Elementary & Secondary Education Committee
Filed: 5/21/2008
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4707
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4707 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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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.
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8 | (a) Preschool program.
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9 | (1) The State Board of Education shall implement and | ||||||
10 | 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 |
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1 | subcontract with other entities that are eligible to | ||||||
2 | conduct a preschool educational
program. These grants must | ||||||
3 | be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from | ||||||
4 | any other source.
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5 | (2) (Blank).
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6 | (3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program | ||||||
7 | authorized by this
subsection shall hold an early childhood | ||||||
8 | teaching certificate.
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9 | (4) This paragraph (4) applies before July 1, 2006 and | ||||||
10 | after June 30, 2008. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
11 | provide the primary source of
funding through | ||||||
12 | appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be | ||||||
13 | distributed for the benefit
of children who because of | ||||||
14 | their home and community environment are subject
to such | ||||||
15 | language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages that | ||||||
16 | they have
been determined as a result of screening | ||||||
17 | procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such | ||||||
18 | screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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19 | established by the State Board of Education.
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20 | (4.5) This paragraph (4.5) applies from July 1, 2006 | ||||||
21 | through June 30, 2008. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
22 | provide the primary source of
funding through | ||||||
23 | appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be | ||||||
24 | distributed to achieve a goal of "Preschool for All | ||||||
25 | Children" for the benefit
of all children whose families | ||||||
26 | choose to participate in the program. Based on available |
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1 | appropriations, newly funded programs shall be selected | ||||||
2 | through a process giving first priority to qualified | ||||||
3 | programs serving primarily at-risk children and second | ||||||
4 | priority to qualified programs serving primarily children | ||||||
5 | with a family income of less than 4 times the poverty | ||||||
6 | guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by | ||||||
7 | the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the | ||||||
8 | authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For purposes of this | ||||||
9 | paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are those who because of | ||||||
10 | their home and community environment are subject
to such | ||||||
11 | language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages to | ||||||
12 | cause them to have
been determined as a result of screening | ||||||
13 | procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such | ||||||
14 | screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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15 | established by the State Board of Education. | ||||||
16 | On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which | ||||||
17 | the General Assembly provides funding for new programs | ||||||
18 | under this paragraph (4.5), the State Board of Education | ||||||
19 | shall report to the General Assembly on what percentage of | ||||||
20 | new funding was provided to programs serving primarily | ||||||
21 | at-risk children, what percentage of new funding was | ||||||
22 | provided to programs serving primarily children with a | ||||||
23 | family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty | ||||||
24 | level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to | ||||||
25 | other programs.
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26 | Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5), |
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1 | grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of | ||||||
2 | understanding with the appropriate local Head Start | ||||||
3 | agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than | ||||||
4 | 3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the | ||||||
5 | program, except that, in the case of the 2008-2009 program | ||||||
6 | year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the | ||||||
7 | deadline set by the State Board of Education for | ||||||
8 | applications to participate in the program in fiscal year | ||||||
9 | 2010, and must address collaboration between the grantee's | ||||||
10 | program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues, | ||||||
11 | which shall include without limitation the following: | ||||||
12 | (A) educational activities, curricular objectives, | ||||||
13 | and instruction; | ||||||
14 | (B) public information dissemination and access to | ||||||
15 | programs for families contacting programs; | ||||||
16 | (C) service areas; | ||||||
17 | (D) selection priorities for eligible children to | ||||||
18 | be served by programs; | ||||||
19 | (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State | ||||||
20 | funding to benefit young children; | ||||||
21 | (F) staff training, including opportunities for | ||||||
22 | joint staff training; | ||||||
23 | (G) technical assistance; | ||||||
24 | (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth | ||||||
25 | transitions to kindergarten; | ||||||
26 | (I) provision and use of facilities, |
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1 | transportation, and other program elements; | ||||||
2 | (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its | ||||||
3 | statutory and regulatory requirements; | ||||||
4 | (K) improving local planning and collaboration; | ||||||
5 | and | ||||||
6 | (L) providing comprehensive services for the | ||||||
7 | neediest Illinois children and families. | ||||||
8 | If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or | ||||||
9 | unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as | ||||||
10 | required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of | ||||||
11 | understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee | ||||||
12 | under the program must notify the State Board of Education | ||||||
13 | in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or | ||||||
14 | unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile | ||||||
15 | all such written notices and make them available to the | ||||||
16 | public.
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17 | (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and | ||||||
18 | provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school | ||||||
19 | districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate | ||||||
20 | children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State | ||||||
21 | Board of
Education shall require school districts and other | ||||||
22 | eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
or | ||||||
23 | guardians of children before any evaluations are | ||||||
24 | conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage | ||||||
25 | local school districts and other eligible entities to | ||||||
26 | evaluate the
population of preschool children in their |
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1 | communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to | ||||||
2 | this subsection, where appropriate.
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3 | (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the | ||||||
4 | General Assembly by
July 1, 2007 and every
3 years | ||||||
5 | thereafter on the results and progress of
students who were | ||||||
6 | enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
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7 | assessment of which programs have been most successful in | ||||||
8 | promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic | ||||||
9 | failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the | ||||||
10 | academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled in | ||||||
11 | preschool educational programs.
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12 | (b) (Blank).
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13 | (Source: P.A. 94-506, eff. 8-8-05; 94-1054, eff. 7-25-06.)
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14 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
15 | becoming law.".
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