Bill Text: IL SB0079 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Establishes a State Charter School Commission as an independent State agency with statewide chartering jurisdiction and authority, consisting of 9 members appointed by the State Board of Education on the recommendation of a slate of candidates proposed by the Governor. Provides that the Commission is responsible for authorizing high-quality charter schools throughout this State. Allows the Commission to charge a charter school that it authorizes a fee, not to exceed 3% of the revenue provided to the school, to cover the cost of undertaking the ongoing administrative responsibilities of the eligible chartering authority with respect to the school. Provides that any charter school authorized by the State Board prior to the amendatory Act shall have its authorization transferred immediately to the Commission, which shall then become the school's authorizer. Provides that any charter school authorized by a school board may seek approval from the Commission during its current term only with the approval of the school board, and provides that at the end of its charter term, a charter school authorized by a school board must reapply to that board before it may apply for authorization to the Commission. Makes additional changes concerning the Commission, and makes changes concerning authorizers, immunity, the submission of information, and reporting. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2011-07-20 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 97-0152 [SB0079 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-SB0079-Amended.html

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Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 3/14/2011

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 79
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 79 as follows:
on page 1, line 1, after "education", by inserting ", which may
be referred to as the Charter School Quality Law"; and
on page 1, immediately below line 3, by inserting the
following:
"Section 3. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.786 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.786 new)
Sec. 5.786. The State Charter School Commission Fund."; and
on page 6, line 18, by replacing "on the recommendation of a"
with "from"; and

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on page 6, line 19, after "Governor", by inserting ", within 60
days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
97th General Assembly with respect to the initial Commission
members"; and
on page 6, line 21, after the period, by inserting "The
Governor shall propose a slate of candidates to the State Board
within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 97th General Assembly and 60 days prior to the
expiration of the term of a member thereafter. If the Governor
fails to timely propose a slate of candidates according to the
provisions of this subsection (c), then the State Board may
appoint the member or members of the Commission."; and
on page 7, by replacing lines 2 and 3 with the following:
"demonstrated understanding of and a commitment to public
education, including without limitation charter schooling.";
and
on page 7, line 15, by replacing "The" with "Subject to the
State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, the"; and
on page 7, line 20, after the period, by inserting "Funds
received under this subsection (g) must be deposited into the
State Charter School Commission Fund."; and

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on page 7, immediately below line 20, by inserting the
following:
"The State Charter School Commission Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for
operational and administrative costs of the Commission."; and
on page 8, line 7, after the period, by inserting "This fee
must be deposited into the State Charter School Commission
Fund."; and
on page 8, by replacing line 10 with the following:
"its authorization transferred to the Commission upon a vote of
the State Board,"; and
on page 8, line 12, after "Article.", by inserting "However, in
no case shall such transfer take place later than July 1,
2012."; and
on page 8, by replacing line 16 with the following:
"authorized by a local school board or boards may seek transfer
of authorization to the"; and
on page 8, line 18, after "board", by inserting "or boards";
and

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on page 8, line 19, after "board", by inserting "or boards";
and
on page 8, line 20, by replacing "that board" with "the board
or boards"; and
on page 8, immediately below line 22, by inserting the
following:
"On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th
General Assembly, all rules of the State Board applicable to
matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission
shall be applicable to the actions of the Commission. The
Commission shall thereafter have the authority to propose to
the State Board modifications to all rules applicable to
matters falling within the responsibility of the Commission.
The State Board shall retain rulemaking authority for the
Commission, but shall work jointly with the Commission on any
proposed modifications. Upon recommendation of proposed rule
modifications by the Commission and pursuant to the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act, the State Board shall consider
such changes within the intent of this amendatory Act of the
97th General Assembly and grant any and all changes consistent
with that intent.
(l) The Commission shall have the responsibility to
consider appeals under this Article immediately upon
appointment of the initial members of the Commission under

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subsection (c) of this Section. Appeals pending at the time of
initial appointment shall be determined by the Commission; the
Commission may extend the time for review as necessary for
thorough review, but in no case shall the extension exceed the
time that would have been available had the appeal been
submitted to the Commission on the date of appointment of its
initial members. In any appeal filed with the Commission under
this Article, both the applicant and the school district in
which the charter school plans to locate shall have the right
to request a hearing before the Commission. If more than one
entity requests a hearing, then the Commission may hold only
one hearing, wherein the applicant and the school district
shall have an equal opportunity to present their respective
positions."; and
on page 9, line 26, after "authorize", by inserting ", except
for willful or wanton misconduct"; and
on page 14, immediately below line 6, by inserting the
following:
"(h) The Commission may reverse a local school board's
decision to deny a charter school proposal if the Commission
finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with this Article
and (ii) is in the best interests of the students the charter
school is designed to serve. Final decisions of the Commission
are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review

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Law.
(i) In the case of a charter school proposed to be jointly
authorized by 2 or more school districts, the local school
boards may unanimously deny the charter school proposal with a
statement that the local school boards are not opposed to the
charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light
of the complexities of joint administration."; and
on page 16, by replacing lines 16 through 19 with the
following:
"interests of the students it is designed to serve. The State
Board may condition the granting of an appeal on the acceptance
by the charter school of funding in an amount less than that
requested in the proposal submitted to the local school
board."; and
on page 17, by replacing lines 15 through 19 with the
following:
"regarding hours of instruction and teacher certification. The
State Board shall withhold from funds otherwise due the
district the funds authorized by this Article to be paid to the
charter school and shall pay such amounts to the charter
school."; and
on page 17, by deleting lines 23 through 26; and

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on page 18, by deleting lines 1 through 12; and
on page 18, line 13, by replacing "(j)" with "(h)".