Chicago City Wire

Marcus C. Evans, Jr. introduced HB1387 in the Illinois House on Jan. 15, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the School Code in Illinois to prohibit charter schools from being granted to organizations operating private, parochial, or non-public schools or childcare facilities. It mandates that charter schools allocate at least 90% of their budget towards direct-service costs for students. The bill removes existing provisions regarding the closure of charter schools and outlines new protocols for school closures, requiring transition plans and guaranteed placements for affected students and teachers. It mandates opportunities for public comments during hearings related to school actions and specifies criteria for local school boards when proposing school actions, including ensuring comparable social support services and adherence to class size policies.

Evans graduated from Chicago State University with a BS.

Marcus C. Evans Jr. is currently serving in the Illinois State House, representing the state's 33rd House District. He replaced previous state representative Marlow Colvin in 2012.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB1387	01/15/2025	Amends the School Code. Prohibits a charter from being granted to an organization that operates a private, parochial, or non-public school or child care facility. Provides that a charter school shall spend no less than 90% of its budget on direct-service costs for students. Removes provisions regarding the closure of charter schools, the use of unspent public funds, and the procedures for disposition of property and assets. Requires the governing body of a charter school that is the subject of a school action to work collaboratively with local school educators and families of students attending the charter school to ensure successful integration of affected students into new learning environments. Requires, for a charter school closure, the governing body of the charter school to ensure that all students of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a seat at a receiving school and that all teachers of the charter school at the time of the closure will be guaranteed a job at a receiving school. Sets forth requirements for school transition plans. Requires the governing body of the charter school to designate at least 3 opportunities for public comment at a hearing or meeting on the proposed school action.