Bill Text: IL HB3667 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning grants for preschool educational programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-02-17 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB3667 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HB3667-Introduced.html
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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 2-3.71 as follows:
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| 6 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
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| 7 | Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | (a) Preschool program.
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| 9 | (1) The
The State Board of Education shall implement | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | and administer
a grant program under the provisions of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | this subsection which shall
consist of grants to public | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | school districts and other eligible entities, as defined | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | by the State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary
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| 14 | preschool
educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | which include a parent
education component. A public | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | school district which receives grants under
this | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | subsection may subcontract with other entities that are | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | eligible to conduct a preschool educational
program. These | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | grants must be used to supplement, not supplant, funds | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | received from any other source. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | (2) (Blank).
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| 22 | (3) Except as otherwise provided under this subsection | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | (a), any teacher of preschool children in the program | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | authorized by this
subsection shall hold a Professional | ||||||
| 2 | Educator License with an early childhood education | ||||||
| 3 | endorsement. | ||||||
| 4 | (3.5) Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year and | ||||||
| 5 | until the 2023-2024 school year, an individual may teach | ||||||
| 6 | preschool children in an early childhood program under | ||||||
| 7 | this Section if he or she holds a Professional Educator | ||||||
| 8 | License with an early childhood education endorsement or | ||||||
| 9 | with short-term approval for early childhood education or | ||||||
| 10 | he or she pursues a Professional Educator License and | ||||||
| 11 | holds any of the following: | ||||||
| 12 | (A) An ECE Credential Level of 5 awarded by the | ||||||
| 13 | Department of Human Services under the Gateways to | ||||||
| 14 | Opportunity Program developed under Section 10-70 of | ||||||
| 15 | the Department of Human Services Act. | ||||||
| 16 | (B) An Educator License with Stipulations with a | ||||||
| 17 | transitional bilingual educator endorsement and he or | ||||||
| 18 | she has (i) passed an early childhood education | ||||||
| 19 | content test or (ii) completed no less than 9 semester | ||||||
| 20 | hours of postsecondary coursework in the area of early | ||||||
| 21 | childhood education.
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| 22 | (4) (Blank).
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| 23 | (4.5) The State Board of Education shall provide the | ||||||
| 24 | primary source of
funding through appropriations for the | ||||||
| 25 | program.
Such funds shall be distributed to achieve a goal | ||||||
| 26 | of "Preschool for All Children" for the benefit
of all | ||||||
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| 1 | children whose families choose to participate in the | ||||||
| 2 | program. Based on available appropriations, newly funded | ||||||
| 3 | programs shall be selected through a process giving first | ||||||
| 4 | priority to qualified programs serving primarily at-risk | ||||||
| 5 | children and second priority to qualified programs serving | ||||||
| 6 | primarily children with a family income of less than 4 | ||||||
| 7 | times the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the | ||||||
| 8 | Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and | ||||||
| 9 | Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). | ||||||
| 10 | For purposes of this paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are | ||||||
| 11 | those who because of their home and community environment | ||||||
| 12 | are subject
to such language, cultural, economic and like | ||||||
| 13 | disadvantages to cause them to have
been determined as a | ||||||
| 14 | result of screening procedures to be at risk of
academic | ||||||
| 15 | failure. Such screening procedures shall be based on | ||||||
| 16 | criteria
established by the State Board of Education. | ||||||
| 17 | Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5), | ||||||
| 18 | grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of | ||||||
| 19 | understanding with the appropriate local Head Start | ||||||
| 20 | agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than | ||||||
| 21 | 3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the | ||||||
| 22 | program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program | ||||||
| 23 | year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than | ||||||
| 24 | the deadline set by the State Board of Education for | ||||||
| 25 | applications to participate in the program in fiscal year | ||||||
| 26 | 2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's | ||||||
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| 1 | program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues, | ||||||
| 2 | which shall include without limitation the following: | ||||||
| 3 | (A) educational activities, curricular objectives, | ||||||
| 4 | and instruction; | ||||||
| 5 | (B) public information dissemination and access to | ||||||
| 6 | programs for families contacting programs; | ||||||
| 7 | (C) service areas; | ||||||
| 8 | (D) selection priorities for eligible children to | ||||||
| 9 | be served by programs; | ||||||
| 10 | (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State | ||||||
| 11 | funding to benefit young children; | ||||||
| 12 | (F) staff training, including opportunities for | ||||||
| 13 | joint staff training; | ||||||
| 14 | (G) technical assistance; | ||||||
| 15 | (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth | ||||||
| 16 | transitions to kindergarten; | ||||||
| 17 | (I) provision and use of facilities, | ||||||
| 18 | transportation, and other program elements; | ||||||
| 19 | (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its | ||||||
| 20 | statutory and regulatory requirements; | ||||||
| 21 | (K) improving local planning and collaboration; | ||||||
| 22 | and | ||||||
| 23 | (L) providing comprehensive services for the | ||||||
| 24 | neediest Illinois children and families. | ||||||
| 25 | If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or | ||||||
| 26 | unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as | ||||||
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| 1 | required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of | ||||||
| 2 | understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee | ||||||
| 3 | under the program must notify the State Board of Education | ||||||
| 4 | in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or | ||||||
| 5 | unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile | ||||||
| 6 | all such written notices and make them available to the | ||||||
| 7 | public. | ||||||
| 8 | (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and | ||||||
| 9 | provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school | ||||||
| 10 | districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate | ||||||
| 11 | children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State | ||||||
| 12 | Board of
Education shall require school districts and | ||||||
| 13 | other eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
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| 14 | or guardians of children before any evaluations are | ||||||
| 15 | conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage | ||||||
| 16 | local school districts and other eligible entities to | ||||||
| 17 | evaluate the
population of preschool children in their | ||||||
| 18 | communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to | ||||||
| 19 | this subsection, where appropriate.
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| 20 | (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the | ||||||
| 21 | General Assembly by November 1, 2018
and every
2 years | ||||||
| 22 | thereafter on the results and progress of
students who | ||||||
| 23 | were enrolled in preschool educational programs, including | ||||||
| 24 | an
assessment of which programs have been most successful | ||||||
| 25 | in promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic | ||||||
| 26 | failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the | ||||||
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| 1 | academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled | ||||||
| 2 | in preschool educational programs.
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| 3 | On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which | ||||||
| 4 | the General Assembly provides funding for new programs | ||||||
| 5 | under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of | ||||||
| 6 | Education shall report to the General Assembly on what | ||||||
| 7 | percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving | ||||||
| 8 | primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding | ||||||
| 9 | was provided to programs serving primarily children with a | ||||||
| 10 | family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty | ||||||
| 11 | level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to | ||||||
| 12 | other programs. | ||||||
| 13 | (7) Due to evidence that expulsion practices in the | ||||||
| 14 | preschool years are linked to poor child outcomes and are | ||||||
| 15 | employed inconsistently across racial and gender groups, | ||||||
| 16 | early childhood programs receiving State funds under this | ||||||
| 17 | subsection (a) shall prohibit expulsions. Planned | ||||||
| 18 | transitions to settings that are able to better meet a | ||||||
| 19 | child's needs are not considered expulsion under this | ||||||
| 20 | paragraph (7). | ||||||
| 21 | (A) When persistent and serious challenging | ||||||
| 22 | behaviors emerge, the early childhood program shall | ||||||
| 23 | document steps taken to ensure that the child can | ||||||
| 24 | participate safely in the program; including | ||||||
| 25 | observations of initial and ongoing challenging | ||||||
| 26 | behaviors, strategies for remediation and intervention | ||||||
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| 1 | plans to address the behaviors, and communication with | ||||||
| 2 | the parent or legal guardian, including participation | ||||||
| 3 | of the parent or legal guardian in planning and | ||||||
| 4 | decision-making. | ||||||
| 5 | (B) The early childhood program shall, with | ||||||
| 6 | parental or legal guardian consent as required, | ||||||
| 7 | utilize a range of community resources, if available | ||||||
| 8 | and deemed necessary, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
| 9 | developmental screenings, referrals to programs and | ||||||
| 10 | services administered by a local educational agency or | ||||||
| 11 | early intervention agency under Parts B and C of the | ||||||
| 12 | federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act, | ||||||
| 13 | and consultation with infant and early childhood | ||||||
| 14 | mental health consultants and the child's health care | ||||||
| 15 | provider. The program shall document attempts to | ||||||
| 16 | engage these resources, including parent or legal | ||||||
| 17 | guardian participation and consent attempted and | ||||||
| 18 | obtained. Communication with the parent or legal | ||||||
| 19 | guardian shall take place in a culturally and | ||||||
| 20 | linguistically competent manner. | ||||||
| 21 | (C) If there is documented evidence that all | ||||||
| 22 | available interventions and supports recommended by a | ||||||
| 23 | qualified professional have been exhausted and the | ||||||
| 24 | program determines in its professional judgment that | ||||||
| 25 | transitioning a child to another program is necessary | ||||||
| 26 | for the well-being of the child or his or her peers and | ||||||
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| 1 | staff, with parent or legal guardian permission, both | ||||||
| 2 | the current and pending programs shall create a | ||||||
| 3 | transition plan designed to ensure continuity of | ||||||
| 4 | services and the comprehensive development of the | ||||||
| 5 | child. Communication with families shall occur in a | ||||||
| 6 | culturally and linguistically competent manner. | ||||||
| 7 | (D) Nothing in this paragraph (7) shall preclude a | ||||||
| 8 | parent's or legal guardian's right to voluntarily | ||||||
| 9 | withdraw his or her child from an early childhood | ||||||
| 10 | program. Early childhood programs shall request and | ||||||
| 11 | keep on file, when received, a written statement from | ||||||
| 12 | the parent or legal guardian stating the reason for | ||||||
| 13 | his or her decision to withdraw his or her child. | ||||||
| 14 | (E) In the case of the determination of a serious | ||||||
| 15 | safety threat to a child or others or in the case of | ||||||
| 16 | behaviors listed in subsection (d) of Section 10-22.6 | ||||||
| 17 | of this Code, the temporary removal of a child from | ||||||
| 18 | attendance in group settings may be used. Temporary | ||||||
| 19 | removal of a child from attendance in a group setting | ||||||
| 20 | shall trigger the process detailed in subparagraphs | ||||||
| 21 | (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph (7), with the child | ||||||
| 22 | placed back in a group setting as quickly as possible. | ||||||
| 23 | (F) Early childhood programs may utilize and the | ||||||
| 24 | State Board of Education, the Department of Human | ||||||
| 25 | Services, and the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
| 26 | Services shall recommend training, technical support, | ||||||
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| 1 | and professional development resources to improve the | ||||||
| 2 | ability of teachers, administrators, program | ||||||
| 3 | directors, and other staff to promote social-emotional | ||||||
| 4 | development and behavioral health, to address | ||||||
| 5 | challenging behaviors, and to understand trauma and | ||||||
| 6 | trauma-informed care, cultural competence, family | ||||||
| 7 | engagement with diverse populations, the impact of | ||||||
| 8 | implicit bias on adult behavior, and the use of | ||||||
| 9 | reflective practice techniques. Support shall include | ||||||
| 10 | the availability of resources to contract with infant | ||||||
| 11 | and early childhood mental health consultants. | ||||||
| 12 | (G) Beginning on July 1, 2018, early childhood | ||||||
| 13 | programs shall annually report to the State Board of | ||||||
| 14 | Education, and, beginning in fiscal year 2020, the | ||||||
| 15 | State Board of Education shall make available on a | ||||||
| 16 | biennial basis, in an existing report, all of the | ||||||
| 17 | following data for children from birth to age 5 who are | ||||||
| 18 | served by the program: | ||||||
| 19 | (i) Total number served over the course of the | ||||||
| 20 | program year and the total number of children who | ||||||
| 21 | left the program during the program year. | ||||||
| 22 | (ii) Number of planned transitions to another | ||||||
| 23 | program due to children's behavior, by children's | ||||||
| 24 | race, gender, disability, language, class/group | ||||||
| 25 | size, teacher-child ratio, and length of program | ||||||
| 26 | day. | ||||||
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| 1 | (iii) Number of temporary removals of a child | ||||||
| 2 | from attendance in group settings due to a serious | ||||||
| 3 | safety threat under subparagraph (E) of this | ||||||
| 4 | paragraph (7), by children's race, gender, | ||||||
| 5 | disability, language, class/group size, | ||||||
| 6 | teacher-child ratio, and length of program day. | ||||||
| 7 | (iv) Hours of infant and early childhood | ||||||
| 8 | mental health consultant contact with program | ||||||
| 9 | leaders, staff, and families over the program | ||||||
| 10 | year. | ||||||
| 11 | (H) Changes to services for children with an | ||||||
| 12 | individualized education program or individual family | ||||||
| 13 | service plan shall be construed in a manner consistent | ||||||
| 14 | with the federal Individuals with Disabilities | ||||||
| 15 | Education Act. | ||||||
| 16 | The State Board of Education, in consultation with the | ||||||
| 17 | Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and the | ||||||
| 18 | Department of Children and Family Services, shall adopt | ||||||
| 19 | rules to administer this paragraph (7). | ||||||
| 20 | (b) (Blank).
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| 21 | (c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section, | ||||||
| 22 | grantees may serve children ages 0 to 12 of essential workers | ||||||
| 23 | if the Governor has declared a disaster due to a public health | ||||||
| 24 | emergency pursuant to Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency | ||||||
| 25 | Management Agency Act. For the purposes of this subsection, | ||||||
| 26 | essential workers include those outlined in Executive Order | ||||||
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| 1 | 20-8 and school employees. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
| 2 | adopt rules to administer this subsection. | ||||||
| 3 | (Source: P.A. 100-105, eff. 1-1-18; 100-645, eff. 7-27-18; | ||||||
| 4 | 101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)
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