(110 ILCS 28/15)

Sec. 15. Creation of Consortium; purpose; administrative support.

(a) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board shall create and establish the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity.

(b) The purpose of the Consortium is to serve the needs of the incumbent early childhood workforce and the employers of early childhood educators and to advance racial equity while meeting the needs of employers by streamlining, coordinating, and improving the accessibility of degree completion pathways for upskilling and the sustained expansion of educational pipelines at Illinois institutions of higher education.

(c) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board shall convene the member institutions by July 1, 2021 or within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board shall provide administrative support for the start up and operation of the Consortium until a permanent governance structure is developed and implemented. The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Community College Board shall work with member institutions to establish geographic regional hubs, including public universities and the proximate community colleges responsible for serving each regional hub.

(Source: P.A. 102-174, eff. 7-28-21.)