Statutes > Illinois Statutes > CHAPTER 105 SCHOOLS > 105 ILCS 5/ School Code. > Article 27A - Charter Schools

Article 27A - Charter Schools


      (105 ILCS 5/Art. 27A heading)
ARTICLE 27A
CHARTER SCHOOLS

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑1)
    Sec. 27A‑1. Short title and application. This Article may be cited as the Charter Schools Law. This Article applies in all school districts, including special charter districts and school districts located in cities having a population of more than 500,000.
(Source: P.A. 89‑450, eff. 4‑10‑96.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑2)
    Sec. 27A‑2. Legislative declaration.
    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
        (1) Encouraging educational excellence is in the
     best interests of the people of this State.
        (2) There are educators, community members, and
     parents in Illinois who can offer flexible and innovative educational techniques and programs, but who lack an avenue through which to provide them within the public school system.
        (3) The enactment of legislation authorizing charter
     schools to operate in Illinois will promote new options within the public school system and will provide pupils, educators, community members, and parents with the stimulus to strive for educational excellence.
    (b) The General Assembly further finds and declares that this Article is enacted for the following purposes:
        (1) To improve pupil learning by creating schools
     with high, rigorous standards for pupil performance.
        (2) To increase learning opportunities for all
     pupils, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for at‑risk pupils, consistent, however, with an equal commitment to increase learning opportunities for all other groups of pupils in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special education services.
        (3) To encourage the use of teaching methods that
     may be different in some respects than others regularly used in the public school system.
        (4) To allow the development of new, different, or
     alternative forms of measuring pupil learning and achievement.
        (5) To create new professional opportunities for
     teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site.
        (6) To provide parents and pupils with expanded
     choices within the public school system.
        (7) To encourage parental and community involvement
     with public schools.
        (8) To hold charter schools accountable for meeting
     rigorous school content standards and to provide those schools with the opportunity to improve accountability.
    (c) In authorizing charter schools, it is the intent of the General Assembly to create a legitimate avenue for parents, teachers, and community members to take responsible risks and create new, innovative, and more flexible ways of educating children within the public school system. The General Assembly seeks to create opportunities within the public school system of Illinois for development of innovative and accountable teaching techniques. The provisions of this Article should be interpreted liberally to support the findings and goals of this Section and to advance a renewed commitment by the State of Illinois to the mission, goals, and diversity of public education.
(Source: P.A. 89‑450, eff. 4‑10‑96; 90‑548, eff. 1‑1‑98.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑3)
    Sec. 27A‑3. Definitions. For purposes of this Article:
    "At‑risk pupil" means a pupil who, because of physical, emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors, is less likely to succeed in a conventional educational environment.
    "Local school board" means the duly elected or appointed school board or board of education of a public school district, including special charter districts and school districts located in cities having a population of more than 500,000, organized under the laws of this State.
    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
(Source: P.A. 89‑450, eff. 4‑10‑96.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑4)
    Sec. 27A‑4. General Provisions.
    (a) The General Assembly does not intend to alter or amend the provisions of any court‑ordered desegregation plan in effect for any school district. A charter school shall be subject to all federal and State laws and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, or need for special education services.
    (b) The total number of charter schools operating under this Article at any one time shall not exceed 120. Not more than 70 charter schools shall operate at any one time in any city having a population exceeding 500,000 and not more than 45 charter schools shall operate at any one time in the remainder of the State, with not more than one charter school that has been initiated by a board of education, or by an intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of education, operating at any one time in the school district where the charter school is located. In addition to these charter schools, up to but no more than 5 charter schools devoted exclusively to re‑enrolled high school dropouts may operate at any one time in any city having a population exceeding 500,000. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in subsection (b) of Section 27A‑5 of this Code, each such dropout charter may operate up to 15 campuses within the city. Any of these dropout charters may have a maximum of 1,875 enrollment seats, any one of the campuses of the dropout charter may have a maximum of 165 enrollment seats, and each campus of the dropout charter must be operated by the same legal entity as that for which the charter is approved and certified.
    For purposes of implementing this Section, the State Board shall assign a number to each charter submission it receives under Section 27A‑6 for its review and certification, based on the chronological order in which the submission is received by it. The State Board shall promptly notify local school boards when the maximum numbers of certified charter schools authorized to operate have been reached.
    (c) No charter shall be granted under this Article that would convert any existing private, parochial, or non‑public school to a charter school.
    (d) Enrollment in a charter school shall be open to any pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area served by the local school board, provided that the board of education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may designate attendance boundaries for no more than one‑third of the charter schools permitted in the city if the board of education determines that attendance boundaries are needed to relieve overcrowding or to better serve low‑income and at‑risk students. Students residing within an attendance boundary may be given priority for enrollment, but must not be required to attend the charter school.
    (e) Nothing in this Article shall prevent 2 or more local school boards from jointly issuing a charter to a single shared charter school, provided that all of the provisions of this Article are met as to those local school boards.
    (f) No local school board shall require any employee of the school district to be employed in a charter school.
    (g) No local school board shall require any pupil residing within the geographic boundary of its district to enroll in a charter school.
    (h) If there are more eligible applicants for enrollment in a charter school than there are spaces available, successful applicants shall be selected by lottery. However, priority shall be given to siblings of pupils enrolled in the charter school and to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause, and priority may be given to pupils residing within the charter school's attendance boundary, if a boundary has been designated by the board of education in a city having a population exceeding 500,000. Dual enrollment at both a charter school and a public school or non‑public school shall not be allowed. A pupil who is suspended or expelled from a charter school shall be deemed to be suspended or expelled from the public schools of the school district in which the pupil resides. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection (h), any charter school with a mission exclusive to educating high school dropouts may restrict admission to students who are high school dropouts.
    (i) (Blank).
    (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a school district in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 shall not have a duty to collectively bargain with an exclusive representative of its employees over decisions to grant or deny a charter school proposal under Section 27A‑8 of this Code, decisions to renew or revoke a charter under Section 27A‑9 of this Code, and the impact of these decisions, provided that nothing in this Section shall have the effect of negating, abrogating, replacing, reducing, diminishing, or limiting in any way employee rights, guarantees, or privileges granted in Sections 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, and 15 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.
(Source: P.A. 96‑105, eff. 7‑30‑09.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑5)
    Sec. 27A‑5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
    (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 authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
    (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 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.
    (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 shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.
    (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.
    (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.
    (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.
    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State laws and regulations in the School Code governing public schools and local school board policies, except the following:
        (1) Sections 10‑21.9 and 34‑18.5 of the School Code
    regarding criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for employment;
        (2) Sections 24‑24 and 34‑84A of the School Code
    regarding discipline of students;
        (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
    Tort Immunity Act;
        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of officers, directors, employees, and agents;
        (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
        (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act;
        (7) Section 10‑17a of the School Code regarding
    school report cards; and
        (8) The P‑20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act.
    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 perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter. However, a charter school that is established on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and that operates in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for‑profit entity to 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 shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
    (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 to negotiation between the charter school and the local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or grade level.
(Source: P.A. 96‑104, eff. 1‑1‑10; 96‑105, eff. 7‑30‑09; 96‑107, eff. 7‑30‑09; 96‑734, eff. 8‑25‑09; 96‑1000, eff. 7‑2‑10.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑6)
    Sec. 27A‑6. Contract contents; applicability of laws and regulations.
    (a) A certified charter shall constitute a binding contract and agreement between the charter school and a local school board under the terms of which the local school board authorizes the governing body of the charter school to operate the charter school on the terms specified in the contract.
    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the certified charter may not waive or release the charter school from the State goals, standards, and assessments established pursuant to Section 2‑3.64. Beginning with the 2003‑2004 school year, the certified charter for a charter school operating in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 shall require the charter school to administer any other nationally recognized standardized tests to its students that the chartering entity administers to other students, and the results on such tests shall be included in the chartering entity's assessment reports.
    (c) Subject to the provisions of subsection (e), a material revision to a previously certified contract or a renewal shall be made with the approval of both the local school board and the governing body of the charter school.
    (c‑5) The proposed contract shall include a provision on how both parties will address minor violations of the contract.
    (d) The proposed contract between the governing body of a proposed charter school and the local school board as described in Section 27A‑7 must be submitted to and certified by the State Board before it can take effect. If the State Board recommends that the proposed contract be modified for consistency with this Article before it can be certified, the modifications must be consented to by both the governing body of the charter school and the local school board, and resubmitted to the State Board for its certification. If the proposed contract is resubmitted in a form that is not consistent with this Article, the State Board may refuse to certify the charter.
    The State Board shall assign a number to each submission or resubmission in chronological order of receipt, and shall determine whether the proposed contract is consistent with the provisions of this Article. If the proposed contract complies, the State Board shall so certify.
    (e) No material revision to a previously certified contract or a renewal shall be effective unless and until the State Board certifies that the revision or renewal is consistent with the provisions of this Article.
(Source: P.A. 93‑3, eff. 4‑16‑03.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑6.5)
    Sec. 27A‑6.5. Charter school referendum.
    (a) No charter shall be approved under this Section that would convert any existing private, parochial, or non‑public school to a charter school or whose proposal has not been certified by the State Board.
    (b) A local school board shall, whenever petitioned to do so by 5% or more of the voters of a school district or districts identified in a charter school proposal, order submitted to the voters thereof at a regularly scheduled election the question of whether a new charter school shall be established, which proposal has been certified by the State Board to be in compliance with the provisions of this Article, and the secretary shall certify the proposition to the proper election authorities for submission in accordance with the general election law. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
        "FOR the establishment of (name of proposed charter
     school) under charter school proposal (charter school proposal number).
        AGAINST the establishment of (name of proposed
     charter school) under charter school proposal (charter school proposal number)".
    (c) Before circulating a petition to submit the question of whether to establish a charter school to the voters under subsection (b) of this Section, the governing body of a proposed charter school that desires to establish a new charter school by referendum shall submit the charter school proposal to the State Board in the form of a proposed contract to be entered into between the State Board and the governing body of the proposed charter school, as provided under Section 27A‑6, together with written notice of the intent to have a new charter school established by referendum. The contract shall comply with the provisions of this Article.
    If the State Board finds that the proposed contract complies with the provisions of this Article, it shall immediately certify that the proposed contract complies with the provisions of this Article and direct the local school board to notify the proper election authorities that the question of whether to establish a new charter school shall be submitted for referendum.
    (d) If the State Board finds that the proposal fails to comply with the provisions of this Article, it shall refuse to certify the proposal and provide written explanation, detailing its reasons for refusal, to the local school board and to the individuals or organizations submitting the proposal. The State Board shall also notify the local school board and the individuals or organizations submitting the proposal that the proposal may be amended and resubmitted under the same provisions required for an original submission.
    (e) If a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition in each school district designated in the charter school proposal is in favor of establishing a charter school, the local school board shall notify the State Board of the passage of the proposition in favor of establishing a charter school and the State Board shall approve the charter within 7 days after the State Board of Elections has certified that a majority of the votes cast upon the proposition is in favor of establishing a charter school. The State Board shall be the chartering entity for charter schools established by referendum under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 91‑407, eff. 8‑3‑99.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑7)
    Sec. 27A‑7. Charter submission.
    (a) A proposal to establish a charter school shall be submitted to the State Board and the local school board in the form of a proposed contract entered into between the local school board and the governing body of a proposed charter school. The charter school proposal as submitted to the State Board shall include:
        (1) The name of the proposed charter school, which
     must include the words "Charter School".
        (2) The age or grade range, areas of focus, minimum
     and maximum numbers of pupils to be enrolled in the charter school, and any other admission criteria that would be legal if used by a school district.
        (3) A description of and address for the physical
     plant in which the charter school will be located; provided that nothing in the Article shall be deemed to justify delaying or withholding favorable action on or approval of a charter school proposal because the building or buildings in which the charter school is to be located have not been acquired or rented at the time a charter school proposal is submitted or approved or a charter school contract is entered into or submitted for certification or certified, so long as the proposal or submission identifies and names at least 2 sites that are potentially available as a charter school facility by the time the charter school is to open.
        (4) The mission statement of the charter school,
     which must be consistent with the General Assembly's declared purposes; provided that nothing in this Article shall be construed to require that, in order to receive favorable consideration and approval, a charter school proposal demonstrate unequivocally that the charter school will be able to meet each of those declared purposes, it being the intention of the Charter Schools Law that those purposes be recognized as goals that charter schools must aspire to attain.
        (5) The goals, objectives, and pupil performance
     standards to be achieved by the charter school.
        (6) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter
     school by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed formation of the charter school has received the approval of certified teachers, parents and guardians, and, if applicable, a local school council as provided in subsection (b) of Section 27A‑8.
        (7) A description of the charter school's
     educational program, pupil performance standards, curriculum, school year, school days, and hours of operation.
        (8) A description of the charter school's plan for
     evaluating pupil performance, the types of assessments that will be used to measure pupil progress towards achievement of the school's pupil performance standards, the timeline for achievement of those standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that pupil performance at the charter school falls below those standards.
        (9) Evidence that the terms of the charter as
     proposed are economically sound for both the charter school and the school district, a proposed budget for the term of the charter, a description of the manner in which an annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the charter school, including any services provided by the school district, are to be conducted, and a plan for the displacement of pupils, teachers, and other employees who will not attend or be employed in the charter school.
        (10) A description of the governance and operation
     of the charter school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governance and operation of the charter school.
        (11) An explanation of the relationship that will
     exist between the charter school and its employees, including evidence that the terms and conditions of employment have been addressed with affected employees and their recognized representative, if any. However, a bargaining unit of charter school employees shall be separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed from employees of a school district in which the charter school is located.
        (12) An agreement between the parties regarding
     their respective legal liability and applicable insurance coverage.
        (13) A description of how the charter school plans
     to meet the transportation needs of its pupils, and a plan for addressing the transportation needs of low‑income and at‑risk pupils.
        (14) The proposed effective date and term of the
     charter; provided that the first day of the first academic year and the first day of the fiscal year shall be no earlier than August 15 and no later than September 15 of a calendar year.
        (15) Any other information reasonably required by
     the State Board of Education.
    (b) A proposal to establish a charter school may be initiated by individuals or organizations that will have majority representation on the board of directors or other governing body of the corporation or other discrete legal entity that is to be established to operate the proposed charter school, by a board of education or an intergovernmental agreement between or among boards of education, or by the board of directors or other governing body of a discrete legal entity already existing or established to operate the proposed charter school. The individuals or organizations referred to in this subsection may be school teachers, school administrators, local school councils, colleges or universities or their faculty members, public community colleges or their instructors or other representatives, corporations, or other entities or their representatives. The proposal shall be submitted to the local school board for consideration and, if appropriate, for development of a proposed contract to be submitted to the State Board for certification under Section 27A‑6.
    (c) The local school board may not without the consent of the governing body of the charter school condition its approval of a charter school proposal on acceptance of an agreement to operate under State laws and regulations and local school board policies from which the charter school is otherwise exempted under this Article.
(Source: P.A. 90‑548, eff. 1‑1‑98; 91‑405, eff. 8‑3‑99.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27A‑8)
    Sec. 27A‑8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
    (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school established by referendum under Section 27A‑6.5. In evaluating any charter school proposal submitted to it, the local school board shall give preference to proposals that:
        (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil,
    parental, community, business, and school personnel support;
        (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement
    and demonstrate feasible plans for attaining those levels of achievement; and
        (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial
    proportion of at‑risk children; provided that nothing in the Charter Schools Law shall be construed as intended to limit the establishment of charter schools to those that serve a substantial portion of at‑risk children or to in any manner restrict, limit, or discourage the establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve other pupil populations under a nonexclusive, nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
    (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school by converting an existing public school or attendance center to charter school status, evidence that the proposed formatio