summary
Introduced
02/06/2026
02/06/2026
In Committee
02/24/2026
02/24/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
104th General Assembly
Bill Summary
Amends the Charter Schools Article of the School Code. Provides that on July 1, 2027, any charter school authorized by the State Board of Education and located outside of the geographical area of a district located in a city of over 500,000 inhabitants shall have its authorization transferred to the local board or boards for each district from which the charter school draws enrollment. Provides that all authorizer powers, duties, contracts, and pending business of the State Board as the school's authorizer must be transferred to the local board or boards. Provides that all charter contract terms shall remain in full force and effect unless amended by mutual agreement of the parties, except that the term of the contract shall be 7 years starting July 1, 2027. Provides that if a State-authorized charter school that is subject to transfer is authorized to enroll students from more than one district, the boards of all districts from which the charter school draws enrollment must establish a joint charter management team that consists of at minimum one administrator from each district. Provides that the joint charter management team must develop and execute a charter oversight plan that is submitted to the State Board as part of the charter certification process. Provides that final decisions of a local school board to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. Removes language providing that: the State Board of Education may reverse a local board's decision to revoke or not renew a charter if the State Board finds that the charter school or charter school proposal (i) is in compliance with the Article and (ii) is in the best 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 the State Board must appoint and utilize a hearing officer for any appeals. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.
AI Summary
This bill mandates that as of July 1, 2027, any charter school authorized by the State Board of Education and located outside of a large city's school district (specifically, a district in a city with over 500,000 inhabitants) will have its authorization transferred to the local school board or boards of the district(s) from which its students enroll. This means that the local district(s) will assume all the powers, duties, contracts, and ongoing business that the State Board previously held as the school's authorizer. While existing charter contract terms will remain in effect unless mutually agreed upon otherwise, the contract term will be set at seven years starting from July 1, 2027. If a charter school draws students from multiple districts, those districts must form a joint charter management team, including at least one administrator from each district, to create and implement a charter oversight plan that will be submitted to the State Board for certification. Importantly, any final decisions made by a local school board to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter will be subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law, and the bill removes the State Board's previous authority to overturn such local decisions or condition appeals on reduced funding.
Committee Categories
Government Affairs
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Assigned to Executive (on 02/24/2026)
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