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LRB096 04372 NHT 14419 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
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| 2-3.71 as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
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| Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs.
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| (a) Preschool program.
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| (1) The State Board of Education shall implement and |
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| administer
a grant program under the provisions of this |
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| subsection which shall
consist of grants to public school |
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| districts and other eligible entities, as defined by the |
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| State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary
preschool
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| educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 which include |
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| a parent
education component. A public school district |
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| which receives grants under
this subsection may |
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| subcontract with other entities that are eligible to |
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| conduct a preschool educational
program. These grants must |
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| be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from |
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| any other source.
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| (2) (Blank).
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| (3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program |
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| authorized by this
subsection shall hold an early childhood |
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| teaching certificate.
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| (4) This paragraph (4) applies before July 1, 2006 and |
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| after June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education shall |
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| provide the primary source of
funding through |
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| appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be |
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| distributed for the benefit
of children who because of |
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| their home and community environment are subject
to such |
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| language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages that |
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| they have
been determined as a result of screening |
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| procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such |
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| screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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| established by the State Board of Education.
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| (4.5) This paragraph (4.5) applies from July 1, 2006 |
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| through June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education shall |
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| provide the primary source of
funding through |
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| appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be |
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| distributed to achieve a goal of "Preschool for All |
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| Children" for the benefit
of all children whose families |
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| choose to participate in the program. Based on available |
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| appropriations, newly funded programs shall be selected |
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| through a process giving first priority to qualified |
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| programs serving primarily at-risk children and second |
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| priority to qualified programs serving primarily children |
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| with a family income of less than 4 times the poverty |
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| guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by |
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| the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the |
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| authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For purposes of this |
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| paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are those who because of |
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| their home and community environment are subject
to such |
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| language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages to |
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| cause them to have
been determined as a result of screening |
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| procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such |
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| screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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| established by the State Board of Education. |
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| Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5), |
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| grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of |
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| understanding with the appropriate local Head Start |
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| agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than |
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| 3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the |
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| program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program |
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| year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the |
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| deadline set by the State Board of Education for |
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| applications to participate in the program in fiscal year |
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| 2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's |
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| program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues, |
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| which shall include without limitation the following: |
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| (A) educational activities, curricular objectives, |
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| and instruction; |
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| (B) public information dissemination and access to |
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| programs for families contacting programs; |
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| (C) service areas; |
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| (D) selection priorities for eligible children to |
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| be served by programs; |
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| (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State |
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| funding to benefit young children; |
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| (F) staff training, including opportunities for |
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| joint staff training; |
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| (G) technical assistance; |
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| (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth |
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| transitions to kindergarten; |
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| (I) provision and use of facilities, |
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| transportation, and other program elements; |
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| (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its |
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| statutory and regulatory requirements; |
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| (K) improving local planning and collaboration; |
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| and |
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| (L) providing comprehensive services for the |
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| neediest Illinois children and families. |
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| If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or |
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| unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as |
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| required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of |
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| understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee |
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| under the program must notify the State Board of Education |
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| in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or |
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| unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile |
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| all such written notices and make them available to the |
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| public.
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| (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and |
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| provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school |
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| districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate |
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| children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State |
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| Board of
Education shall require school districts and other |
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| eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
or |
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| guardians of children before any evaluations are |
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| conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage |
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| local school districts and other eligible entities to |
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| evaluate the
population of preschool children in their |
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| communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to |
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| this subsection, where appropriate.
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| (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the |
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| General Assembly by November 1, 2010
and every
3 years |
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| thereafter on the results and progress of
students who were |
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| enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
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| assessment of which programs have been most successful in |
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| promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic |
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| failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the |
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| academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled in |
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| preschool educational programs.
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| On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which |
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| the General Assembly provides funding for new programs |
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| under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of |
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| Education shall report to the General Assembly on what |
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| percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving |
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| primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding |