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| Public Act 094-0219 |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||
10-21.9, 27A-5, and 34-18.5 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
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Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of | ||||
the Statewide Sex Offender Database.
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(a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment | ||||
with a school
district, except school bus driver applicants, | ||||
are required as a condition
of employment to authorize a | ||||
fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine | ||||
if such applicants have been convicted of any of
the enumerated | ||||
criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
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have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for | ||||
employment with
the
school district, of any other felony under | ||||
the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||||
in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||||
that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
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Authorization for
the check shall be furnished by the applicant | ||||
to
the school district, except that if the applicant is a | ||||
substitute teacher
seeking employment in more than one school | ||||
district, a teacher seeking
concurrent part-time employment | ||||
positions with more than one school
district (as a reading | ||||
specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an | ||||
educational support personnel employee seeking employment | ||||
positions
with more than one district, any such district may | ||||
require the applicant to
furnish authorization for
the check to | ||||
the regional superintendent
of the educational service region | ||||
in which are located the school districts
in which the | ||||
applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
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part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel | ||
employee.
Upon receipt of this authorization, the school | ||
district or the appropriate
regional superintendent, as the | ||
case may be, shall submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date | ||
of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other | ||
identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
of State Police, | ||
to the Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the | ||
requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall | ||
promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is | ||
seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
| ||
teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee | ||
that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The | ||
Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of | ||
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based | ||
criminal history records check, records of convictions, until | ||
expunged, to the president of the school board for the school | ||
district that requested the check, or to the regional | ||
superintendent who requested the check.
The
Department shall | ||
charge
the school district
or the appropriate regional | ||
superintendent a fee for
conducting
such check, which fee shall | ||
be deposited in the State
Police Services Fund and shall not | ||
exceed the cost of
the inquiry; and the
applicant shall not be | ||
charged a fee for
such check by the school
district or by the | ||
regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these | ||
purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall | ||
reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for | ||
fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this | ||
Section.
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(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, | ||
as authorized by the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community | ||
Notification Law, for each applicant.
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(b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions | ||
obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional | ||
superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be | ||
transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
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designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check | ||
was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the | ||
appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the | ||
Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the | ||
State Superintendent of
Education, the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board or any other person
necessary to the | ||
decision of hiring the applicant for employment. A copy
of the | ||
record of convictions obtained from the Department of State | ||
Police
shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon | ||
the check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school | ||
district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant | ||
as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the | ||
Database as a sex offender. If a check of
an applicant for | ||
employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher
or | ||
concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than | ||
one
school district was requested by the regional | ||
superintendent, and the
Department of State Police upon a check | ||
ascertains that the applicant
has not been convicted of any of | ||
the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
in subsection (c)
or | ||
has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
| ||
employment with the
school district, of any other felony under | ||
the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted | ||
in any other state or against the laws of
the United States | ||
that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so | ||
notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional | ||
superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has | ||
not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex | ||
offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the | ||
applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date | ||
specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has | ||
not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug | ||
offenses in subsection (c)
or has not been
convicted, within 7 | ||
years of the application for employment with the
school | ||
district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||
of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||
against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||
attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||
under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date | ||
that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the | ||
Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been | ||
identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school
board | ||
of
any
school district
located in the educational service | ||
region served by the regional
superintendent who issues such a | ||
certificate to an applicant for employment
as a substitute | ||
teacher in more than one such district may rely on the
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certificate issued by the regional superintendent to that | ||
applicant, or may
initiate its own criminal history records | ||
check of the applicant through the Department of
State Police | ||
and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database as | ||
provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases any
| ||
confidential information concerning any criminal convictions | ||
of an
applicant for employment shall be guilty of a Class A | ||
misdemeanor, unless
the release of such information is | ||
authorized by this Section.
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(c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has | ||
been
convicted for committing attempted first degree murder or | ||
for committing or
attempting to commit first degree murder or a | ||
Class X felony or any one or
more of the
following offenses: | ||
(i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, 11-15,
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11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, 11-20, | ||
11-20.1,
11-21, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1,
12-15 and 12-16 of the | ||
"Criminal Code of 1961"; (ii)
those defined in the "Cannabis | ||
Control Act" except those defined in Sections
4(a), 4(b) and | ||
5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the "Illinois
| ||
Controlled Substances Act"; and (iv) any
offense committed or | ||
attempted in
any other state or against the laws of the United | ||
States, which if
committed or attempted in this State, would | ||
have been punishable as one or
more of the foregoing offenses.
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Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a person who | ||
has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical | ||
abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to | ||
proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
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(d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for | ||
whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex | ||
Offender Database check has not been initiated.
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(e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||
finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||
pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||
Code, the appropriate regional superintendent of schools or the
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State Superintendent of Education shall initiate the | ||
certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings authorized | ||
by law.
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(f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | ||
shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding | ||
contracts with any school
district including, but not limited | ||
to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | ||
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | ||
the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||
criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | ||
Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
| ||
contracts with more than one school district and assigned to | ||
more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of | ||
the educational service
region in which the contracting school | ||
districts are located may, at the
request of any such school | ||
district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a | ||
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | ||
and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and | ||
for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | ||
for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of | ||
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | ||
employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | ||
promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | ||
board or school boards.
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(Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04; 93-909, eff. 8-12-04.)
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(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
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Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
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(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
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authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
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(b) A charter school may be established under this Article | ||
by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | ||
school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
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Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||
93rd General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | ||
State Board or a local school board 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. | ||
The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | ||
93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | ||
or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | ||
Act.
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(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
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shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | ||
Meetings Act.
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(d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | ||
health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | ||
under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
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(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||
charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||
charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||
instructional materials, and student activities.
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(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.
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(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||
this Article and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt from | ||
all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
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governing public
schools and local school board policies, | ||
except the following:
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(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | ||
regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of the | ||
Statewide Sex Offender Database of applicants for | ||
employment;
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(2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | ||
regarding discipline of
students;
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(3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||
Tort Immunity Act;
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(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||
Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
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(5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
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(6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and
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(7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | ||
report cards.
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(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||
school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||
university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||
school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||
facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||
for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | ||
maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||
activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||
perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
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However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | ||
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| ||
Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | ||
exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
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manage or operate the school during the period that commences | ||
on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||
General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | ||
school year.
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
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shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
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(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.
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(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||
grade level.
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(Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-909, eff. 8-12-04.)
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(105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
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Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of | ||
the Statewide Sex Offender Database.
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(a) Certified and noncertified applicants for
employment | ||
with the school district are required as a condition of
| ||
employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history | ||
records check to determine if such applicants
have been | ||
convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
| ||
subsection (c) of this Section or have been
convicted, within 7 | ||
years of the application for employment with the
school | ||
district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||
of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||
against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||
attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||
under the laws of this State. Authorization
for
the
check shall
| ||
be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except | ||
that if the
applicant is a substitute teacher seeking | ||
employment in more than one
school district, or a teacher | ||
seeking concurrent part-time employment
positions with more | ||
than one school district (as a reading specialist,
special | ||
education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
| ||
personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than | ||
one
district, any such district may require the applicant to | ||
furnish
authorization for
the check to the regional | ||
superintendent of the
educational service region in which are | ||
located the school districts in
which the applicant is seeking | ||
employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher or | ||
concurrent educational support personnel employee.
Upon | ||
receipt of this authorization, the school district or the | ||
appropriate
regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall | ||
submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date of birth, social | ||
security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as | ||
prescribed by the Department
of State Police, to the | ||
Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the | ||
requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall | ||
promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is | ||
seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
| ||
teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee | ||
that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The | ||
Department of State
Police and the Federal Bureau of | ||
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based | ||
criminal history records check, records of convictions, until | ||
expunged, to the president of the school board for the school | ||
district that requested the check, or to the regional | ||
superintendent who requested the check. The
Department shall | ||
charge
the school district
or the appropriate regional | ||
superintendent a fee for
conducting
such check, which fee shall | ||
be deposited in the State
Police Services Fund and shall not | ||
exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the
applicant shall not be | ||
charged a fee for
such check by the school
district or by the | ||
regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these | ||
purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall | ||
reimburse the school district and regional superintendent for | ||
fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this | ||
Section.
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(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall | ||
further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, | ||
as authorized by the Sex Offender and Child Murderer Community | ||
Notification Law, for each applicant.
| ||
(b) Any
information concerning the record of convictions | ||
obtained by the president
of the board of education or the | ||
regional superintendent shall be
confidential and may only be | ||
transmitted to the general superintendent of
the school | ||
district or his designee, the appropriate regional
| ||
superintendent if
the check was requested by the board of | ||
education
for the school district, the presidents of the | ||
appropriate board of
education or school boards if
the check | ||
was requested from the
Department of State Police by the | ||
regional superintendent, the State
Superintendent of | ||
Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any
other | ||
person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
| ||
employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from | ||
the
Department of State Police shall be provided to the | ||
applicant for
employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex | ||
Offender Database, the school district or regional | ||
superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not | ||
the applicant has been identified in the Database as a sex | ||
offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
| ||
substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent | ||
educational
support personnel employee in more than one school | ||
district was requested
by the regional superintendent, and the | ||
Department of State Police upon
a check ascertains that the | ||
applicant has not been convicted of any
of the enumerated | ||
criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c)
or has not been
| ||
convicted,
within 7 years of the application for employment | ||
with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of | ||
this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any | ||
other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if | ||
committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||
punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
| ||
notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional | ||
superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has | ||
not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex | ||
offender, then the regional superintendent
shall issue to the | ||
applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
| ||
specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has | ||
not been
convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug | ||
offenses in subsection
(c)
or has not been
convicted, within 7 | ||
years of the application for employment with the
school | ||
district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or | ||
of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or | ||
against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or | ||
attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony | ||
under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date | ||
that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the | ||
Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been | ||
identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school
board | ||
of any school district located
in
the educational
service | ||
region served by the regional superintendent who issues such a
| ||
certificate to an applicant for employment as a substitute or | ||
concurrent
part-time teacher or concurrent educational support | ||
personnel employee in more
than one such district may rely on | ||
the certificate issued by the regional
superintendent to that | ||
applicant, or may initiate its own criminal history records | ||
check of
the applicant through the Department of State Police | ||
and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database as | ||
provided in
subsection (a). Any person who releases any | ||
confidential information
concerning any criminal convictions | ||
of an applicant for employment shall be
guilty of a Class A | ||
misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
| ||
authorized by this Section.
| ||
(c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a | ||
person who has
been convicted for committing attempted first | ||
degree murder or for
committing or attempting to commit first | ||
degree murder or a Class X felony
or any one or more of the
| ||
following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, | ||
11-14,
11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, | ||
11-19.2, 11-20,
11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1,
12-15 | ||
and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of
1961; (ii) those defined in | ||
the Cannabis Control Act,
except those defined in Sections | ||
4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii)
those defined in the | ||
Illinois Controlled Substances Act;
and (iv) any
offense | ||
committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||
of
the United States, which if committed or attempted in this | ||
State, would
have been punishable as one or more of the | ||
foregoing offenses.
Further, the board of education shall not | ||
knowingly employ a person who has
been found to be the | ||
perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
18 | ||
years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the | ||
Juvenile Court
Act of 1987.
| ||
(d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a | ||
person for whom
a criminal history records check and a | ||
Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated.
| ||
(e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||
finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||
pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||
Code, the board of education or the State Superintendent of
| ||
Education shall initiate the certificate suspension and | ||
revocation
proceedings authorized by law.
| ||
(f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section | ||
shall apply to
all employees of persons or firms holding | ||
contracts with any school district
including, but not limited | ||
to, food service workers, school bus drivers and
other | ||
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with | ||
the
pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||
criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex | ||
Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding | ||
contracts with more
than one school district and assigned to | ||
more than one school district, the
regional superintendent of | ||
the educational service region in which the
contracting school | ||
districts are located may, at the request of any such
school | ||
district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for
a | ||
criminal history records check prepared by each such employee | ||
and submitting the same to the
Department of State Police and | ||
for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database | ||
for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
| ||
conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such | ||
employee obtained by the regional superintendent
shall be | ||
promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school | ||
board
or school boards.
| ||
(Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04; 93-909, eff. 8-12-04.)
| ||
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
| ||