Bill
HB 3860
HB 3860: lengthens deactivating district-receiving district contracts from 2 to 4 school years, and lets districts mutually set renewal lengths.
Status & Procedural History
- Introduced by Rep. Bradley Fritts (first reading 2/18/2025; filed 3/5/2025).
- Committee activity and hearings occurred in March–April 2025. Reported favorably without amendment.
- Passed the originating chamber (House) on 2025-05-06 and was referred to Senate committees (Business & Commerce; Corrections noted in the history).
- Current bill text amends Section 10-22.22b of the Illinois School Code.
Purpose
- Modify the contractual terms that govern agreements between a deactivating school district (one that would close/deactivate a facility and send pupils elsewhere) and one or more receiving districts. The change lengthens the required initial contract term and broadens renewal options.
Key Provisions
- Initial contract length: Changes the minimum length of the contract between a deactivating district and each receiving district from 2 school years to 4 school years.
- Renewals: Removes the prior restriction that renewals be only additional one‑year or two‑year periods; instead, renewals may be for any length mutually agreed upon by the districts.
- Renewal timing: Contract renewals must be executed by January 1 of the year in which the existing contract expires (provision retained in text).
- Referendum requirement: Deactivation must be approved by a majority vote in a district referendum; notice and ballot language provisions remain specified in the statute.
- Financial terms: The sending district must pay the receiving district an amount agreed to by the two districts (no formula provided in the bill).
- Personnel transfers: Existing statutory provisions governing transfer of teachers and educational support personnel to receiving districts (including preservation of continuing service status and order of selection by length of service) remain applicable when facilities are deactivated.
Who Is Affected
- Deactivating (sending) school districts and their voters (referendum).
- Receiving school districts (contract partners and potential employers of transferred staff).
- Teachers and educational support personnel at affected facilities (transfer of positions with preserved continuing service status).
- Students and families in the deactivated attendance areas.
- Local district budgets — through negotiated payment amounts and staffing changes.
Potential Impacts (practical)
- Longer minimum contract (4 years) may increase short‑term stability for students, staff, and receiving districts but reduces flexibility for sending districts that might prefer shorter arrangements.
- Broader renewal flexibility allows districts to negotiate longer or customized continuing arrangements.
- Financial and staffing effects depend on interdistrict negotiations; the statute requires agreement but does not prescribe payment formulas.
Text Reference
- Amends 105 ILCS 5/10‑22.22b (School Code — School Boards Article).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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