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

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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

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

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

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attendance figure. A unit school district's Category II grant
index shall be used for projects or portions of projects
constructed for high school pupils. The changes made by this
amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly apply to all
grants made on or after the effective date of this amendatory
Act, provided that for grants not yet made on the effective
date of this amendatory Act but made in fiscal year 2001 and
for grants made in fiscal year 2002, the grant index for a
school district shall be the greater of (i) the grant index as
calculated under this Law on or after the effective date of
this amendatory Act or (ii) the grant index as calculated
under this Law before the effective date of this amendatory
Act. The grant index shall be no less than 0.35 and no greater
than 0.75 for each district; provided that the grant index for
districts whose equalized assessed valuation per pupil in
average daily attendance is at the 99th percentile and above
for all districts of the same type shall be 0.00. 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. Whichever
grant index is the highest shall be used as the grant index for
the newly consolidated school district or approved cooperative
high school.
The grant index shall be calculated for each of those
school districts forming a reorganized school district or

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

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

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

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

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