Bill Text: IL SB0345 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the School Construction Law. Provides that for school districts that have consolidated or approved a cooperative high school within a prior fiscal year, the grant index shall be calculated for each of those school districts that form the new school district or cooperative high school. Provides that whichever grant index is the highest shall be used as the grant index for the newly consolidated school district or approved cooperative high school. In a provision concerning the priority of school construction projects, adds 2 categories of capital needs and reorders the priority of the remaining categories of capital needs. Makes a related change. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB0345 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB0345-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0345

Introduced 2/2/2023, by Sen. Christopher Belt

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 230/5-5
105 ILCS 230/5-30
105 ILCS 230/5-60

Amends the School Construction Law. Provides that for school districts that have consolidated or approved a cooperative high school within a prior fiscal year, the grant index shall be calculated for each of those school districts that form the new school district or cooperative high school. Provides that whichever grant index is the highest shall be used as the grant index for the newly consolidated school district or approved cooperative high school. Amends the priority of school construction projects by adding 2 additional categories of capital needs and reordering the priority of the remaining categories of capital needs. Makes a related change. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Construction Law is amended by
5changing Sections 5-5, 5-30, and 5-60 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 230/5-5)
7 Sec. 5-5. Definitions. As used in this Article:
8 "Conditional grant award" means the formal notification by
9the Capital Development Board to a school district of its
10conditional intent to award a grant to a school district to pay
11a portion of the recognized project cost for a school
12construction project. The grant award is conditioned upon
13receiving proof from the school district that it has funds
14available to cover the cost of the required local match.
15 "Grant award amount" means an amount equal to the
16recognized project cost determined by the Capital Development
17Board for a school construction project multiplied by the
18grant award percentage and then adjusted as may be required
19pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 5-15.
20 "Grant award percentage" means a percentage equal to one
21minus the required local match percentage.
22 "Grant index" means a figure for each school district
23equal to one minus the ratio of the district's equalized

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1assessed valuation per pupil in average daily attendance to
2the equalized assessed valuation per pupil in average daily
3attendance of the district located at the 90th percentile for
4all districts of the same category. This definition applies
5only to completed or partially completed, as determined by the
6Capital Development Board, school construction projects for
7which a grant application was filed for the 2004, 2005, or 2006
8application cycle by a school district included on the State
9Board of Education's 2004, 2005, or 2006 School Construction
10Project Application Cycle listing and only for the purpose of
11determining the amount of any adjustment pursuant to
12subsection (d) of Section 5-15 to a grant award amount for a
13project funded during the first application cycle opened after
14June 30, 2022. For the purpose of calculating the grant index,
15school districts are grouped into 2 categories, Category I and
16Category II. Category I consists of elementary and unit school
17districts. The equalized assessed valuation per pupil in
18average daily attendance of each school district in Category I
19shall be computed using its grades kindergarten through 8
20average daily attendance figure. A unit school district's
21Category I grant index shall be used for projects or portions
22of projects constructed for elementary school pupils. Category
23II consists of high school and unit school districts. The
24equalized assessed valuation per pupil in average daily
25attendance of each school district in Category II shall be
26computed using its grades 9 through 12 average daily

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1attendance figure. A unit school district's Category II grant
2index shall be used for projects or portions of projects
3constructed for high school pupils. The changes made by this
4amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly apply to all
5grants made on or after the effective date of this amendatory
6Act, provided that for grants not yet made on the effective
7date of this amendatory Act but made in fiscal year 2001 and
8for grants made in fiscal year 2002, the grant index for a
9school district shall be the greater of (i) the grant index as
10calculated under this Law on or after the effective date of
11this amendatory Act or (ii) the grant index as calculated
12under this Law before the effective date of this amendatory
13Act. The grant index shall be no less than 0.35 and no greater
14than 0.75 for each district; provided that the grant index for
15districts whose equalized assessed valuation per pupil in
16average daily attendance is at the 99th percentile and above
17for all districts of the same type shall be 0.00. For school
18districts that have consolidated or approved a cooperative
19high school within a prior fiscal year, the grant index shall
20be calculated for each of those school districts that form the
21new school district or cooperative high school. Whichever
22grant index is the highest shall be used as the grant index for
23the newly consolidated school district or approved cooperative
24high school.
25 The grant index shall be calculated for each of those
26school districts forming a reorganized school district or

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1cooperative high school if one or more of the following happen
2within the current or prior 2 fiscal years:
3 (1) a new school district is created in accordance
4 with Article 11E of the School Code;
5 (2) an existing school district annexes all of the
6 territory of one or more entire other school districts in
7 accordance with Article 7 of the School Code; or
8 (3) a cooperative high school is formed in accordance
9 with Section 10-22.22c of the School Code.
10The average grant index of those school districts shall be
11used as the grant index for the newly reorganized district or
12cooperative high school.
13 "Recognized project cost" means the total project cost for
14a school construction project determined by the Capital
15Development Board to be taken into account in calculating the
16grant award amount and the required local match for a school
17construction project.
18 "Required local match" means an amount equal to the
19product of the recognized project cost determined by the
20Capital Development Board multiplied by a school district's
21required local match percentage, and then adjusted as may be
22required pursuant to Section 5-15.
23 "Required local match percentage" means a percentage equal
24to a school district's Local Capacity Percentage, as defined
25in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code, and as calculated by the
26State Superintendent of Education in the fiscal year in which

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1the school district applies for a grant to be awarded pursuant
2to this Article, provided that the required local match
3percentage shall be no less than 10% and no greater than 90%
4for any district. With respect to a Type 40 area vocational
5center cooperative, a special education cooperative, or a
6cooperative high school, the required local match percentage
7is calculated by first multiplying each cooperative member
8district's average student enrollment utilized to calculate
9its latest Evidence-Based Funding, as defined in Section
1018-8.15 of the School Code, by the respective district's
11latest Local Capacity Percentage, as defined in Section
1218-8.15 of the School Code, to obtain a weighted average
13student enrollment. Then, the required local match percentage
14is calculated by taking the sum of all the member districts'
15weighted average student enrollment and dividing that sum by
16the sum of all the member districts' average student
17enrollment utilized to calculate the latest Evidence-Based
18Funding.
19 "School construction project" means the acquisition,
20development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
21improvement, architectural planning, and installation of
22capital facilities consisting of buildings, structures,
23durable equipment, and land for educational purposes.
24 "School district" means a school district or a Type 40
25area vocational center or special education cooperative that
26is jointly owned, if the joint agreement includes language

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1that specifies how the debt obligation is to be paid,
2including in the event that an entity withdraws from the joint
3agreement.
4 "School district" includes a cooperative high school, if
5the cooperative agreement includes language that specifies how
6the debt obligation is to be paid, including if an entity
7withdraws from the cooperative agreement or the cooperative
8agreement is terminated.
9 "School maintenance project" means a project, other than a
10school construction project, intended to provide for the
11maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for
12educational purposes, but does not include ongoing operational
13costs.
14(Source: P.A. 102-723, eff. 5-6-22.)
15 (105 ILCS 230/5-30)
16 Sec. 5-30. Priority of school construction projects. The
17State Board of Education shall develop standards for the
18determination of priority needs concerning school construction
19projects based upon approved district facilities plans. Such
20standards shall call for prioritization based on the degree of
21need and project type in the following order:
22 (1) Replacement, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of
23 school buildings destroyed or damaged by flood, tornado,
24 fire, earthquake, mine subsidence, or other disasters,
25 either man-made or produced by nature;

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1 (1.5) Rehabilitation or reconstruction of school
2 facilities determined to be severe and continuing health
3 or life safety hazards;
4 (1.10) Rehabilitation of school facilities to
5 alleviate:
6 (A) a shortage of classrooms due to population
7 growth; or
8 (B) aging school buildings;
9 (2) (Blank); Projects designed to alleviate a shortage
10 of classrooms due to population growth or to replace or
11 rehabilitate aging school buildings;
12 (3) Projects resulting from interdistrict
13 reorganization of school districts contingent on local
14 referenda;
15 (3.5) Projects other than rehabilitation specified in
16 paragraph (1.10) designed to alleviate a shortage of
17 classrooms due to population growth or to replace aging
18 school buildings;
19 (4) Replacement, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of
20 school facilities determined to be severe and continuing
21 health or life safety hazards;
22 (5) Alterations necessary to provide accessibility for
23 qualified individuals with disabilities; and
24 (6) Other unique solutions to facility needs.
25(Source: P.A. 102-723, eff. 5-6-22.)

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1 (105 ILCS 230/5-60)
2 Sec. 5-60. School capital needs assessment. The State
3Board of Education and the Capital Development Board shall
4file with the General Assembly a comprehensive assessment
5report of the capital needs of all school districts in this
6State before January 1, 2005 and every 2 years thereafter.
7This assessment shall include without limitation an analysis
8of the 6 categories of capital needs prioritized in Section
95-30 of this Law.
10(Source: P.A. 93-489, eff. 8-8-03.)
11 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.
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