Illinois

Illinois law contains a limit of 120 charter schools, with a maximum of 75 in Chicago and 45 in the rest of the state. It reserves five of the charters in Chicago for drop-out recovery schools. There are currently 55 charter schools open in Illinois - 40 in Chicago (including two drop-out recovery charter schools) and 15 in the rest of the state.

Illinois law allows new start-ups and public school conversions.

Illinois law allows local school boards to serve as authorizers.
In 2019, Illinois enacted legislation that eliminated the Illinois Charter School Commission on July 1, 2020 and transferred the Commission’s duties and powers to the Illinois State Board of Education. Under this law, the State Board assumed the charters of all existing Commission schools, has the authority to grant renewals for all existing schools, has the power to grant expansions and amendments to all existing schools, and has the power to reverse a local school board’s decision to revoke or not renew a charter school.

The law also requires a local school board, whenever petitioned to do so by 5% or more of the voters of a school district or districts identified in a charter school proposal, to submit to the voters at a regularly scheduled election the question of whether a new charter school shall be established. The law provides that if the majority of voters approve the referendum, the State Board must enter into a contract with the charter school.

Every odd-numbered year, the law requires all authorizers to submit a report to the state board of education that includes the authorizer’s strategic vision for chartering and process toward achieving that vision, the academic and financial performance of all operating charter schools, the status of the authorizer’s charter school portfolio, and the authorizing functions provided to the charter schools including operating costs and expenses as detailed in annual audited financial statements.
Every even-numbered year (not every year), the state board of education must issue a report to the General Assembly and the Governor containing the aggregate findings from the authorizer reports, information comparing charter school performance with that of traditional schools similarly situated, a review of the regulations and policies from which charter schools are exempted, and suggestions.

Based on this information and their on-going monitoring of both schools and authorizers, the state board of education has the power to remove the power to authorize from any authorizer in the state and, as needed, revoke the chronically low-performing charter schools approved by that authorizer.

Illinois law allows the state board of education to charge up to 3% of the revenues provided to its approved schools. It does not contain a similar provision for school district authorizers.
The law requires the state board of education’s periodic report on charter schools to detail the authorizing functions that authorizers provided to their charter schools, including operating costs and expenses as detailed in annual audited financial statements.

Illinois law provides application elements for all schools. Illinois law provides additional application elements specific to conversion schools.
The law requires authorizers to set a public hearing within 45 days of receipt of application and to determine a decision within 30 days of the public hearing in a public forum. However, it does not require authorizers to conduct an in-person interview of each applicant.

The law does not include application approval criteria. However, the law establishes that authorizers must give priority to those schools demonstrating a high level of community support with rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement and designed to enroll a high percentage of at-risk students.

Under Illinois law, reports of denials, revocations or non-renewals must consist of the charter proposal or current charter contract voted upon by the authorizers. The law requires local school board authorizers to send a copy of each board's resolution setting forth the board's action and its reasons for the action to the state board of education.

Illinois law provides that a certified charter proposal constitutes 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, including the roles, powers, and responsibilities of the charter school and the pupil performance standards to be achieved by the charter school. But such contracts are not required to be separate contracts signed by both legal parties, are not required to define the roles, powers, and responsibilities of authorizers, and are not required to define academic and operational performance expectations by which the school will be judged based on a performance framework.
Illinois law provides that a charter be granted for five years.

The law requires authorizers to submit a bi-annual report regarding their schools to the state board of education.
The law requires charter schools to submit annual audits of their financial and administrative operations as conducted by an independent auditor. In addition if deemed necessary for proper financial oversight of the charter school, the law allows an authorizer to require quarterly financial statements from each charter school.

Illinois law specifically states the powers of authorizers to include the monitoring and oversight of charter schools.

The law requires authorizers to notify a charter school subject to revocation in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to revocation. It requires the charter school to submit a written plan to the authorizer to rectify the problem, which must include a timeline for implementation not to exceed two years or the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier.

Illinois law requires charter schools to submit a renewal proposal to its authorizer.
The law allows a charter to be revoked for committing a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter, failing to meet or make reasonable progress toward achievement of the content standards or pupil performance standards identified in the charter, failing to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management, or violating any provision of law from which the charter school was not exempted. The law provides that renewals can be made for up to 10 years depending on authorizer’s assessment of charter school’s performance. However, the law provides that charter schools authorized by the state board may only be renewed in terms up to 5 years in length.

In the case of revocation, the law requires the authorizer to notify the charter school in writing of the reason why the charter is subject to revocation. It requires the charter school to submit a written plan to the authorizer to rectify the problem, which must include a timeline for implementation not to exceed two years or the date of the charter's expiration, whichever is earlier.

If the authorizer finds that the charter school has failed to implement the plan of remediation and adhere to the timeline, the law requires it to revoke the charter. Except in situations of an emergency where the health, safety, or education of the charter school's students is at risk, the law provides that the revocation must take place at the end of a school year. The law allows a charter authorized by a local school board to appeal the board’s notice of their decision to revoke or not renew a charter to the state board of education, whose decisions are subject to judicial review.

Under Illinois law, reports of denials, revocations, or non-renewals must consist of the charter proposal or current charter contract voted upon by the authorizers. The law requires the authorizers to determine a decision in a public forum and to send a copy of each board's resolution setting forth the board's action and its reasons for the action to the state board of education.

The law has closure provisions related to property and asset disposition. State regulations outline the requirements for timely parent notification and orderly student and record transitions. State law also requires the school to give parents 60 days’ notice of the closure

Illinois law contains a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding educational service providers. Under Illinois law, a charter school may negotiate and contract with a for profit or nonprofit private entity for 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, the operation and maintenance thereof, and 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.
The law provides that all authorizers shall ensure that any charter school established on or after January 1, 2015 has a governing body that is separate and distinct from the governing body of any CMO or EMO, and must deal with any conflict of interest issues. In reviewing charter applications and charter renewal applications, authorizers shall review the governance model proposed by the applicant to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest. The law also provides that no charter school may employ a staff person who is simultaneously employed by an EMO or CMO.

Charter schools are required to abide by the portions of the school code that deal with criminal history record checks and fingerprinting requirements. While the section of pertinent code does not call out charter schools or ESPs, it is inferred that employees of ESPs are also required to abide by these procedures.

Illinois law requires a charter school be organized and operated as a nonprofit corporation or other legal entity, governed by its own board of directors or other governing body of a discrete legal entity already existing or established to operate the proposed school, and responsible for the management and operation of its fiscal affairs.
Illinois statute does not include all provisions that would clearly indicate that every charter school, including conversion schools, is a separate legally autonomous school (e.g., it does not state that they can sue and be sued in their own names).

Illinois law does not require charter schools to provide open enrollment to any student in the state. It does indicate that charter schools are 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, martial status, or need for special education services.
Illinois law requires charter schools to give priority in admissions to siblings of pupils enrolled in the charter school and to pupils enrolled in the school the previous school year, unless expelled for cause. It does not require them to have an enrollment preference for previously enrolled students within conversions.

Illinois law allows charter schools to give priority to pupils residing within the charter school's attendance boundary in Chicago, if the Chicago school board has designated a boundary. The law allows the Chicago school board to designate attendance boundaries for no more than one-third of the charter schools permitted in the city if it determines that attendance boundaries are needed to relieve overcrowding or to better serve low-income and at-risk students.

It also allows a charter school located in a school district that contains all or part of a federal military base to set aside up to 33% of its current charter enrollment to students with parents assigned to the federal military base, with the remaining 67% subject to the general enrollment and lottery requirements. It also provides that if a student with a parent assigned to the federal military base withdraws from the charter school during the course of a school year for reasons other than grade promotion, those students with parents assigned to the federal military base shall have preference in filling the vacancy.

Illinois law requires that if there are more applicants than spaces, charter schools must choose students by lottery.

Under Illinois law, charter schools are exempt from all state laws and regulations in the school code governing public schools and local school board policies, except the following: the state's charter school law; the Illinois Labor Relations Act; all federal and state laws and rules applicable to public schools that pertain to special education and the instruction of English language learners; certain sections of the school code regarding criminal background investigations of applicants for employment; certain sections of the school code regarding discipline of students; certain sections of the code regarding bullying prevention; sections of the code regarding concussions and head injuries; the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act; a certain section of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of officers, directors, employees, and agents; the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act; the Illinois School Student Records Act; a certain section of the school code regarding school report cards; and all non-curricular health and safety requirements applicable to public schools in the state.
Outside of Chicago, state law requires charter schools to have at least 75% of instructional staff certified and requires non-certified teachers to have a bachelor's degree, five years' experience in the area of degree, a passing score on state teacher tests, and evidence of professional growth and requires charter schools to provide mentoring to uncertified teachers. The law also requires at least 50% of the individuals employed in instructional positions by a charter school in Chicago established after April 16, 2003, to hold teaching certificates and 75% of the individuals employed in instructional positions by a charter school in Chicago established before April 16, 2003, to hold teaching certificates.

Illinois law requires that non-charter public school teachers collectively bargain. State statute requires that collective bargaining address eight topics: wages, fringe benefits, pension/retirement benefits, hours, terms and conditions of employment, extracurricular duties, layoffs, and grievance procedures. In addition, length of the school year, class load or size, management rights, and evaluations may be bargained. No items are expressly excluded from bargaining.
Illinois law provides that charter schools are exempt from district collective bargaining agreements. It also specifies that any bargaining unit of charter school employees must be separate and distinct from any bargaining units formed from employees of a school district in which the charter school is located.

Prior to the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision, the state permitted unions to charge mandatory agency fees to members of a collective bargaining unit who are not members of the union. The Supreme Court decision renders that state law unconstitutional. Since the decision, Illinois has enacted legislation that defines substitute teacher recruiting firms and includes a provision preventing school districts from using substitute teacher recruiting firms to circumvent collective bargaining agreements or laws.
Illinois law states that employers must recognize exclusive representatives upon evidence that the organization has been designated by the majority of employees in the appropriate unit. The employer must post notice of this recognition for at least 20 school days and then send notification to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) for approval. The IELRB defines what a unit is and will resolve any disputes as to the majority status of the representative. Any other organization seeking to become the exclusive representative must petition the board within the 20-day notice period with evidence of at least 15 percent support among employees in the unit. Alternatively, the organization seeking representation can go around the employer and straight to the IELRB with evidence that at least 30 percent of employees desire their representation or at least 50 percent of employees desire someone other than their current representative. Employers can also petition the board if they doubt the authenticity of evidence presented to them or the majority status of the current exclusive representative. The board will investigate petition claims and evidence and, if necessary, will conduct an election no less than 90 days after the petition was filed. No election may be conducted during an active collective bargaining agreement except between January 15 and March 1 in the final year of an agreement (which are limited by law to a maximum of three years per agreement). In the case of an election, choices shall be the incumbent organization, any organization with at least 15 percent support, or no one.

Current law allows the first 15 charter contracts in Chicago to include multiple schools with independent fiscal and academic accountability for each school, but prohibits such an arrangement in charter contracts beyond the first 15. No language exists to allow charter contracts outside the city of Chicago to include multiple schools.

Illinois law is silent about charter eligibility and access.

Illinois law contains a small number of the model law’s provisions regarding special education responsibilities.
State law requires the state board of education to distribute all federal and state special education funds to Commission-authorized charters.

Under current law, charters may receive no less than 97% and no more than 103% of what their host district spends per student in district-run schools.
State board-authorized charters serve as their own LEAs. All other charters in the state are part of their district’s LEA. State board-authorized charters must apply for and receive any categorical funds. District-authorized charters can’t always apply for such categorical funds directly because they are a school that is part of a district.

State board-authorized charters’ transportation funding is similar to some districts, although it is less than lower-wealth districts’ fund. The minimum amount to be received by a state board-authorized charter is $16 times the number of eligible pupils transported. The law also provides that a school board must provide free transportation to any charter school student who also resides at least 1.5 miles away from the school.

In 2019, Illinois lawmakers appropriated $34 million in capital funding to several charter schools in Chicago as part of the state’s capital bill.
Illinois law provides that the state board of education shall make grants to charter schools to pay their start-up costs of acquiring educational materials and supplies, textbooks, electronic textbooks and the technological equipment necessary to gain access to and use electronic textbooks, furniture, and other equipment or materials needed during their initial term. The state board shall annually establish the time and manner of application for these grants, which shall not exceed $250 per student enrolled in the charter school. The state is currently not providing funding to this program.

Illinois law provides that conversion charter schools cannot be required to pay rent for a space deemed available in school district facilities at the time its charter contract is established.

The law otherwise provides that 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 entity, though there is no requirement for public facilities or schools to be made available to charter schools.

Illinois law establishes the Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund, which is administered by the Accountability Division at the Illinois State Board of Education, to provide interest-free loans to charter schools to be used to pay start-up and replication costs of acquiring educational materials and supplies, textbooks, furniture, and other equipment needed in the initial term of the charter school and for acquiring and remodeling a suitable physical plant within the initial term of the charter school. Loans are limited to one per charter school and may not exceed $250 per student, repaid by the end of the initial term of the charter contract (usually five years). From 2017, 10% of any award to a charter school located in a district facility will be designated to the school district. The state is not currently funding this program.

Illinois law provides that charter schools can access tax-exempt revenue bond and lease financing for capital projects through the Illinois Finance Authority.

Illinois law provides that certified teachers in Chicago must participate in the Chicago Teacher Pension Fund, but prohibits non-certified teachers from participating. The law also provides that certified teachers outside of Chicago must participate in the State Pension Fund, (the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois) but prohibits non-certified teachers from participating.

Illinois law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.