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

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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

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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
HB5163 LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
AN ACT concerning students.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Database Resources for Students Act.
Section 5. Library database resources; safety policies and
technology protection measures.
(a) 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 comply with subsection (b).
(b) Digital or online library database resources offered
by a school district, State agency, public library, or public
university or community college to students in grades
kindergarten through 12 shall have safety policies and
technology protection measures that:
(1) prohibit and prevent a user of the resources from
sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading child
pornography, obscene materials, or materials that depict
child sexual exploitation under Sections 11-20, 11-20.1,
and 11-9.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012; and
(2) filter or block access to child pornography,

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

HB5163 - 3 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
or community college for a willful violation of Section 11-20
or 11-20.1 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
Section 90. The School Code is amended by changing Section
27A-5 as follows:
(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.
(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

HB5163 - 4 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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

HB5163 - 5 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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

HB5163 - 6 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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.

HB5163 - 7 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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
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;

HB5163 - 8 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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;
(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) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and

HB5163 - 9 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code; and .
(37) the Database Resources for Students 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.
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

HB5163 - 10 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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,
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.

HB5163 - 11 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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

HB5163 - 12 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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

HB5163 - 13 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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

HB5163 - 14 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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;

HB5163 - 15 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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;

HB5163 - 16 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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) 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; and .
(37) the Database Resources for Students 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

HB5163 - 17 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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.

HB5163 - 18 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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
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

HB5163 - 19 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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.

HB5163 - 20 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
(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
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

HB5163 - 21 - LRB103 36670 RJT 66779 b
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
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

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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
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;

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(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;
(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) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code; and

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(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; and .
(37) the Database Resources for Students 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.
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

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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,
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.)
Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
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

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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.
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INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance