HB5036 Summary

• Requires school boards (except Chicago) to appoint a 9-member district advisory committee before making decisions on school closures or openings.

• Committee membership must represent ethnic, age, and socioeconomic diversity; business and landowner communities; teachers; administrators; parents; and experts in finance, environmental impacts, legal contracts, building codes, and land-use planning.

• Committee must gather information at public hearings on enrollment projections, school capacity, per-student operating costs, educational programs, cost savings, financial impacts, transportation options, and cost-saving alternatives to closure.

• Public notice of each hearing must be published at least 5 days before the hearing on the district website and in local newspapers of general circulation.

• School board must take the committee's recommendation into account when making a final decision on school closure or opening.