Bill Text: IL HB4567 | 2017-2018 | 100th 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: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB4567 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HB4567-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 this | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | subsection which shall
consist of grants to public school | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | districts and other eligible entities, as defined by the | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary
preschool
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14 | educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 which include | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | a parent
education component. A public school district | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | which receives grants under
this subsection may | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | subcontract with other entities that are eligible to | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | conduct a preschool educational
program. These grants must | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | any other source.
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21 | (2) (Blank).
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22 | (3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | authorized by this
subsection shall hold an early childhood |
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1 | teaching certificate.
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2 | (4) (Blank).
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3 | (4.5) The State Board of Education shall provide the | ||||||
4 | primary source of
funding through appropriations for the | ||||||
5 | program.
Such funds shall be distributed to achieve a goal | ||||||
6 | of "Preschool for All Children" for the benefit
of all | ||||||
7 | children whose families choose to participate in the | ||||||
8 | program. Based on available appropriations, newly funded | ||||||
9 | programs shall be selected through a process giving first | ||||||
10 | priority to qualified programs serving primarily at-risk | ||||||
11 | children and second priority to qualified programs serving | ||||||
12 | primarily children with a family income of less than 4 | ||||||
13 | times the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the | ||||||
14 | Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human | ||||||
15 | Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For | ||||||
16 | purposes of this paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are | ||||||
17 | those who because of their home and community environment | ||||||
18 | are subject
to such language, cultural, economic and like | ||||||
19 | disadvantages to cause them to have
been determined as a | ||||||
20 | result of screening procedures to be at risk of
academic | ||||||
21 | failure. Such screening procedures shall be based on | ||||||
22 | criteria
established by the State Board of Education. | ||||||
23 | Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5), | ||||||
24 | grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of | ||||||
25 | understanding with the appropriate local Head Start | ||||||
26 | agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than |
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1 | 3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the | ||||||
2 | program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program | ||||||
3 | year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the | ||||||
4 | deadline set by the State Board of Education for | ||||||
5 | applications to participate in the program in fiscal year | ||||||
6 | 2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's | ||||||
7 | program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues, | ||||||
8 | which shall include without limitation the following: | ||||||
9 | (A) educational activities, curricular objectives, | ||||||
10 | and instruction; | ||||||
11 | (B) public information dissemination and access to | ||||||
12 | programs for families contacting programs; | ||||||
13 | (C) service areas; | ||||||
14 | (D) selection priorities for eligible children to | ||||||
15 | be served by programs; | ||||||
16 | (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State | ||||||
17 | funding to benefit young children; | ||||||
18 | (F) staff training, including opportunities for | ||||||
19 | joint staff training; | ||||||
20 | (G) technical assistance; | ||||||
21 | (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth | ||||||
22 | transitions to kindergarten; | ||||||
23 | (I) provision and use of facilities, | ||||||
24 | transportation, and other program elements; | ||||||
25 | (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its | ||||||
26 | statutory and regulatory requirements; |
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1 | (K) improving local planning and collaboration; | ||||||
2 | and | ||||||
3 | (L) providing comprehensive services for the | ||||||
4 | neediest Illinois children and families. | ||||||
5 | If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or | ||||||
6 | unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as | ||||||
7 | required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of | ||||||
8 | understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee | ||||||
9 | under the program must notify the State Board of Education | ||||||
10 | in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or | ||||||
11 | unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile | ||||||
12 | all such written notices and make them available to the | ||||||
13 | public. | ||||||
14 | (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and | ||||||
15 | provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school | ||||||
16 | districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate | ||||||
17 | children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State | ||||||
18 | Board of
Education shall require school districts and other | ||||||
19 | eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
or | ||||||
20 | guardians of children before any evaluations are | ||||||
21 | conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage | ||||||
22 | local school districts and other eligible entities to | ||||||
23 | evaluate the
population of preschool children in their | ||||||
24 | communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to | ||||||
25 | this subsection, where appropriate.
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26 | (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the |
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1 | General Assembly by November 1, 2018
and every
2 years | ||||||
2 | thereafter on the results and progress of
students who were | ||||||
3 | enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
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4 | assessment of which programs have been most successful in | ||||||
5 | promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic | ||||||
6 | failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the | ||||||
7 | academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled in | ||||||
8 | preschool educational programs.
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9 | On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which | ||||||
10 | the General Assembly provides funding for new programs | ||||||
11 | under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of | ||||||
12 | Education shall report to the General Assembly on what | ||||||
13 | percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving | ||||||
14 | primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding | ||||||
15 | was provided to programs serving primarily children with a | ||||||
16 | family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty | ||||||
17 | level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to | ||||||
18 | other programs. | ||||||
19 | (7) Due to evidence that expulsion practices in the | ||||||
20 | preschool years are linked to poor child outcomes and are | ||||||
21 | employed inconsistently across racial and gender groups, | ||||||
22 | early childhood programs receiving State funds under this | ||||||
23 | subsection (a) shall prohibit expulsions. Planned | ||||||
24 | transitions to settings that are able to better meet a | ||||||
25 | child's needs are not considered expulsion under this | ||||||
26 | paragraph (7). |
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1 | (A) When persistent and serious challenging | ||||||
2 | behaviors emerge, the early childhood program shall | ||||||
3 | document steps taken to ensure that the child can | ||||||
4 | participate safely in the program; including | ||||||
5 | observations of initial and ongoing challenging | ||||||
6 | behaviors, strategies for remediation and intervention | ||||||
7 | plans to address the behaviors, and communication with | ||||||
8 | the parent or legal guardian, including participation | ||||||
9 | of the parent or legal guardian in planning and | ||||||
10 | decision-making. | ||||||
11 | (B) The early childhood program shall, with | ||||||
12 | parental or legal guardian consent as required, | ||||||
13 | utilize a range of community resources, if available | ||||||
14 | and deemed necessary, including, but not limited to, | ||||||
15 | developmental screenings, referrals to programs and | ||||||
16 | services administered by a local educational agency or | ||||||
17 | early intervention agency under Parts B and C of the | ||||||
18 | federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act, | ||||||
19 | and consultation with infant and early childhood | ||||||
20 | mental health consultants and the child's health care | ||||||
21 | provider. The program shall document attempts to | ||||||
22 | engage these resources, including parent or legal | ||||||
23 | guardian participation and consent attempted and | ||||||
24 | obtained. Communication with the parent or legal | ||||||
25 | guardian shall take place in a culturally and | ||||||
26 | linguistically competent manner. |
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1 | (C) If there is documented evidence that all | ||||||
2 | available interventions and supports recommended by a | ||||||
3 | qualified professional have been exhausted and the | ||||||
4 | program determines in its professional judgment that | ||||||
5 | transitioning a child to another program is necessary | ||||||
6 | for the well-being of the child or his or her peers and | ||||||
7 | staff, with parent or legal guardian permission, both | ||||||
8 | the current and pending programs shall create a | ||||||
9 | transition plan designed to ensure continuity of | ||||||
10 | services and the comprehensive development of the | ||||||
11 | child. Communication with families shall occur in a | ||||||
12 | culturally and linguistically competent manner. | ||||||
13 | (D) Nothing in this paragraph (7) shall preclude a | ||||||
14 | parent's or legal guardian's right to voluntarily | ||||||
15 | withdraw his or her child from an early childhood | ||||||
16 | program. Early childhood programs shall request and | ||||||
17 | keep on file, when received, a written statement from | ||||||
18 | the parent or legal guardian stating the reason for his | ||||||
19 | or her decision to withdraw his or her child. | ||||||
20 | (E) In the case of the determination of a serious | ||||||
21 | safety threat to a child or others or in the case of | ||||||
22 | behaviors listed in subsection (d) of Section 10-22.6 | ||||||
23 | of this Code, the temporary removal of a child from | ||||||
24 | attendance in group settings may be used. Temporary | ||||||
25 | removal of a child from attendance in a group setting | ||||||
26 | shall trigger the process detailed in subparagraphs |
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1 | (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph (7), with the child | ||||||
2 | placed back in a group setting as quickly as possible. | ||||||
3 | (F) Early childhood programs may utilize and the | ||||||
4 | State Board of Education, the Department of Human | ||||||
5 | Services, and the Department of Children and Family | ||||||
6 | Services shall recommend training, technical support, | ||||||
7 | and professional development resources to improve the | ||||||
8 | ability of teachers, administrators, program | ||||||
9 | directors, and other staff to promote social-emotional | ||||||
10 | development and behavioral health, to address | ||||||
11 | challenging behaviors, and to understand trauma and | ||||||
12 | trauma-informed care, cultural competence, family | ||||||
13 | engagement with diverse populations, the impact of | ||||||
14 | implicit bias on adult behavior, and the use of | ||||||
15 | reflective practice techniques. Support shall include | ||||||
16 | the availability of resources to contract with infant | ||||||
17 | and early childhood mental health consultants. | ||||||
18 | (G) Beginning on July 1, 2018, early childhood | ||||||
19 | programs shall annually report to the State Board of | ||||||
20 | Education, and, beginning in fiscal year 2020, the | ||||||
21 | State Board of Education shall make available on a | ||||||
22 | biennial basis, in an existing report, all of the | ||||||
23 | following data for children from birth to age 5 who are | ||||||
24 | served by the program: | ||||||
25 | (i) Total number served over the course of the | ||||||
26 | program year and the total number of children who |
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1 | left the program during the program year. | ||||||
2 | (ii) Number of planned transitions to another | ||||||
3 | program due to children's behavior, by children's | ||||||
4 | race, gender, disability, language, class/group | ||||||
5 | size, teacher-child ratio, and length of program | ||||||
6 | day. | ||||||
7 | (iii) Number of temporary removals of a child | ||||||
8 | from attendance in group settings due to a serious | ||||||
9 | safety threat under subparagraph (E) of this | ||||||
10 | paragraph (7), by children's race, gender, | ||||||
11 | disability, language, class/group size, | ||||||
12 | teacher-child ratio, and length of program day. | ||||||
13 | (iv) Hours of infant and early childhood | ||||||
14 | mental health consultant contact with program | ||||||
15 | leaders, staff, and families over the program | ||||||
16 | year. | ||||||
17 | (H) Changes to services for children with an | ||||||
18 | individualized education program or individual family | ||||||
19 | service plan shall be construed in a manner consistent | ||||||
20 | with the federal Individuals with Disabilities | ||||||
21 | Education Act. | ||||||
22 | The State Board of Education, in consultation with the | ||||||
23 | Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and the | ||||||
24 | Department of Children and Family Services, shall adopt | ||||||
25 | rules to administer this paragraph (7). | ||||||
26 | (b) (Blank).
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1 | (Source: P.A. 100-105, eff. 1-1-18 .)
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