Bd. of Educ. of Waukegan Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. 60 v. Ill. State Charter Sch. Comm'n

2018 IL App (1st) 162084

97 N.E.3d 85

The BOARD OF EDUCATION OF WAUKEGAN COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 60, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.The ILLINOIS STATE CHARTER SCHOOL COMMISSION, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Lawndale Educational and Regional Network Charter School, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 1–16–2084

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fourth Division.

January 25, 2018

Patricia J. Whitten, Respicio F. Vazquez, and Nicki B. Bazer, of Franczek Radelet P.C., of Chicago, for appellant.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, of Chicago (David L. Franklin, Solicitor General, and Valerie Quinn, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel), for appellees.

OPINION

PRESIDING JUSTICE BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Defendant, the Lawndale Educational and Regional Network Charter School (LEARN), an operator of several charter schools in the Chicago area, submitted a proposal to plaintiff, the Board of Education of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 (District 60), to open a charter school in Waukegan. After reviewing the submission, District 60 found several inadequacies with LEARN's proposal and denied the application to open the school. LEARN appealed the denial to defendant, the Illinois State Charter School Commission (Commission), who concluded that LEARN's proposal was in compliance with the requirements of the Charter Schools Law ( 105 ILCS 5/27A–1 et seq. (West 2014) ) and in the best interests of the students the school was designed to serve. The Commission accordingly reversed the decision of District 60 and agreed to a charter with LEARN, which was certified by defendant, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), thus establishing the charter school. District 60 subsequently filed a complaint in the circuit court for administrative review and alleged that the Commission committed multiple violations of the Open Meetings Act ( 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. (West 2014) ). The circuit court affirmed the Commission's decision and dismissed the remaining counts of District 60's complaint. Meanwhile, in the fall of 2015 and during the pendency of the circuit court proceedings, LEARN began operating its charter school in Waukegan with approximately 200 students from kindergarten to third grade.

¶ 2 Before this court, District 60 contends that (1) the Commission and ISBE lost jurisdiction over LEARN's appeal and certification when they failed to adhere to the statutory timeline of the Charter Schools Law, (2) the Commission improperly reversed the district's decision to deny LEARN's proposal where the application was deficient in several manners and not in the best interests of the students the school was designed to serve, (3) the Commission violated the district's due process rights, (4) the Commission committed multiple violations of the Open Meetings Act, and (5) the circuit court erred in dismissing the remaining counts of its complaint. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 4 A. The Charter Schools Law

¶ 5 A charter school is a tuition-free public school supported by public funds but operated by a nonprofit entity independent from the school district in which it operates. 105 ILCS 5/27A–5(a), (e) (West 2014); Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc. v. Rockford School District No. 205 , 216 Ill. 2d 455, 458, 297 Ill.Dec. 221, 837 N.E.2d 1 (2005). In 1996, the Illinois legislature enacted the Charter Schools Law as a means to provide alternative public education models that were innovative and flexible but still maintained high levels of student performance with a particular focus on students who were less likely to succeed in a traditional educational environment because of "physical, emotional, socioeconomic, or cultural factors." 105 ILCS 5/27A–2(a), (b), 27A–3 (West 2014). To promote innovation and flexibility, the Charter Schools Law exempts charter schools from several state laws and regulations that are applicable to traditional schools. Id. § 27A–5(g). A charter school operates under a charter, or contract, between the nonprofit entity and the school's authorizer, which may be the local school board or the Commission, depending on who ultimately approves the charter. Id. §§ 27A–6(a), 27A–9(f).

¶ 6 Charter schools are open for enrollment "to any pupil who resides within the geographic boundaries of the area served by the local school board." Id. § 27A–4(d). If there are more applicants to the school than spaces available, enrollees must be selected by a lottery. Id. § 27A–4(h). Because charter schools are supported by public funds and enroll students who otherwise would attend traditional public schools, they take funding away from the local school district. Id. §§ 27A–9(f), 27A–11(b). Part of the charter school's funding is based on a percentage of the local school district's per capita tuition charge, at the time of LEARN's proposal between 75% and 125%, multiplied by the amount of students enrolled in the charter school that reside in the local school district.¹ Id. § 27A–11(b).

¶ 7 An entity that wants to open a charter school must submit a proposal to the school board in the district where the charter school would be located. Id. § 27A–7(a). In order to demonstrate that the proposed charter school would be a suitable educational alternative, the proposal must contain several requirements, including identifying two potential locations for the school; describing the school's educational program, goals, objectives and performance standards; and providing evidence that the terms of the proposed charter are "economically sound" for both the school and the district. Id. §§ 27A–7(a)(3), (5), (7), (9).

¶ 8 Following the submission of the proposal, the local school board must vote to either grant or deny the charter school's application. Id. § 27A–8(e). If the board denies the application, the applicant may appeal the denial to the Commission, who subsequently conducts a de novo review of the proposal. Id. § 27A–8(g); 23 Ill. Adm. Code 650.110(d)(1) (2012). The Commission may reverse the denial if it "finds that the proposal (i) is in compliance with [the Charter Schools Law] and (ii) is in the best interests of the students the charter school is designed to serve." 105 ILCS 5/27A–8(h) (West 2014).

¶ 9 If the Commission reverses the local school board's denial, the Commission itself becomes the charter school's authorizer, meaning it oversees the charter school rather the school board. Id. §§ 27A–3, 27A–9(f). Under these circumstances, the charter school also becomes its own local educational agency (id. § 27A–5(k) ), which under federal law has a specific meaning. See 20 U.S.C. § 7801(26)(A) (2012). As its own local educational agency, the charter school becomes entirely responsible for implementing services required by law that ordinarily would be the responsibility of the local school district, such as implementing procedures to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2012) ); see 105 ILCS 5/14–1.01 et seq. (West 2014). Regardless of who authorizes the charter school, ISBE must certify the application and charter before the school begins to operate. 105 ILCS 5/27A–6(d), 27A–9(f) (West 2014).

¶ 10 B. Waukegan Community Unit School District 60

¶ 11 During the 2013–2014 school year, District 60 served approximately 16,300 students. Among its students, 77% were Hispanic, 16% were black and 4% were white. Additionally, 72% of District 60's students were low-income; 29% were English language learners (ELL), generally students whose native language is not English; and 12% had disabilities. In the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), 39% of District 60's students met or exceeded the state standards compared to the statewide average of 59%. District 60's graduation rate was 76% compared to the statewide average of 86%, and 18% of its students were "college ready" compared to the statewide average of 46%.

¶ 12 C. LEARN's Proposal

¶ 13 In 2014, LEARN, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity whose first charter school opened in 2001, operated eight charter schools in the Chicago area, including one in North Chicago, and served approximately 3600 elementary and middle school students. LEARN's mission was to provide minority and low-income students "with the academic foundation and ambition to earn a college degree," and to that end, it focused on elementary education where it believed "the ambition and academic foundation for college must be sown and cultivated." Among LEARN's students, 89% were black, 9% were Hispanic, and 89% were low-income. LEARN touted that 95% of its students graduated from high school and attended college.

¶ 14 During the spring of 2014, LEARN conducted a needs assessment of various communities in the Chicago area and identified District 60 as one that could benefit from a LEARN charter school. On November 14, 2014, based on this perceived need, LEARN submitted a proposal to District 60 to open a charter school in Waukegan that would open in September 2015. LEARN envisioned that the Waukegan campus would initially enroll 200 students in kindergarten through third grade and add one grade per year until the school had 600 students enrolled in 2021 and was a fully functioning kindergarten through eighth grade (K–8) school.

¶ 15 In its proposal, LEARN supplied various data that compared the academic performance of its students to District 60's students. In particular, in 2013 ISAT testing, 54% of LEARN's Chicago students met or exceeded the state standards. However, among students who had attended a LEARN school for five or more years, 66% met or exceeded the state standards whereas, among students who had attended a LEARN school for only one year, 39% met or exceeded the state standards. Additionally, in 2013 ISAT testing, LEARN's students outperformed District 60's students overall in reading and mathematics, as well as in those subjects for the Hispanic, low-income, limited English proficiency, and black...