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90_HB2790
105 ILCS 5/10-22.31 from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31
Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning special
education and joint agreements between school boards, removes
a provision that allows a governing board to appoint an
executive board to administer the joint agreement only if
more than 17 school districts are parties to the joint
agreement. Effective immediately.
LRB9010238NTsb
LRB9010238NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
2 10-22.31.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Section 10-22.31 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/10-22.31) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.31)
8 Sec. 10-22.31. Special education.
9 (a) To enter into joint agreements with other school
10 boards to provide the needed special educational facilities
11 and to employ a director and other professional workers as
12 defined in Section 14-1.10 and to establish facilities as
13 defined in Section 14-1.08 for the types of children
14 described in Sections 14-1.02 through 14-1.07. The director
15 (who may be employed under a multi-year contract as provided
16 in subsection (c) of this Section) and other professional
17 workers may be employed by one district, which shall be
18 reimbursed on a mutually agreed basis by other districts that
19 are parties to the joint agreement. Such agreements may
20 provide that one district may supply professional workers for
21 a joint program conducted in another district. Such
22 agreement shall provide that any full-time school
23 psychologist who is employed by a joint agreement program and
24 spends over 50% of his or her time in one school district
25 shall not be required to work a different teaching schedule
26 than the other school psychologists in that district. Such
27 agreement shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
28 for administration, staff, programs, financing, housing,
29 transportation, an advisory body, and for the withdrawal of
30 districts from the joint agreement. Except as otherwise
31 provided in Section 10-22.31.1, the withdrawal of districts
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1 from the joint agreement shall be by petition to the regional
2 board of school trustees. Such agreement may be amended at
3 any time as provided in the joint agreement or, if the joint
4 agreement does not so provide, then such agreement may be
5 amended at any time upon the adoption of concurring
6 resolutions by the school boards of all member districts. A
7 fully executed copy of any such agreement or amendment
8 entered into on or after January 1, 1989 shall be filed with
9 the State Board of Education. Such petitions for withdrawal
10 shall be made to the regional board of school trustees of all
11 counties having jurisdiction over one or more of the
12 districts in the joint agreement. Upon receipt of a petition
13 for withdrawal, the regional boards of school trustees having
14 jurisdiction over the cooperating districts shall publish
15 notice of and conduct a joint hearing on the issue as
16 provided in Section 7-6. No such petition may be considered,
17 however, unless in compliance with Section 7-8. If approved
18 by a 2/3 vote of all trustees of those regional boards, at a
19 joint meeting, the withdrawal takes effect as provided in
20 Section 7-9 of this Act.
21 (b) To either (1) designate an administrative district
22 to act as fiscal and legal agent for the districts that are
23 parties to the joint agreement, or (2) designate a governing
24 board composed of one member of the school board of each
25 cooperating district and designated by such boards to act in
26 accordance with the joint agreement. No such governing board
27 may levy taxes and no such governing board may incur any
28 indebtedness except within an annual budget for the joint
29 agreement approved by the governing board and by the boards
30 of at least a majority of the cooperating school districts or
31 a number of districts greater than a majority if required by
32 the joint agreement. If more than 17 school districts are
33 parties to the joint agreement, The governing board may
34 appoint an executive board of at least 7 members to
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1 administer the joint agreement in accordance with its terms.
2 However, if 20 school districts, a majority of which are
3 located wholly or partially in a county with a population in
4 excess of 3,000,000 inhabitants, are parties to a joint
5 agreement that does not have an administrative district: (i)
6 at least a majority of the members appointed by the governing
7 board to the executive board shall be members of the school
8 boards of the cooperating districts; and (ii) if the
9 governing board wishes to appoint members who are not school
10 board members, they shall be superintendents from the
11 cooperating districts.
12 (c) To employ a director of a joint agreement program
13 under a multi-year contract. No such contract can be offered
14 or accepted for less than or more than 3 years, except for a
15 person serving as a director of a special education joint
16 agreement for the first time in Illinois. In such a case,
17 the initial contract shall be for a 2 year period. Such
18 contract may be discontinued at any time by mutual agreement
19 of the contracting parties, or may be extended for an
20 additional 3 years at the end of any year.
21 The contract year is July 1 through the following June
22 30th, unless the contract specifically provides otherwise.
23 Notice of intent not to renew a contract when given by a
24 controlling board or administrative district must be in
25 writing stating the specific reason therefor. Notice of
26 intent not to renew the contract must be given by the
27 controlling board or the administrative district at least 90
28 days before the contract expires. Failure to do so will
29 automatically extend the contract for one additional year.
30 By accepting the terms of the multi-year contract, the
31 director of a special education joint agreement waives all
32 rights granted under Sections 24-11 through 24-16 for the
33 duration of his or her employment as a director of a special
34 education joint agreement.
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1 (d) To designate a district that is a party to the joint
2 agreement as the issuer of bonds or notes for the purposes
3 and in the manner provided in this Section. It is not
4 necessary for such district to also be the administrative
5 district for the joint agreement, nor is it necessary for the
6 same district to be designated as the issuer of all series of
7 bonds or notes issued hereunder. Any district so designated
8 may, from time to time, borrow money and, in evidence of its
9 obligation to repay the borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds
10 or notes for the purpose of acquiring, constructing,
11 altering, repairing, enlarging and equipping any building or
12 portion thereof, together with any land or interest therein,
13 necessary to provide special educational facilities and
14 services as defined in Section 14-1.08. Title in and to any
15 such facilities shall be held in accordance with the joint
16 agreement.
17 Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a
18 resolution of the board of education of the issuing district.
19 The resolution may contain such covenants as may be deemed
20 necessary or advisable by the district to assure the payment
21 of the bonds or notes. The resolution shall be effective
22 immediately upon its adoption.
23 Prior to the issuance of such bonds or notes, each school
24 district that is a party to the joint agreement shall agree,
25 whether by amendment to the joint agreement or by resolution
26 of the board of education, to be jointly and severally liable
27 for the payment of the bonds and notes. The bonds or notes
28 shall be payable solely and only from the payments made
29 pursuant to such agreement.
30 Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
31 bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
32 indebtedness of any district, including the issuing district,
33 within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory
34 limitation.
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1 As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
2 the agreement by a district to pay the bonds and notes shall
3 be irrevocable notwithstanding the district's withdrawal from
4 membership in the joint special education program.
5 (e) If a district whose employees are on strike was,
6 prior to the strike, sending students with disabilities to
7 special educational facilities and services in another
8 district or cooperative, the district affected by the strike
9 shall continue to send such students during the strike and
10 shall be eligible to receive appropriate State reimbursement.
11 (f) With respect to those joint agreements that have a
12 governing board composed of one member of the school board of
13 each cooperating district and designated by those boards to
14 act in accordance with the joint agreement, the governing
15 board shall have, in addition to its other powers under this
16 Section, the authority to issue bonds or notes for the
17 purposes and in the manner provided in this subsection. The
18 governing board of the joint agreement may from time to time
19 borrow money and, in evidence of its obligation to repay the
20 borrowing, issue its negotiable bonds or notes for the
21 purpose of acquiring, constructing, altering, repairing,
22 enlarging and equipping any building or portion thereof,
23 together with any land or interest therein, necessary to
24 provide special educational facilities and services as
25 defined in Section 14-1.08 and including also facilities for
26 activities of administration and educational support
27 personnel employees. Title in and to any such facilities
28 shall be held in accordance with the joint agreement.
29 Any such bonds or notes shall be authorized by a
30 resolution of the governing board. The resolution may
31 contain such covenants as may be deemed necessary or
32 advisable by the governing board to assure the payment of the
33 bonds or notes and interest accruing thereon. The resolution
34 shall be effective immediately upon its adoption.
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1 Each school district that is a party to the joint
2 agreement shall be automatically liable, by virtue of its
3 membership in the joint agreement, for its proportionate
4 share of the principal amount of the bonds and notes plus
5 interest accruing thereon, as provided in the resolution.
6 Subject to the joint and several liability hereinafter
7 provided for, the resolution may provide for different
8 payment schedules for different districts except that the
9 aggregate amount of scheduled payments for each district
10 shall be equal to its proportionate share of the debt service
11 in the bonds or notes based upon the fraction that its
12 equalized assessed valuation bears to the total equalized
13 assessed valuation of all the district members of the joint
14 agreement as adjusted in the manner hereinafter provided. In
15 computing that fraction the most recent available equalized
16 assessed valuation at the time of the issuance of the bonds
17 and notes shall be used, and the equalized assessed valuation
18 of any district maintaining grades K to 12 shall be doubled
19 in both the numerator and denominator of the fraction used
20 for all of the districts that are members of the joint
21 agreement. In case of default in payment by any member, each
22 school district that is a party to the joint agreement shall
23 automatically be jointly and severally liable for the amount
24 of any deficiency. The bonds or notes and interest thereon
25 shall be payable solely and only from the funds made
26 available pursuant to the procedures set forth in this
27 subsection. No project authorized under this subsection may
28 require an annual contribution for bond payments from any
29 member district in excess of 0.15% of the value of taxable
30 property as equalized or assessed by the Department of
31 Revenue in the case of districts maintaining grades K-8 or
32 9-12 and 0.30% of the value of taxable property as equalized
33 or assessed by the Department of Revenue in the case of
34 districts maintaining grades K-12. This limitation on taxing
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1 authority is expressly applicable to taxing authority
2 provided under Section 17-9 and other applicable Sections of
3 this Act. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be
4 construed as an exception to the property tax limitations
5 contained in Section 17-2, 17-2.2a, 17-5, or any other
6 applicable Section of this Act.
7 Neither the bonds or notes nor the obligation to pay the
8 bonds or notes under any joint agreement shall constitute an
9 indebtedness of any district within the meaning of any
10 constitutional or statutory limitation.
11 As long as any bonds or notes are outstanding and unpaid,
12 the obligation of a district to pay its proportionate share
13 of the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes as
14 required in this Section shall be a general obligation of the
15 district payable from any and all sources of revenue
16 designated for that purpose by the board of education of the
17 district and shall be irrevocable notwithstanding the
18 district's withdrawal from membership in the joint special
19 education program.
20 (Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95; 89-613, eff. 8-9-96;
21 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; 90-103, eff. 7-11-97; 90-515, eff.
22 8-22-97; revised 11-13-97.)
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24 becoming law.