not
be limited to, a summer bridge program of no less than 90
hours, tutorial sessions, increased or concentrated
instructional time, modifications to instructional materials,
and retention in grade.
(c) (Blank). No public high school of a school district
shall withhold a student's grades, transcripts, or diploma

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because of an unpaid balance on the student's school account.
At the end of each school year, the school district shall
catalogue and report to the State Board of Education the total
amount that remains unpaid by students due to the prohibition
under this subsection (c).
(d) (Blank). On and after 3 years from the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly,
subsection (c) is inoperative.
(Source: P.A. 102-727, eff. 5-6-22.)
(105 ILCS 5/10-20.13)
Sec. 10-20.13. Textbooks and instructional materials for
children of parents unable to buy them; waiver of fees and
fines; discrimination and punishment prohibited.
(a) To purchase, at the expense of the district, a
sufficient number of textbooks and instructional materials for
children whose parents are unable to buy them, including, but
not limited to, children living in households that meet the
free lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by
the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the federal
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758;
7 CFR 245 et seq.) and homeless children and youth as defined
in Section 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a), subject to verification as
set forth in subsection (c) of this Section. Such textbooks
shall be loaned only, and the directors shall require the

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teacher to see that they are properly cared for and returned at
the end of each term of school.
(b) To waive all fees and any fines for the loss of school
property assessed by the district on children whose parents
are unable to afford them, including, but not limited to:
(1) children living in households that meet the free
lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by
the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the
federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) and students whose parents
are veterans or active duty military personnel with income
at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, subject to
verification as set forth in subsection (c) of this
Section, and
(2) homeless children and youth as defined in Section
11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a).
Notice of waiver availability shall be given to parents or
guardians with every bill for fees or fines. The school board
shall adopt written policies and procedures for such waiver of
fees in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State
Board of Education.
(c) Any school board that participates in a federally
funded, school-based child nutrition program and uses a
student's application for, eligibility for, or participation
in the federally funded, school-based child nutrition program

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(42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) as the basis for waiving
fees assessed by the school district must follow the
verification requirements of the federally funded,
school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR
245.6a).
A school board that establishes a process for the
determination of eligibility for waiver of fees assessed by
the school district that is completely independent of a
student's application for, eligibility for, or participation
in a federally funded, school-based child nutrition program
may provide for fee waiver verification no more often than
once per academic year. Information obtained during the
independent, fee waiver verification process indicating that
the student does not meet free lunch or breakfast eligibility
guidelines may be used to deny the waiver of the student's fees
or fines for the loss of school property, provided that any
information obtained through this independent process for
determining or verifying eligibility for fee waivers shall not
be used to determine or verify eligibility for any federally
funded, school-based child nutrition program. This subsection
shall not preclude children from obtaining waivers at any
point during the academic year.
(d) Regardless of whether the student has obtained a
waiver pursuant to this Section, a school board may not
discriminate against, punish, or penalize a student in any way
because the student's parents or guardians are unable to pay

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any required fees or fines for the loss of school property.
This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the lowering
of grades, exclusion from any curricular or extracurricular
program of the school district, or the withholding of student
records, grades, transcripts, or diplomas. Any person who
violates this subsection (d) commits a petty offense.
(e) At the end of each school year, each school district
shall catalog and report to the State Board of Education the
total amount of fees and fines that remain unpaid by
graduating seniors or by high school students who left the
school district during the school year.
(f) On or after 3 years from the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, subsection (e)
is inoperative.
(Source: P.A. 102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-1032, eff. 5-27-22;
103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466 and
103-472)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.

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(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
before April 16, 2003.
(b-5) (Blank).
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and

10300HB4577ham001 - 8 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
professional development training in these same areas. The
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
the State Board.
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
requirement" does not include any course of study or
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools

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under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
authorizing local school board.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter

10300HB4577ham001 - 10 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
governing public schools and local school board policies;
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
for employment;
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;

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(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
(5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
report cards;
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
prevention;
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
discipline reporting;
(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
(12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
(13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
(14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
(15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
(16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
(17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
(18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
(19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
(20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;

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(21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
(22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
(23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
(25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
(26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
(27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
10-20.56 of this Code;
(28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
(29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
(30) (blank); Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code.
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
(g) is declaratory of existing law.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the

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use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college shall be provided by
the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,

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eff. 6-30-23.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-472 but
before amendment by P.A. 102-466)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
before April 16, 2003.
(b-5) (Blank).
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school

10300HB4577ham001 - 15 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
professional development training in these same areas. The
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
the State Board.
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for

10300HB4577ham001 - 16 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
requirement" does not include any course of study or
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
authorizing local school board.

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(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is

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exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
governing public schools and local school board policies;
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
for employment;
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
(5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
report cards;
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
prevention;
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
discipline reporting;

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(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
(12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
(13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
(14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
(15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
(16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
(17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
(18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
(19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
(20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
(21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
(22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
(23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
(25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
(26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
(27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
10-20.56 of this Code;
(28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
(29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
(30) (blank); Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
(33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
(34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
(35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and
(36) the Illinois Human Rights Act.

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The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
(g) is declaratory of existing law.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college shall be provided by
the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other

10300HB4577ham001 - 21 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,
eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 8-31-23.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all

10300HB4577ham001 - 22 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
before April 16, 2003.
(b-5) (Blank).
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information

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Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
professional development training in these same areas. The
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
the State Board.
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
requirement" does not include any course of study or
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter

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school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
authorizing local school board.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public

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funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
governing public schools and local school board policies;
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
for employment;
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit

10300HB4577ham001 - 26 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
(5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
report cards;
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
prevention;
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
discipline reporting;
(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
(12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
(13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
(14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
(15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
(16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
(17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
(18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
(19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
(20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
(21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
(22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
(23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;

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(24) Article 26A of this Code;
(25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
(26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
(27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
10-20.56 of this Code;
(28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
(29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
(30) (blank); Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
(33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
(34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
(35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and
(36) the Illinois Human Rights Act.
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
(g) is declaratory of existing law.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.

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Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college shall be provided by
the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff.
7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676,

10300HB4577ham001 - 29 - LRB103 38876 RJT 72228 a
eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23;
102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff.
6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised
8-31-23.)
(105 ILCS 5/34-21.6) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-21.6)
Sec. 34-21.6. Waiver of fees and fines.
(a) The board shall waive all fees and any fines for the
loss of school property assessed by the district on children
whose parents are unable to afford them, including but not
limited to:
(1) children living in households that meet the free
lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by
the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the
federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) and students whose parents
are veterans or active duty military personnel with income
at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, subject to
verification as set forth in subsection (b) of this
Section; and
(2) homeless children and youths as defined in Section
11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a).
Notice of waiver availability shall be given to parents or
guardians with every bill for fees or fines. The board shall
develop written policies and procedures implementing this

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Section in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
State Board of Education.
(b) If the board participates in a federally funded,
school-based child nutrition program and uses a student's
application for, eligibility for, or participation in the
federally funded, school-based child nutrition program (42
U.S.C. 1758; 7 245 et seq.) as the basis for waiving fees
assessed by the district, then the board must follow the
verification requirements of the federally funded,
school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR
245.6a).
If the board establishes a process for the determination
of eligibility for waiver of all fees assessed by the district
that is completely independent of the criteria listed in
subsection (b), the board may provide for waiver verification
no more often than once every academic year. Information
obtained during the independent waiver verification process
indicating that the student does not meet free lunch or
breakfast eligibility guidelines may be used to deny the
waiver of the student's fees or fines for the loss of school
property, provided that any information obtained through this
independent process for determining or verifying eligibility
for fee waivers shall not be used to determine or verify
eligibility for any federally funded, school-based child
nutrition program.
This subsection shall not preclude children from obtaining

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waivers at any point during the academic year.
(c) The board may not discriminate against, punish, or
penalize a student in any way because the student's parents or
guardians are unable to pay any required fees or fines for the
loss of school property. This prohibition includes, but is not
limited to, the lowering of grades, exclusion from any
curricular or extracurricular program of the school district,
or the withholding of student records, grades, transcripts, or
diplomas. Any person who violates this subsection (c) commits
a petty offense.
(d) At the end of each school year, the school district
shall catalog and report to the State Board of Education the
total amount of fees and fines that remain unpaid by
graduating seniors or by high school students who left the
school district during the school year.
(e) On or after 3 years from the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, subsection (d)
is inoperative.
(Source: P.A. 102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-1032, eff. 5-27-22;
103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
(105 ILCS 5/28-19.2 rep.)
Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing
Section 28-19.2.
Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes

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changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
Public Act.