SB0079sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 3/14/2011

09700SB0079sam001 LRB097 05361 NHT 52839 a

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

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

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

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 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 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

on page 18, by deleting lines 1 through 12; and

on page 18, line 13, by replacing "(j)" with "(h)".