Public Act 103-0416

HB1120 Enrolled LRB103 04755 RJT 49764 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections

27A-3, 27A-6, and 27A-7 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27A-3)

Sec. 27A-3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:

"At-risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical,

emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely

to succeed in a conventional educational environment.

"Authorizer" means an entity authorized under this Article

to review applications, decide whether to approve or reject

applications, enter into charter contracts with applicants,

oversee charter schools, and decide whether to renew, not

renew, or revoke a charter.

"Commission" means the State Charter School Commission

established under Section 27A-7.5 of this Code.

"Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed

school board or board of education of a public school

district, including special charter districts and school

districts located in cities having a population of more than

500,000, organized under the laws of this State.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

"Union neutrality clause" means a provision whereby a

charter school agrees: (1) to be neutral regarding the

unionization of any of its employees, such that the charter

school will not at any time express a position on the matter of

whether its employees will be unionized and such that the

charter school will not threaten, intimidate, discriminate

against, retaliate against, or take any adverse action against

any employees based on their decision to support or oppose

union representation; (2) to provide any bona fide labor

organization access at reasonable times to areas in which the

charter school's employees work for the purpose of meeting

with employees to discuss their right to representation,

employment rights under the law, and terms and conditions of

employment; and (3) that union recognition shall be through a

majority card check verified by a neutral third-party

arbitrator mutually selected by the charter school and the

bona fide labor organization through alternate striking from a

panel of arbitrators provided by the Federal Mediation and

Conciliation Service. As used in this definition, "bona fide

labor organization" means a labor organization recognized

under the National Labor Relations Act or the Illinois

Educational Labor Relations Act. As used in this definition,

"employees" means non-represented, non-management, and

non-confidential employees of a charter school.

(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-6)

Sec. 27A-6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and

regulations.

(a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding

contract and agreement between the charter school and a local

school board under the terms of which the local school board

authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate

the charter school on the terms specified in the contract.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article,

the certified charter may not waive or release the charter

school from the State goals, standards, and assessments

established pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code.

Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the certified

charter for a charter school operating in a city having a

population exceeding 500,000 shall require the charter school

to administer any other nationally recognized standardized

tests to its students that the chartering entity administers

to other students, and the results on such tests shall be

included in the chartering entity's assessment reports.

(c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a

material revision to a previously certified contract or a

renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local

school board and the governing body of the charter school.

(c-5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on

how both parties will address minor violations of the

contract.

(c-10) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of

the 103rd General Assembly, any renewal of a certified charter

must include a union neutrality clause.

(d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a

proposed charter school and the local school board as

described in Section 27A-7 must be submitted to and certified

by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State

Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for

consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the

modifications must be consented to by both the governing body

of the charter school and the local school board, and

resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the

proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not

consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to

certify the charter.

The State Board shall assign a number to each submission

or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall

determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with the

provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract complies,

the State Board shall so certify.

(e) No renewal of a previously certified contract is

effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the

renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article. A

material revision to a previously certified contract may go

into effect immediately upon approval of both the local school

board and the governing body of the charter school, unless

either party requests in writing that the State Board certify

that the material revision is consistent with the provisions

of this Article. If such a request is made, the proposed

material revision is not effective unless and until the State

Board so certifies.

(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;

99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)

(105 ILCS 5/27A-7)

Sec. 27A-7. Charter submission.

(a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be

submitted to the local school board and the State Board for

certification under Section 27A-6 of this Code in the form of a

proposed contract entered into between the local school board

and the governing body of a proposed charter school. The

charter school proposal shall include:

(1) The name of the proposed charter school, which

must include the words "Charter School".

(2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum

and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the

charter school, and any other admission criteria that

would be legal if used by a school district.

(3) A description of and address for the physical

plant in which the charter school will be located;

provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to

justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or

approval of a charter school proposal because the building

or buildings in which the charter school is to be located

have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter

school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter

school contract is entered into or submitted for

certification or certified, so long as the proposal or

submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are

potentially available as a charter school facility by the

time the charter school is to open.

(4) The mission statement of the charter school, which

must be consistent with the General Assembly's declared

purposes; provided that nothing in this Article shall be

construed to require that, in order to receive favorable

consideration and approval, a charter school proposal

demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will be

able to meet each of those declared purposes, it being the

intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes

be recognized as goals that charter schools must aspire to

attain.

(5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance

standards to be achieved by the charter school.

(6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter

school by converting an existing public school or

attendance center to charter school status, evidence that

the proposed formation of the charter school has received

the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians,

and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in

subsection (b) of Section 27A-8.

(7) A description of the charter school's educational

program, pupil performance standards, curriculum, school

year, school days, and hours of operation.

(8) A description of the charter school's plan for

evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments

that will be used to measure pupil progress towards

achievement of the school's pupil performance standards,

the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the

procedures for taking corrective action in the event that

pupil performance at the charter school falls below those

standards.

(9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as proposed

are economically sound for both the charter school and the

school district, a proposed budget for the term of the

charter, a description of the manner in which an annual

audit of the financial and administrative operations of

the charter school, including any services provided by the

school district, are to be conducted, and a plan for the

displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who

will not attend or be employed in the charter school.

(10) A description of the governance and operation of

the charter school, including the nature and extent of

parental, professional educator, and community involvement

in the governance and operation of the charter school.

(11) An explanation of the relationship that will

exist between the charter school and its employees,

including evidence that the terms and conditions of

employment have been addressed with affected employees and

their recognized representative, if any. However, a

bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be

separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed

from employees of a school district in which the charter

school is located.

(12) An agreement between the parties regarding their

respective legal liability and applicable insurance

coverage.

(13) A description of how the charter school plans to

meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan

for addressing the transportation needs of low-income and

at-risk pupils.

(14) The proposed effective date and term of the

charter; provided that the first day of the first academic

year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than

September 15 of a calendar year, and the first day of the

fiscal year shall be July 1.

(14.5) Disclosure of any known active civil or

criminal investigation by a local, state, or federal law

enforcement agency into an organization submitting the

charter school proposal or a criminal investigation by a

local, state, or federal law enforcement agency into any

member of the governing body of that organization. For the

purposes of this subdivision (14.5), a known investigation

means a request for an interview by a law enforcement

agency, a subpoena, an arrest, or an indictment. Such

disclosure is required for a period from the initial

application submission through 10 business days prior to

the authorizer's scheduled decision date.

(14.7) A union neutrality clause.

(15) Any other information reasonably required by the

State Board of Education.

(b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be

initiated by individuals or organizations that will have

majority representation on the board of directors or other

governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal

entity that is to be established to operate the proposed

charter school, by a board of education or an

intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of

education, or by the board of directors or other governing

body of a discrete legal entity already existing or

established to operate the proposed charter school. The

individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection

may be school teachers, school administrators, local school

councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members,

public community colleges or their instructors or other

representatives, corporations, or other entities or their

representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the local

school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for

development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the

State Board for certification under Section 27A-6.

(c) The local school board may not without the consent of

the governing body of the charter school condition its

approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an

agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and

local school board policies from which the charter school is

otherwise exempted under this Article.

(Source: P.A. 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1048, eff. 8-25-14;

99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-334, eff. 8-10-15.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

becoming law.