* I haven’t seen this covered any where else and I’m on deadline for Crain’s so I don’t have much time for a post, but here’s yesterday’s veto message…

February 28, 2018

To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
100th General Assembly:

Today I veto House Bill 768 from the 100th General Assembly, which would eliminate a route for charter school applicants and operators to appeal denial or closure decisions made by their local school boards.

This legislation would deny charter school applicants and operators the right to appeal local school board decisions through the Charter School Commission, instead sending every appeal to the judicial system. Furthermore, it would strip the Charter School Commission of responsibilities that are rightfully under its jurisdiction as a check on local school board decisions. The Commission has only approved 6 out of 48 appeals since its inception in 2011, and has a track record of careful consideration of what is best for students within local contexts, as it is statutorily bound to do. Further, the decisions of the Commission are already judicially reviewable. Current law provides applicants a second venue before turning to the courts.

The Charter School Commission is more well-equipped to facilitate the appeals process than local courts, and should continue to be empowered with the charge of ensuring that all Illinois children have access to a high-quality education.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 768, entitled “AN ACT concerning education”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR

* Bill synopsis…

Amends the Charter Schools Law of the School Code. Removes provisions allowing the State Charter School Commission to reverse a school board’s decision to deny, revoke, or not renew a charter; makes related changes. Provides that if a charter school applicant submits a proposal to a school board outside of the process adopted by that school board for receiving charter school proposals on an annual basis, the applicant shall not have any right to submit its proposal to the State Charter School Commission as otherwise authorized. In a provision concerning a charter school proposed to be jointly authorized by 2 or more school districts and the school boards unanimously denying the charter school proposal with a statement that the school boards are not opposed to the charter school, but that they yield to the Commission in light of the complexities of joint administration, allows the charter applicant to submit the proposal to the Commission and requires the Commission to follow the same process and be subject to the same timelines for review as a school board. Allows the Commission to approve an application for a charter if certain conditions are met. Provide that the Commission may condition approval of an application on the acceptance of funding in an amount less than requested. Provides that final decisions of the Commission are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review Law. Provides that if the Commission approves an application for a charter school, then the Commission shall act as the authorized chartering entity. Provides that if the Commission is the authorized chartering entity, then the Commission shall execute a charter agreement (instead of approve the charter agreement). Provides that the Commission has no authority to approve a charter school proposal that has been denied by a school board. Effective immediately.

The legislation did not receive nearly enough votes to override a veto.

…Adding… Press release…

State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement in response to the governor’s veto of her measure Senate Bill 768, which allows local school boards to make the final decision when issuing, denying or revoking charter school licenses:

“Governor Rauner wants to deny local officials the right to decide who educates their communities. By vetoing this bipartisan measure, Rauner keeps charter school permitting decision-making at the state level, where he can more easily influence outcomes and force communities to support charter schools that they may not need or want. School boards across the state know what is best for those that they serve and should have the final word on issuing, denying or revoking a charter school permit.”