(105 ILCS 5/27A-12)

Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; report. On or before September 30 of every odd-numbered year, all local school boards with at least one charter school shall submit to the State Board any information required by the State Board pursuant to applicable rule. On or before the second Wednesday in January of every even-numbered year, the State Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly and the Governor on its findings for the previous 2 school years. The State Board's report shall summarize all of the following:

(1) The authorizer's strategic vision for chartering and progress toward achieving that vision.

(2) The academic and financial performance of all operating charter schools overseen by the authorizer, according to the performance expectations for charter schools set forth in this Article.

(3) The status of the authorizer's charter school portfolio, identifying all charter schools in each of the following categories: approved (but not yet open), operating, renewed, transferred, revoked, not renewed, voluntarily closed, or never opened.

(4) The authorizing functions provided by the authorizer to the charter schools under its purview, including the authorizer's operating costs and expenses detailed in annual audited financial statements, which must conform with generally accepted accounting principles.

Further, in the report required by this Section, the State Board (i) shall compare the performance of charter school pupils with the performance of ethnically and economically comparable groups of pupils in other public schools who are enrolled in academically comparable courses, (ii) shall review information regarding the regulations and policies from which charter schools were released to determine if the exemptions assisted or impeded the charter schools in meeting their stated goals and objectives, and (iii) shall include suggested changes in State law necessary to strengthen charter schools.

In addition, the State Board shall undertake and report on periodic evaluations of charter schools that include evaluations of student academic achievement, the extent to which charter schools are accomplishing their missions and goals, the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, and the need for changes in the approval process for charter schools.

Based on the information that the State Board receives from authorizers and the State Board's ongoing monitoring of both charter schools and authorizers, the State Board has the power to remove the power to authorize from any authorizer in this State if the authorizer does not demonstrate a commitment to high-quality authorization practices and, if necessary, revoke the chronically low-performing charters authorized by the authorizer at the time of the removal. The State Board shall adopt rules as needed to carry out this power, including provisions to determine the status of schools authorized by an authorizer whose authorizing power is revoked.

(Source: P.A. 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)