SB0238 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 03211 NHT 13228 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB0238

Introduced 2/4/2009, by Sen. Heather Steans

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/27A-5.5 new
105 ILCS 5/27A-12

Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Establishes the Illinois Charter Public School Commission as an independent, State-level, charter school authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State Board of Education. Includes provisions concerning membership, funding, staff, powers and duties, Commission charter school applications, Commission immunity, an annual report to the General Assembly and the State Board, oversight fees, and total pupil enrollment. Provides that every 2 years (instead of annually), the State Board shall compile evaluations of charter schools received from school boards. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 27A-5.5 and by changing Section 27A-12 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27A-5.5 new)

Sec. 27A-5.5. Illinois Charter Public School Commission.

(a) The Illinois Charter Public School Commission is established as an independent, State-level, charter school authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State Board. Startup funds necessary to establish and operate the Commission may be received through private contributions and federal and other institutional grants. The State Board shall assist in securing federal and other institutional grant funds to establish the Commission.

(b) The Commission members shall be appointed by the State Board and shall be composed of one appointee recommended by the Governor, one appointee each recommended by the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointee each recommended by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and 2 appointees recommended by the chief executive officer of a school district in the City of Chicago. The President and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and the chief executive officer of a school district in the City of Chicago shall each recommend a list of no fewer than 2 nominees for each appointment to the Commission. The appointments shall be made as soon as feasible, but no later than September 1, 2009. Each member appointed shall serve a term of 3 years; however, for the purpose of providing staggered terms, of the initial appointments, members recommended by the Governor and the chief executive officer of a school district in the City of Chicago shall be appointed to 3-year terms, members recommended by the President and Minority Leader of the Senate shall be appointed to 2-year terms, and members appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall be appointed to one-year terms. Thereafter, each appointee shall serve a 3-year term. If a vacancy occurs on the Commission, the State Board shall appoint a person who has been recommended by the authority making the original recommendation to fill the remainder of the term. The members shall on the first meeting of each calendar year elect a chairperson who shall serve during that calendar year.

The Commission is encouraged to convene its initial meeting no later than October 1, 2009 and, thereafter, shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the chairperson or upon the request of 4 members of the Commission. Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

Subject to appropriation, the Commission may employ such staff as is necessary to perform the administrative duties and responsibilities of the Commission. The members of the Commission must not be compensated for their services on the Commission, but may be reimbursed for per diem and travel expenses.

(c) The Commission shall have all of the following powers:

(1) To authorize and act as a sponsor of Commission charter schools, including the approval or denial of Commission charter school applications and the nonrenewal or termination of Commission charter schools.

(2) To authorize 2 or more school districts to combine administrative functions and responsibilities and operate under the provisions of this Section.

(3) To approve or deny Commission charter school applications and renew or terminate charters of Commission charter schools.

(4) To conduct facility and curriculum reviews of charter schools approved by the Commission.

(d) The Commission shall have all of the following duties:

(1) To review Commission charter school applications and assist in the establishment of Commission charter schools throughout the State. A Commission charter school shall exist as a public school within this State as a component of the delivery of public education within this State's kindergarten through grade 12 educational system.

(2) To develop, promote, and require high standards of accountability for any school that applies for and is granted a charter pursuant to this Section.

(3) To monitor and annually review and evaluate the academic and financial performance of Commission charter schools and hold the schools accountable for their performance.

(4) To report the student enrollment in each Commission charter school to the local school board where the school is located.

(5) To monitor the financial management of each Commission charter school.

(6) To actively seek, with the assistance of the State Board, supplemental revenue from federal grant funds, institutional grant funds, and philanthropic organizations.

(7) To collaborate with municipalities, State universities, public community colleges, and regional educational consortia as partners in the development of Commission charter schools for the purpose of providing the highest level of public education to low-income, low-performing, gifted, or underserved student populations. Such collaborations shall do all of the following:

(A) Allow State universities and public community colleges that partner in the development of Commission charter schools to enable students attending a Commission charter school to take college courses and receive high school and college credit for such courses.

(B) Be used to determine the feasibility of opening charter schools for students with disabilities, including, but not limited to, charter schools for children with autism that work with and utilize the specialized expertise of the Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities.

(8) To support municipalities when the mayor or chief executive, through resolution passed by the governing body of the municipality, expresses an intent to partner in the development of Commission charter schools within municipal boundaries.

(9) To assist Commission charter schools in negotiating and contracting with local school boards that choose to provide certain administrative or transportation services to the charter schools on a contractual basis.

(e) Charter school applications submitted to the Commission pursuant to this Section are subject to the same requirements as other charter school applications under this Article.

(f) No application may be submitted pursuant to this Section by an existing charter school approved by a local school board; however, this is not a limitation on a charter operator submitting an application for an addition charter to the Commission, subject to the provisions of this Article. A local school board may agree to rescind or waive the obligations of a current charter contract to allow an application to be submitted by an existing charter school pursuant to this Section. A charter school that changes sponsors pursuant to this subsection (f) must be allowed to continue the use of all facilities, equipment, and other assets it owned or leased prior to the expiration or rescission of its contract with a local school board sponsor.

An application to the Commission by a conversion charter school may be submitted only upon consent of the local school board. In such instance, the local school board may retain the facilities, equipment, and other assets of the conversion charter school for its own use or agree to reasonable terms for their continued use by the conversion charter school.

(g) Each year, the chairperson of the Commission shall submit a report to the General Assembly and the State Board regarding the academic performance and fiscal responsibility of all Commission charter schools.

(h) The Commission has the following duties with respect to Commission charter schools:

(1) The Commission shall monitor and review the charter school in its progress toward the goals established in the charter.

(2) The Commission shall monitor the revenues and expenditures of the charter school.

(3) The Commission may approve a charter for a charter school before the applicant has secured space, equipment, or personnel if the applicant indicates approval is necessary for it to raise working capital.

(4) The Commission's internal policies shall not apply to the charter school.

(5) The Commission shall ensure that the charter is innovative and consistent with State educational goals.

(6) The Commission shall ensure that the charter school participates in the State's educational accountability system. If a charter school falls short of performance measures included in the approved charter, the Commission shall report such shortcomings to the State Board.

(i) The Commission is not liable for civil damages under State law for personal injury, property damage, or death resulting from an act or omission of an officer, employee, agent, or governing body of a Commission charter school. The Commission is not liable for civil damages under State law for any employment actions taken by an officer, employee, agent, or governing body of a Commission charter school. The Commission's duties to monitor a Commission charter school shall not constitute the basis for a private cause of action.

Immunity for the Commission under this subsection (i) applies only with respect to acts or omissions not under the Commission's direct authority as described in this Section. Nothing contained in this subsection (i) shall be considered a waiver of sovereign immunity by a local school board.

(j) The Commission is authorized to retain an oversight fee to cover its costs in overseeing Commission charter schools. The oversight fee shall not exceed 2% of the per pupil tuition funding applicable to each Commission charter school. The Commission shall use funding collected from charter school oversight fees exclusively for the purpose of fulfilling authorizing and oversight obligations. The Commission shall annually provide to the State Board an audited accounting of its expenditures funded by the oversight fees.

(k) In a school district in the City of Chicago, the Commission may not authorize Commission charter schools to enroll more than 2% of the total pupil enrollment of the school district. The provisions of this subsection (k) other than this sentence, are inoperative after June 30, 2016.

(l) A school district with a Commission charter school operating within its boundaries is eligible to receive payment from the State Board under Section 27A-11.5 of this Code.

(105 ILCS 5/27A-12)

Sec. 27A-12. Evaluation; annual report. The State Board shall compile, every 2 years, annual evaluations of charter schools received from local school boards and shall prepare an annual report on charter schools.

On or before the second Wednesday of January, 1998, and on or before the second Wednesday of January of each subsequent calendar year, the State Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly and the Governor on its findings for the school year ending in the preceding calendar year.

In the annual 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.

(Source: P.A. 91-407, eff. 8-3-99.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.