Bill Text: IL HB4322 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Provides that, before making any decisions on a school closure, a school board (other than the Chicago Board of Education) shall appoint a district advisory committee to advise and make recommendations to the school board about the school closure. Sets forth provisions concerning committee membership, information the committee must gather, and public hearings. Requires the committee to make a recommendation to the school board on school closure, and requires the school board to take into account the committee's recommendation on school closure when making a final decision.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-08 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4322 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB4322-Introduced.html

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99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2015 and 2016 HB4322 Introduced , by Rep. Margo McDermed SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/10-20.58 new
Amends the School Code. Provides that, before making any decisions on a school closure, a school board (other than the Chicago Board of Education) shall appoint a district advisory committee to advise and make recommendations to the school board about the school closure. Sets forth provisions concerning committee membership, information the committee must gather, and public hearings. Requires the committee to make a recommendation to the school board on school closure, and requires the school board to take into account the committee's recommendation on school closure when making a final decision.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
A BILL FOR
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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
10-20.58 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/10-20.58 new)
Sec. 10-20.58. School closure; district advisory
committee.
(a) In this Section, "school closure" means the closing of
a school the effect of which is the assignment and transfer of
all students enrolled at that school to one or more designated
receiving schools.
(b) Before making any decisions on a school closure, a
school board shall appoint a district advisory committee to
advise and make recommendations to the school board about the
school closure. The committee shall consist of 9 members. The
following shall be represented on the committee:
(1) The ethnic, age group, and socioeconomic
composition of the school district.
(2) The business community within the boundaries of the
district.
(3) Landowners or renters within the boundaries of the
district.

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(4) In a district with multiple schools, a community
member from the boundaries of each school in the district.
(5) Teachers employed by the district.
(6) District administrators.
(7) Parents of students who are enrolled in the
district.
(8) Persons with expertise in environmental impacts,
legal contracts, building codes, and land-use planning.
The members of the district advisory committee shall serve
without compensation. The committee shall elect a chairperson
from among its members.
(c) Before making any recommendations on school closure,
the district advisory committee shall gather the following
information:
(1) The enrollment projections for the school
district, including enrollment projections for each school
in the district and the projection's impact on each school
facility.
(2) The capacity and conditions of existing schools and
their ability to accommodate displaced students.
(3) The per-student operating cost at each of the
district's schools.
(4) The education program and opportunity at each of
the district's schools.
(5) The cost-savings that would result from the closure
of a school.

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(6) The transportation options for displaced students.
(7) Cost-saving alternatives to closing schools.
The district advisory committee shall gather any other
pertinent information on the school district that it deems
necessary in order to advise the school board on school
closure. The district shall provide the committee with any
information requested by the committee and shall provide
administrative and other support to the committee.
(d) The district advisory committee shall hold a public
hearing at each of the schools in the school district to elicit
public comment on the possibility of school closure and the
effects that the school closure would have on the students,
parents, and the community. A public notice of each public
hearing must be published at least 5 days before the hearing on
the district's Internet website, if any, and in a newspaper of
general circulation in the geographic region of the district.
Following these public hearings, the district advisory
committee shall make a recommendation, based on its analysis
and conclusions, to the school board on school closure. The
school board shall take into account the committee's
recommendation on school closure when making a final decision.
Upon making its recommendation, the committee is dissolved.