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| Public Act 098-0669
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| HB5707 Enrolled | LRB098 18990 OMW 54139 b |
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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 |
27-23.7 and 27A-5 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/27-23.7) |
Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention. |
(a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school |
environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and |
that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional |
harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn |
and participate in school activities. The General Assembly |
further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of |
antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping |
and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol, |
sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative |
outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General |
Assembly finds that school districts, charter schools, and |
non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools |
should educate students, parents, and school district, charter |
school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary |
school personnel about what behaviors constitute prohibited |
bullying. |
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Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, |
religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, |
physical or mental disability, military status, sexual |
orientation, gender-related identity or expression, |
unfavorable discharge from military service, association with |
a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual |
or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing |
characteristic is prohibited in all school districts, charter |
schools, and non-public, non-sectarian elementary and |
secondary schools.
No student shall be subjected to bullying: |
(1) during any school-sponsored education program or |
activity; |
(2) while in school, on school property, on school |
buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus |
stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or |
school-sanctioned events or activities; or |
(3) through the transmission of information from a |
school computer, a school computer network, or other |
similar electronic school equipment. |
(a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon |
any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of |
religion or religiously based views protected under the First |
Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3 |
of Article I of the Illinois Constitution. |
(b) In this Section:
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"Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal |
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act or conduct, including communications made in writing or |
electronically, directed toward a student or students that has |
or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or |
more of the following: |
(1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear |
of harm to the student's or students' person or property; |
(2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the |
student's or students' physical or mental health; |
(3) substantially interfering with the student's or |
students' academic performance; or |
(4) substantially interfering with the student's or |
students' ability to participate in or benefit from the |
services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. |
Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take |
various forms, including without limitation one or more of the |
following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, |
physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, |
public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation |
for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is |
meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive. |
"Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy |
that meets the following criteria: |
(1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this |
Section. |
(2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to |
State law and the policy of the school district, charter |
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school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or |
secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) of |
this Section. |
(3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting |
bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and |
providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and |
school telephone number for the staff person or persons |
responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for |
anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed |
to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis of |
an anonymous report. |
(4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules |
governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for |
promptly informing parents or guardians of all students |
involved in the alleged incident of bullying and |
discussing, as appropriate, the availability of social |
work services, counseling, school psychological services, |
other interventions, and restorative measures. |
(5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and |
addressing reports of bullying, including the following: |
(A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the |
investigation within 10 school days after the date the |
report of the incident of bullying was received and |
taking into consideration additional relevant |
information received during the course of the |
investigation about the reported incident of bullying. |
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(B) Involving appropriate school support personnel |
and other staff persons with knowledge, experience, |
and training on bullying prevention, as deemed |
appropriate, in the investigation process. |
(C) Notifying the principal or school |
administrator or his or her designee of the report of |
the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the |
report is received. |
(D) Consistent with federal and State laws and |
rules governing student privacy rights, providing |
parents and guardians of the students who are parties |
to the investigation information about the |
investigation and an opportunity to meet with the |
principal or school administrator or his or her |
designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of |
the investigation, and the actions taken to address the |
reported incident of bullying. |
(6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to |
address bullying, which may include, but are not limited |
to, school social work services, restorative measures, |
social-emotional skill building, counseling, school |
psychological services, and community-based services. |
(7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or |
retaliation against any person who reports an act of |
bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial |
actions for a person who engages in reprisal or |
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retaliation. |
(8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial |
actions for a person found to have falsely accused another |
of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of |
bullying. |
(9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school |
stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians. |
(10) Is posted on the school district's, charter
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school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
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secondary school's existing Internet website and is
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included in the student handbook, and, where applicable,
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posted where other policies, rules, and standards of
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conduct are currently posted in the school, and is
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distributed annually to parents, guardians, students, and
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school personnel, including new employees when hired. |
(11) As part of the process of reviewing and |
re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this |
Section, contains a policy evaluation process to assess the |
outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that includes, but |
is not limited to, factors such as the frequency of |
victimization; student, staff, and family observations of |
safety at a school; identification of areas of a school |
where bullying occurs; the types of bullying utilized; and |
bystander intervention or participation. The school |
district, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian |
elementary or secondary school may use relevant data and |
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information it already collects for other purposes in the |
policy evaluation. The information developed as a result of |
the policy evaluation must be made available on the |
Internet website of the school district, charter school, or |
non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school. |
If an Internet website is not available, the information |
must be provided to school administrators, school board |
members, school personnel, parents, guardians, and |
students. |
(12) Is consistent with the policies of the school |
board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian |
elementary or secondary school. |
"Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based |
alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions |
and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs |
of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining |
school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and |
productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal |
and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in |
school and society, (v) serve to build and restore |
relationships among students, families, schools, and |
communities, and (vi) reduce the likelihood of future |
disruption by balancing accountability with an understanding |
of students' behavioral health needs in order to keep students |
in school. |
"School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract |
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with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter schools, |
or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school, |
including without limitation school and school district |
administrators, teachers, school guidance counselors, school |
social workers, school counselors, school psychologists, |
school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, |
school resource officers, and security guards. |
(c) (Blank).
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(d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public, |
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create, and |
maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy must |
be filed with the State Board of Education. Every 2 years, each |
school district, charter school, and non-public, non-sectarian |
elementary or secondary school shall conduct a review and |
re-evaluation of its policy and make any necessary and |
appropriate revisions. Each school district and non-public, |
non-sectarian elementary or secondary school must communicate |
its policy on bullying to its students and their parent or |
guardian on an annual basis. The policy must be updated every 2 |
years and filed with the State Board of Education after being |
updated. The State Board of Education shall monitor and provide |
technical support for the implementation of policies created |
under this subsection (d). |
(e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a |
victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or |
criminal law.
Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe |
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upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise |
of religion or religiously based views protected under the |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under |
Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution. |
(Source: P.A. 95-198, eff. 1-1-08; 95-349, eff. 8-23-07; |
95-876, eff. 8-21-08; 96-952, eff. 6-28-10.)
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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.
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
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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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(b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means |
the teaching of courses through online methods with online |
instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at |
the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes |
without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online |
virtual schools. |
From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a |
moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with |
virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a |
school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This |
moratorium does not apply to a charter school with |
virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to |
April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter |
school with virtual-schooling components already approved |
prior to April 1, 2013. |
On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to |
the General Assembly a report on the effect of |
virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on |
student performance, the costs associated with |
virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall |
include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
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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. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must |
submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the |
Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal |
Internal Revenue Service.
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(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of |
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
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its charter. A charter
school is exempt from all other State |
laws and regulations in this the School Code
governing public
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schools and local school board policies, except the following:
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(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this the School |
Code regarding criminal
history records checks and checks |
of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide |
Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of |
applicants for employment;
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(2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this the School Code |
regarding discipline of
students;
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(3) the 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 The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
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(6) the The Illinois School Student Records Act;
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(7) Section 10-17a of this the School Code regarding |
school report cards; and
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(8) the The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System |
Act; and . |
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying |
prevention. |
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) |
is declaratory of existing law. |
(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 |
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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
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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
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to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school |
board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
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