95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB2008

 

Introduced 2/26/2007, by Rep. Michael K. Smith

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.51   from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.51

    Amends the School Code. With respect to the Reading Improvement Block Grant Program, makes changes concerning (i) the power and duty of the State Board of Education to improve reading and study skills, (ii) the purposes for which the State Board may distribute 2% or less of the moneys appropriated for the program, (iii) when program funds are distributed to school districts, (iv) how program funds are used by school districts, and (v) what an application for funds must include. Removes a provision concerning a school district's report of performance of progress results and a district not being eligible for additional funding until performance progress is established. Effective July 1, 2007.


LRB095 04818 NHT 24878 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2008 LRB095 04818 NHT 24878 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 2-3.51 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.51)
7     Sec. 2-3.51. Reading Improvement Block Grant Program. To
8 improve the reading and study skills of children from
9 kindergarten through sixth grade in school districts through
10 the professional development of their teachers and to provide
11 supplemental reading programs for struggling readers. The
12 State Board of Education is authorized to administer a Reading
13 Improvement Block Grant Program. As used in this Section:
14     "School district" includes those schools designated as
15 "laboratory schools".
16     "Scientifically based reading research" means the
17 application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures
18 to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development,
19 reading instruction, and reading difficulties. The term
20 includes research that employs systematic, empirical methods
21 that draw on observation or experiment, involves rigorous data
22 analysis that is adequate to test the stated hypotheses and to
23 justify the general conclusions drawn, relies on measurements

 

 

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1 or observational methods that provide valid data across
2 evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and
3 observations, and has been accepted by peer-reviewed journal or
4 approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably
5 rigorous, objective and scientific review.
6     (a) Funds for the Reading Improvement Block Grant Program
7 shall be distributed to school districts on the following
8 basis: 70% of monies shall be awarded on the prior year's best
9 3 months average daily attendance and 30% shall be distributed
10 on the number of economically disadvantaged (E.C.I.A. Chapter
11 I) pupils in the district, provided that the State Board may
12 distribute an amount not to exceed 2% of the monies
13 appropriated for the Reading Improvement Block Grant Program
14 for the purpose of providing teacher training, and re-training
15 in the teaching of reading, and providing additional funds to
16 districts with substantial enrollments of at-risk students.
17 Program funds shall be distributed to school districts in one
18 annual 2 semi-annual installments, one payment on or before
19 October 30, and one payment prior to April 30, of each year.
20 The State Board shall promulgate rules and regulations
21 necessary for the implementation of this program. Programs
22 provided with grant funds shall not replace quality classroom
23 reading instruction, but shall instead supplement such
24 instruction.
25     (a-5) Reading Improvement Block Grant Program funds shall
26 be used by school districts in the following manner:

 

 

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1         (1) to hire reading specialists, reading teachers, and
2     reading aides in order to provide early reading
3     intervention in kindergarten through grade 2 and programs
4     of continued reading support for students in grades 3
5     through 6;
6         (2) in kindergarten through grade 2, to establish
7     short-term tutorial early reading intervention programs
8     for children who are at risk of failing to learn to read;
9     these programs shall (i) focus on scientifically based
10     research and best practices with proven long-term results,
11     (ii) identify students in need of help no later than the
12     middle of first grade, (iii) provide ongoing training for
13     teachers in the program, (iv) focus instruction on
14     strengthening a student's phonemic awareness, phonics,
15     fluency, and comprehension skills, (v) provide a means to
16     document and evaluate student growth, and (vi) provide
17     properly trained staff;
18         (3) to continue direct reading instruction for grades 3
19     through 6 and ; (4) in grades 3 through 6, to establish
20     programs of support for students in those grades who
21     demonstrate a need for continued assistance in learning to
22     read and in maintaining reading achievement; these
23     programs shall (i) focus on scientifically based research
24     and best practices with proven long-term results, (ii)
25     provide ongoing training for teachers and other staff
26     members in the program, (iii) focus instruction on

 

 

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1     strengthening a student's phonics, fluency, and
2     comprehension skills in grades 3 through 6, (iv) provide a
3     means to evaluate and document student growth, and (v)
4     provide properly trained staff;
5         (5) in grades K through 6, to provide classroom reading
6     materials for students, assessment tools, and professional
7     development materials; each district may allocate up to 25%
8     of the funds for this purpose; and
9         (6) to provide a long-term professional development
10     program for classroom teachers, administrators, and other
11     appropriate staff; the program (i) shall (i) focus on
12     scientifically based research and best practices with
13     proven long-term results and (ii) must be approved by the
14     State Board of Education , (ii) provide a means to evaluate
15     student progress in reading as a result of the training,
16     (iii) and be provided by approved staff development
17     providers.
18     (a-10) Reading Improvement Block Grant Program funds shall
19 be made available to each eligible school district submitting
20 an approved application developed by the State Board beginning
21 with the 1998-99 school year. Applications shall include an
22 evaluation of programs funded with Reading Improvement Block
23 Grant moneys the preceding fiscal year as well as a plan for
24 use of grant funds in the upcoming fiscal year. Data collected
25 with formal and informal assessment tools must provide the
26 basis for the evaluation and the development of the plan. a

 

 

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1 proposed assessment method or methods for measuring the reading
2 growth of students who receive direct instruction as a result
3 of the funding and the impact of staff development activities
4 on student growth in reading. Such methods may include the
5 reading portion of the Illinois Standards Achievement Testing
6 Program. At the end of each school year the district shall
7 report performance of progress results to the State Board.
8 Districts not demonstrating performance progress using an
9 approved assessment method shall not be eligible for funding in
10 the third or subsequent years until such progress is
11 established.
12     (a-15) The State Superintendent of Education, in
13 cooperation with the school districts participating in the
14 program, shall annually report to the leadership of the General
15 Assembly on the results of the Reading Improvement Block Grant
16 Program and the progress being made on improving the reading
17 skills of students in kindergarten through the sixth grade.
18     (b) (Blank).
19     (c) (Blank).
20     (d) Grants under the Reading Improvement Program shall be
21 awarded provided there is an appropriation for the program, and
22 funding levels for each district shall be prorated according to
23 the amount of the appropriation.
24     (e) (Blank).
25     (f) (Blank).
26 (Source: P.A. 92-25, eff. 7-1-01.)
 

 

 

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1     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2 2007.