SB 2990 Summary

• Amends Illinois School Code to streamline school district boundary change procedures by consolidating multiple sections and establishing a unified process for detachment and dissolution petitions.

• Creates a new hearing panel system for large educational service regions (2,000,000+ inhabitants) composed of 3 education-focused residents selected by the educational service center's chief administrative officer to handle boundary disputes.

• Establishes specific petition requirements including legal resident voter signatures, 6-month signature validity period, and detailed territory descriptions with maps; transfers petition filing authority to regional superintendents.

• Implements new decision criteria for boundary changes including limits on demographic shifts (3% threshold for minority/low-income/English learner students), distance requirements (10+ miles for attendance center comparisons), and prohibition on considering property value increases.

• Takes effect July 1, 2016, with transitional provisions allowing petitions filed before the effective date to proceed under prior law.