[complete report]

LAW

Year Passed

1996; last amended in 2009.

Rank

15th weakest of the nation's 41 charter laws.

Grade

D

GENERAL DATA

• Mostly a Chicago movement—downstate school boards are hostile

• Legislation to increase cap last year also prevents successful charter schools from opening additional campuses

• Inequitable funding a result of negotiations between district and charter

• Local autonomy is limited

INDEPENDENT OR MULTIPLE AUTHORIZERS - NO

Approval

School boards.

Appeal

Yes. Applications denied by the school board may be appealed to the State Board of Education, which becomes the school's sponsor upon approval.

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ALLOWED

Cap

Yes. 120 total schools allowed, with a total of 70 now permitted in Chicago (5 of these for dropout recovery) and 45 reserved for the remainder of the state. Charters approved before July 2009 are permitted to open additional campuses, those after may not.

OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY

State

Yes. Charters are exempt from almost all state regulations through a blanket waiver. Virtual schools are allowed.Management contracts with ESPs are not restricted.

Local

Limited. All proposed schools must meet certain guidelines and gather a certain amount of approval from the community to be considered. Charter schools in Chicago have to follow many rules of the city, including teacher certification minimums.

Teacher Freedom

Yes. Teachers are considered employees of the charter school, unless a collective bargaining agreement or charter contract provides otherwise. Charter schools must participate in state's retirement system.

EQUITY

Student Funding

• Charters may receive as little as 75 percent of conventional public school funding.

• Per pupil funding is negotiated with the district and specified in the charter.

• Impact aid reimbursements “reward” districts that lose students – 90 percent in the first year, 65 percent the next year, and 35 percent the third year.

• Funds pass through the district.

"Except for a charter school established by referendum under Section 27A- 6.5 [105 ILCS 5/27A-6.5], as part of a charter school contract, the charter school and the local school board shall agree on funding and any services to be provided by the school district to the charter school. Agreed funding that a charter school is to receive from the local school board for a school year shall be paid in equal quarterly installments with the payment of the installment for the first quarter being made not later than July 1, unless the charter establishes a different payment schedule…In no event shall the funding be less than 75% or more than 125% of the school district's per capita student tuition multiplied by the number of students residing in the district who are enrolled in the charter school." [105 ILCS 5/27A-11(b)]

Facilities Funding

Yes. Charter Schools Revolving Loan Fund provides interest free-loans that cannot exceed $250 per student. [105 ILCS 5/27-A11.5 (3)]