FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2003
State Board of Education will not renew Thomas Jefferson
School charter
Des Plaines school must close by August 15
The charter of the Thomas Jefferson Charter school of Des
Plaines will not be renewed and the school must discontinue
operations by August 15, the Illinois State Board of Education
said today.
In a letter sent yesterday to the school’s officials,
Robert E. Schiller, State Superintendent of Education, said
Thomas Jefferson had failed to fulfill the conditions placed
on it in June by the state board for continued operation.
At its June 17 meeting, the state board renewed the Thomas
Jefferson charter for one year – rather than the 5-year
renewal that was sought – subject to receipt and ISBE
approval by August 1 of an accountability plan and compliance
with all special education requirements of federal law.
Since that meeting, Schiller said, the state board has provided
guidance and technical assistance to the school staff as it
prepared its accountability and special education plans. Nonetheless,
ISBE found both submissions lacking. (see
linked materials below for detailed explanation.)
“The state board appreciates the hard work and effort
the school expended in offering a public school choice, but
the fact remains the accountability plan was lacking and the
compliance with federal special education law wasn’t
achieved,” Schiller said.
Thomas Jefferson opened its doors in the 1999-2000 school
year and is one of two schools in Illinois chartered by the
state board rather than by a local school district. The school
had an enrollment of 77 students and class size ranges from
eight to 19 students. The student population is 77 per cent
Asian/Pacific Islander with a minority of white, black and
Hispanic students. A majority of the students speak English
as a second language.
Letter
to School Officials
Accountability Plan Review
Thomas Jefferson Charter
School Special Education Review
Closing Procedures
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