Bill Text: IL HB5163 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Creates the Database Resources for Students Act. Provides that a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college may offer digital or online library database resources to students in grades kindergarten through 12 only if the provider of the resources verifies that all the resources have safety policies and technology protection measures that prohibit and prevent a user of the resources from sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading and filter or block access to child pornography, obscene materials, or materials that depict child sexual exploitation. Provides that, notwithstanding any contract provision to the contrary, if a provider fails to comply with these provisions, the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall withhold further payments to the provider pending verification of compliance. Provides that if a provider fails to timely verify that the provider is in compliance, then the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall consider the provider's act of noncompliance as a breach of contract. Provides that nothing in the Act exempts from prosecution an employee of a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college for a willful violation of the provisions of the Criminal Code of 2012 regarding obscenity and child pornography. Sets forth reporting provisions. Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code to provide that the Act applies to charter schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5163 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5163-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5163

Introduced , by Rep. Chris Miller

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
See Index

Creates the Database Resources for Students Act. Provides that a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college may offer digital or online library database resources to students in grades kindergarten through 12 only if the provider of the resources verifies that all the resources have safety policies and technology protection measures that prohibit and prevent a user of the resources from sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading and filter or block access to child pornography, obscene materials, or materials that depict child sexual exploitation. Provides that, notwithstanding any contract provision to the contrary, if a provider fails to comply with these provisions, the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall withhold further payments to the provider pending verification of compliance. Provides that if a provider fails to timely verify that the provider is in compliance, then the school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college shall consider the provider's act of noncompliance as a breach of contract. Provides that nothing in the Act exempts from prosecution an employee of a school district, State agency, public library, or public university or community college for a willful violation of the provisions of the Criminal Code of 2012 regarding obscenity and child pornography. Sets forth reporting provisions. Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code to provide that the Act applies to charter schools.
LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

HB5163LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 AN ACT concerning students.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Database Resources for Students Act.
6 Section 5. Library database resources; safety policies and
7technology protection measures.
8 (a) A school district, State agency, public library, or
9public university or community college may offer digital or
10online library database resources to students in grades
11kindergarten through 12 only if the provider of the resources
12verifies that all the resources comply with subsection (b).
13 (b) Digital or online library database resources offered
14by a school district, State agency, public library, or public
15university or community college to students in grades
16kindergarten through 12 shall have safety policies and
17technology protection measures that:
18 (1) prohibit and prevent a user of the resources from
19 sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading child
20 pornography, obscene materials, or materials that depict
21 child sexual exploitation under Sections 11-20, 11-20.1,
22 and 11-9.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012; and
23 (2) filter or block access to child pornography,

HB5163- 2 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 obscene materials, or materials that depict child sexual
2 exploitation under Sections 11-20, 11-20.1, and 11-9.1 of
3 the Criminal Code of 2012.
4 Section 10. Noncompliance.
5 (a) Notwithstanding any contract provision to the
6contrary, if a provider of digital or online library resources
7fails to comply with Section 5, the school district, State
8agency, public library, or public university or community
9college shall withhold further payments, if any, to the
10provider pending verification of compliance.
11 (b) If a provider of digital or online library database
12resources fails to timely verify that the provider is in
13compliance with subsection (b) of Section 5, then the school
14district, State agency, public library, or public university
15or community college shall consider the provider's act of
16noncompliance as a breach of contract.
17 (c) No later than December 1 of each year, each school
18district, State agency, public library, public university, and
19public community college shall submit to the General Assembly
20an aggregate written report on any issues related to provider
21noncompliance under this Section.
22 Section 15. Willful violation of criminal law. Nothing in
23this Act exempts from prosecution an employee of a school
24district, State agency, public library, or public university

HB5163- 3 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1or community college for a willful violation of Section 11-20
2or 11-20.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
3 Section 90. The School Code is amended by changing Section
427A-5 as follows:
5 (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
6 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466 and
7103-472)
8 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
9 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
10nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
11school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
12corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
13authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
14 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
15by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
16school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
17new applications to establish a charter school in a city
18having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
19charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
20does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
21before April 16, 2003.
22 (b-5) (Blank).
23 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
24its board of directors or other governing body in the manner

HB5163- 4 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
2school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
3the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
4or other governing body must include at least one parent or
5guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
6who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
7network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
8directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
9Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
10 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
11year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
12school's board of directors or other governing body shall
13complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
14leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
15familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
16responsibilities, including financial oversight and
17accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
18school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
19Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
20and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
21voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
22other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
23professional development training in these same areas. The
24training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
25a statewide charter school membership association or may be
26provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by

HB5163- 5 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1the State Board.
2 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
3health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
4requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
5preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
6students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
7prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
8school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
9requirement" does not include any course of study or
10specialized instructional requirement for which the State
11Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
12designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
13to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
14 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
15health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
16under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
17promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
18non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
19school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
20than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
21school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
22requires the charter school to follow the list of all
23non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
24the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
25requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
26term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes

HB5163- 6 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
2requirements in a charter school contract that are not
3contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
4including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
5authorizing local school board.
6 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
7charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
8charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
9instructional materials, and student activities.
10 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
11management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
12not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
13charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
14outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
15school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
16school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
17in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
18To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
19funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
20charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
21Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
22charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
23Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
24financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
25require quarterly financial statements from each charter
26school.

HB5163- 7 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
2this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
3all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
4schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
5of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
6exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
7governing public schools and local school board policies;
8however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
9 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
10 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
11 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
12 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
13 for employment;
14 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
15 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
16 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
17 Tort Immunity Act;
18 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
19 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
20 officers, directors, employees, and agents;
21 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
22 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
23 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
24 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
25 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
26 report cards;

HB5163- 8 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
2 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
3 prevention;
4 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
5 discipline reporting;
6 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
7 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
8 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
9 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
10 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
11 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
12 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
13 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
14 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
15 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
16 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
17 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
18 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
19 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
20 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
21 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
22 10-20.56 of this Code;
23 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
24 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
25 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
26 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and

HB5163- 9 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; and .
2 (37) the Database Resources for Students Act.
3 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
4(g) is declaratory of existing law.
5 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
6school district, the governing body of a State college or
7university or public community college, or any other public or
8for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
9school building and grounds or any other real property or
10facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
11for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
12maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
13activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
14to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
15Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
16district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
17use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
18services for which a charter school contracts with a school
19district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
20services for which a charter school contracts with a local
21school board or with the governing body of a State college or
22university or public community college shall be provided by
23the public entity at cost.
24 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
25by converting an existing school or attendance center to
26charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is

HB5163- 10 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
2agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
3costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
4facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
5subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
6local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
7 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
8or grade level.
9 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
10Board, then the charter school is its own local education
11agency.
12(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
13102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
148-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
15102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
161-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,
17eff. 6-30-23.)
18 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-472 but
19before amendment by P.A. 102-466)
20 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
21 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
22nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
23school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
24corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
25authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.

HB5163- 11 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
2by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
3school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
4new applications to establish a charter school in a city
5having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
6charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
7does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
8before April 16, 2003.
9 (b-5) (Blank).
10 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
11its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
12provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
13school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
14the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
15or other governing body must include at least one parent or
16guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
17who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
18network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
19directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
20Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
21 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
22year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
23school's board of directors or other governing body shall
24complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
25leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
26familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and

HB5163- 12 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1responsibilities, including financial oversight and
2accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
3school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
4Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
5and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
6voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
7other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
8professional development training in these same areas. The
9training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
10a statewide charter school membership association or may be
11provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
12the State Board.
13 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
14health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
15requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
16preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
17students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
18prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
19school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
20requirement" does not include any course of study or
21specialized instructional requirement for which the State
22Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
23designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
24to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
25 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
26health and safety requirements applicable to public schools

HB5163- 13 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
2promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
3non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
4school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
5than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
6school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
7requires the charter school to follow the list of all
8non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
9the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
10requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
11term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
12an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
13requirements in a charter school contract that are not
14contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
15including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
16authorizing local school board.
17 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
18charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
19charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
20instructional materials, and student activities.
21 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
22management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
23not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
24charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
25outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
26school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter

HB5163- 14 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
2in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
3To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
4funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
5charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
6Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
7charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
8Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
9financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
10require quarterly financial statements from each charter
11school.
12 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
13this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
14all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
15schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
16of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
17exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
18governing public schools and local school board policies;
19however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
20 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
21 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
22 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
23 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
24 for employment;
25 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
26 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;

HB5163- 15 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
2 Tort Immunity Act;
3 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
4 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
5 officers, directors, employees, and agents;
6 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
7 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
8 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
9 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
10 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
11 report cards;
12 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
13 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
14 prevention;
15 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
16 discipline reporting;
17 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
18 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
19 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
20 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
21 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
22 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
23 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
24 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
25 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
26 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;

HB5163- 16 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
2 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
3 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
4 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
5 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
6 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
7 10-20.56 of this Code;
8 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
9 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
10 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
11 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and
12 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
13 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
14 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
15 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and
16 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and .
17 (37) the Database Resources for Students Act.
18 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
19(g) is declaratory of existing law.
20 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
21school district, the governing body of a State college or
22university or public community college, or any other public or
23for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
24school building and grounds or any other real property or
25facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
26for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and

HB5163- 17 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
2activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
3to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
4Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
5district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
6use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
7services for which a charter school contracts with a school
8district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
9services for which a charter school contracts with a local
10school board or with the governing body of a State college or
11university or public community college shall be provided by
12the public entity at cost.
13 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
14by converting an existing school or attendance center to
15charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
16deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
17agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
18costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
19facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
20subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
21local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
22 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
23or grade level.
24 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
25Board, then the charter school is its own local education
26agency.

HB5163- 18 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
2102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
38-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
4102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
51-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,
6eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised 8-31-23.)
7 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)
8 Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
9 (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
10nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
11school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
12corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
13authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
14 (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
15by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
16school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
17new applications to establish a charter school in a city
18having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
19charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
20does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
21before April 16, 2003.
22 (b-5) (Blank).
23 (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
24its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
25provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter

HB5163- 19 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
2the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
3or other governing body must include at least one parent or
4guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
5who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
6network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
7directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
8Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
9 (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
10year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
11school's board of directors or other governing body shall
12complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
13leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
14familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
15responsibilities, including financial oversight and
16accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
17school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
18Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
19and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
20voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
21other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
22professional development training in these same areas. The
23training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
24a statewide charter school membership association or may be
25provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
26the State Board.

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1 (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
2health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
3requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
4preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
5students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
6prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
7school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
8requirement" does not include any course of study or
9specialized instructional requirement for which the State
10Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
11designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
12to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
13 A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
14health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
15under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
16promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
17non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
18school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
19than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
20school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
21requires the charter school to follow the list of all
22non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
23the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
24requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
25term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
26an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety

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1requirements in a charter school contract that are not
2contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
3including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
4authorizing local school board.
5 (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
6charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
7charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
8instructional materials, and student activities.
9 (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
10management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
11not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
12charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
13outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
14school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
15school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
16in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
17To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
18funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
19charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
20Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
21charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
22Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
23financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
24require quarterly financial statements from each charter
25school.
26 (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of

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1this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
2all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
3schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
4of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
5exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
6governing public schools and local school board policies;
7however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
8 (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
9 regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
10 the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
11 and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
12 for employment;
13 (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and
14 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
15 (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
16 Tort Immunity Act;
17 (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
18 Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
19 officers, directors, employees, and agents;
20 (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
21 (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
22 subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
23 (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
24 (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
25 report cards;
26 (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;

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1 (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
2 prevention;
3 (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
4 discipline reporting;
5 (11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
6 (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
7 (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
8 (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
9 (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
10 (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
11 (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
12 (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
13 (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
14 (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
15 (21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
16 (22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
17 (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
18 (24) Article 26A of this Code;
19 (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
20 (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
21 (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
22 10-20.56 of this Code;
23 (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
24 (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
25 (30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
26 (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and

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1 (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
2 (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
3 (34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
4 (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code; and
5 (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and .
6 (37) the Database Resources for Students Act.
7 The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
8(g) is declaratory of existing law.
9 (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
10school district, the governing body of a State college or
11university or public community college, or any other public or
12for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
13school building and grounds or any other real property or
14facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
15for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
16maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
17activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
18to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
19Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
20district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
21use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
22services for which a charter school contracts with a school
23district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
24services for which a charter school contracts with a local
25school board or with the governing body of a State college or
26university or public community college shall be provided by

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1the public entity at cost.
2 (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
3by converting an existing school or attendance center to
4charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
5deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
6agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
7costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
8facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
9subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
10local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
11 (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
12or grade level.
13 (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
14Board, then the charter school is its own local education
15agency.
16(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
17102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff.
187-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676,
19eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23;
20102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff.
216-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; revised
228-31-23.)
23 Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
24changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
25that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section

HB5163- 26 -LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
1represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
2not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
3made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
4Public Act.

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance