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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 2-3.128, 13A-5, and 27A-5 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.128)
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7 | Sec. 2-3.128. Job training program; prohibition. Except as | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | otherwise provided in subsection (b) of Section 10 of the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Vocational Academies Act, the The State
Board of Education | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | shall not require a school district or a student of any
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11 | district to participate in any school-to-work or job training | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | program.
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13 | (Source: P.A. 91-175, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)
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14 | (105 ILCS 5/13A-5)
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15 | Sec. 13A-5. Alternative school program curriculum.
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16 | (a) The regional superintendent
shall implement, or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | contract with one or more school districts to
implement, a
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18 | multi-disciplinary curriculum, which shall include a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | vocational academy as provided under subsection (b) of Section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | 10 of the Vocational Academies Act and may otherwise include | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | work-based learning and
community service
work approved by the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | regional
superintendent of schools in consultation with the |
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1 | State Board of Education
for which academic credit is earned, | ||||||
2 | for the
alternative school program designed
to
address
the | ||||||
3 | individualized needs of the students of that program, with
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4 | special
emphasis
toward making the educational experience of | ||||||
5 | each student meaningful and
worthwhile. In the design and | ||||||
6 | implementation of that curriculum, the
regional superintendent | ||||||
7 | or school district
shall give due consideration to the rules | ||||||
8 | and regulations adopted by the State
Board of Education for | ||||||
9 | alternative schools and optional education programs.
The | ||||||
10 | regional superintendent or school district (i) may contract | ||||||
11 | with third
parties for any services otherwise performed by | ||||||
12 | employees and (ii) may apply
for waivers or modifications of | ||||||
13 | mandates of this Code or of administrative
rules as provided in | ||||||
14 | Section 2-3.25g of this Code and as are necessary for the
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15 | alternative school program.
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16 | (b) An administratively transferred student who | ||||||
17 | successfully completes the
requirements for his or her high | ||||||
18 | school graduation shall receive a diploma
identifying the | ||||||
19 | student as graduating from the transferring high school. In
the | ||||||
20 | event the student is administratively transferred before | ||||||
21 | enrolling in a
high school, then that student shall receive a | ||||||
22 | diploma from the high school the
student would have attended if | ||||||
23 | the student had not attended an alternative
school program.
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24 | (Source: P.A. 90-283, eff. 7-31-97; 91-318, eff. 7-29-99.)
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25 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
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1 | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
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2 | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | ||||||
3 | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | ||||||
4 | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | ||||||
5 | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
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6 | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
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7 | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | ||||||
8 | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | ||||||
9 | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | ||||||
10 | on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||||||
11 | General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | ||||||
12 | State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
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13 | school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | ||||||
14 | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | ||||||
15 | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | ||||||
16 | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | ||||||
17 | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | ||||||
18 | Act. | ||||||
19 | (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | ||||||
20 | the teaching of courses through online methods with online | ||||||
21 | instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at | ||||||
22 | the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes | ||||||
23 | without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online | ||||||
24 | virtual schools. | ||||||
25 | From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a | ||||||
26 | moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with |
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1 | virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | ||||||
2 | school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | ||||||
3 | moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | ||||||
4 | virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | ||||||
5 | April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | ||||||
6 | school with virtual-schooling components already approved | ||||||
7 | prior to April 1, 2013. | ||||||
8 | On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | ||||||
9 | the General Assembly a report on the effect of | ||||||
10 | virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | ||||||
11 | student performance, the costs associated with | ||||||
12 | virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | ||||||
13 | include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
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14 | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | ||||||
15 | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | ||||||
16 | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
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17 | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | ||||||
18 | Meetings Act.
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19 | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | ||||||
20 | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | ||||||
21 | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
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22 | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||||||
23 | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||||||
24 | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||||||
25 | instructional materials, and student activities.
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26 | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the |
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1 | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | ||||||
2 | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | ||||||
3 | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | ||||||
4 | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | ||||||
5 | school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must | ||||||
6 | submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the | ||||||
7 | Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | ||||||
8 | Internal Revenue Service.
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9 | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||||||
10 | this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
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11 | its charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State | ||||||
12 | laws and regulations in the School Code
governing public
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13 | schools and local school board policies, except all of the | ||||||
14 | following:
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15 | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | ||||||
16 | regarding criminal
history records checks and checks of the | ||||||
17 | Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and | ||||||
18 | Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | ||||||
19 | employment . ;
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20 | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | ||||||
21 | regarding discipline of
students . ;
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22 | (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||||||
23 | Tort Immunity Act . ;
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24 | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||||||
25 | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||||||
26 | officers, directors, employees, and agents . ;
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1 | (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act . ;
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2 | (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act . ;
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3 | (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | ||||||
4 | report cards . ; and
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5 | (8) The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act. | ||||||
6 | (9) The Vocational Academies Act. | ||||||
7 | The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | ||||||
8 | is declaratory of existing law. | ||||||
9 | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||||||
10 | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||||||
11 | university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||||||
12 | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||||||
13 | school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||||||
14 | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||||||
15 | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | ||||||
16 | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||||||
17 | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||||||
18 | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
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19 | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | ||||||
20 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
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21 | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | ||||||
22 | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
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23 | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | ||||||
24 | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||||||
25 | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | ||||||
26 | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this |
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1 | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | ||||||
2 | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | ||||||
3 | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | ||||||
4 | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | ||||||
5 | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | ||||||
6 | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | ||||||
7 | of a State college or university or public community college
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8 | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
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9 | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | ||||||
10 | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | ||||||
11 | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | ||||||
12 | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | ||||||
13 | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | ||||||
14 | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | ||||||
15 | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
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16 | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | ||||||
17 | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
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18 | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||||||
19 | grade level.
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20 | (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | ||||||
21 | then the Commission charter school is its own local education | ||||||
22 | agency. | ||||||
23 | (Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; | ||||||
24 | 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)
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25 | Section 10. The Vocational Academies Act is amended by |
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1 | changing Section 10 as follows: | ||||||
2 | (105 ILCS 433/10)
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3 | Sec. 10. Establishment. | ||||||
4 | (a) A school district, in partnership with community | ||||||
5 | colleges, local employers, and community-based organizations, | ||||||
6 | may establish a vocational academy that is eligible for a grant | ||||||
7 | under this Act if the vocational academy meets all of the | ||||||
8 | following requirements: | ||||||
9 | (1) The vocational academy must have a minimum | ||||||
10 | 5-clock-hour day and be under the direct supervision of | ||||||
11 | teachers. | ||||||
12 | (2) The vocational academy must be a 2-year school | ||||||
13 | within a school program for grades 10 through 12 that is | ||||||
14 | organized around a career theme and operated as a | ||||||
15 | business-education partnership. | ||||||
16 | (3) The vocational academy must be a career-oriented | ||||||
17 | program that uses the direct involvement of local employers | ||||||
18 | to provide students with an education and the skills needed | ||||||
19 | for employment. | ||||||
20 | (4) The vocational academy must be a standards-based | ||||||
21 | educational program that prepares students both | ||||||
22 | academically and technically for entrance into | ||||||
23 | postsecondary education or careers in a selected field. | ||||||
24 | (5) The curriculum of the vocational academy must be | ||||||
25 | based on the Illinois Learning Standards, and work-site |
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1 | training must provide students with learning experiences | ||||||
2 | for entry-level employment in the local job market and | ||||||
3 | lifelong learning skills for higher education.
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4 | (b) Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, alternative | ||||||
5 | schools established under Article 13A of the School Code and | ||||||
6 | charter schools established under Article 27A of the School | ||||||
7 | Code shall establish vocational academies for students in | ||||||
8 | grades 10 through 12, in partnership with school districts, | ||||||
9 | community colleges, local employers, and community-based | ||||||
10 | organizations. A vocational academy established under this | ||||||
11 | subsection (b) must meet all of the requirements set forth in | ||||||
12 | subsection (a) of this Section. More than one vocational | ||||||
13 | academy may be established within the same school. With respect | ||||||
14 | to charter schools, the school board of the school district | ||||||
15 | where the charter school is located shall select the career | ||||||
16 | theme for the vocational academy. | ||||||
17 | Students of the alternative or charter school enrolled in | ||||||
18 | grades 10 through 12 must participate in the vocational academy | ||||||
19 | program established under this subsection (b). The alternative | ||||||
20 | or charter school may require a participant to meet | ||||||
21 | occupational standards for grade level promotion or | ||||||
22 | graduation. A student who successfully completes the | ||||||
23 | vocational academy program shall receive a certificate, | ||||||
24 | developed by the State Board of Education, indicating the type | ||||||
25 | of training he or she has received. | ||||||
26 | The State Board of Education may adopt any rules necessary |
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1 | to implement and administer this subsection (b). | ||||||
2 | (Source: P.A. 94-220, eff. 7-14-05.)
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