| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Grow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Your Own Educational Service Provider Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Own Educational Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Provider preparation programs established under this Act shall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | comprise a major new statewide initiative, known as the Grow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Your Own Educational Service Provider Initiative. The | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Initiative shall effectively recruit and prepare staff of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | non-profit social service agencies who also provide public or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | private school educational services to obtain a higher level of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | or additional licensure or certification. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | "Accredited program" means a regionally accredited, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | Board-approved program authorized to prepare service providers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | to fulfill all of the requirements to receive a higher level of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | or additional licensure or certification.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | "Board" means the Board of Higher Education.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | "Cohort" means a group of service provider candidates who | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | are linked by their desire to obtain a higher level of or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | additional licensure or certification and by their need for the | ||||||
2 | services and supports offered by the Initiative.
| ||||||
3 | "Community organization" means a non-profit organization | ||||||
4 | that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and | ||||||
5 | organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that | ||||||
6 | will hold the eligible school accountable for achieving high | ||||||
7 | academic standards; in addition to organizations with a | ||||||
8 | geographic focus, "community organization" includes general | ||||||
9 | parent organizations, organizations of special education | ||||||
10 | parents, and school employee unions.
| ||||||
11 | "Eligible school" means a public or private elementary, | ||||||
12 | middle, or secondary school in this State that utilizes staff | ||||||
13 | of a non-profit social service agency to provide educational | ||||||
14 | services. | ||||||
15 | "Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Educational Service | ||||||
16 | Provider Initiative created under this Act.
| ||||||
17 | "Paraeducator" means an individual with a history of | ||||||
18 | demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions such as | ||||||
19 | teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school clerks, | ||||||
20 | and security aides.
| ||||||
21 | "Parent and community leader" means an individual who has | ||||||
22 | or had a child enrolled in an eligible school or schools and | ||||||
23 | who has a history of active involvement in the school or who | ||||||
24 | has a history of working to improve schools, including | ||||||
25 | membership in a community organization.
| ||||||
26 | "Program" means a Grow Your Own Educational Service |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Provider preparation program established by a consortium under | ||||||
2 | this Act.
| ||||||
3 | "Service provider" means a staff person of a non-profit | ||||||
4 | social service agency who also provides public or private | ||||||
5 | school educational services and is a qualified worker as | ||||||
6 | defined in Article 14 of the School Code; a qualified mental | ||||||
7 | retardation professional as defined in the Mental Health and | ||||||
8 | Developmental Disabilities Code; a licensed clinical | ||||||
9 | professional counselor as defined in the Professional | ||||||
10 | Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing Act; a | ||||||
11 | public or private school teacher; a direct care or | ||||||
12 | rehabilitation staff member of the non-profit social service | ||||||
13 | agency; an educational specialist, paraeducator, or | ||||||
14 | paraprofessional; a certified occupational therapy assistant; | ||||||
15 | or a certified physical therapy assistant.
| ||||||
16 | Section 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Your Own | ||||||
17 | Educational Service Provider Initiative is created. The Board | ||||||
18 | shall administer the Initiative as a grant competition to fund | ||||||
19 | consortia that will carry out Grow Your Own Educational Service | ||||||
20 | Provider preparation programs. | ||||||
21 | Section 20. Selection of grantees. The Board shall award | ||||||
22 | grants to qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and | ||||||
23 | diversity of eligible schools across this State. In awarding | ||||||
24 | grants, the Board shall select programs that successfully |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | address Initiative criteria and that reflect a diversity of | ||||||
2 | strategies in terms of serving urban areas, serving rural | ||||||
3 | areas, the nature of the participating institutions of higher | ||||||
4 | education, and the nature of eligible schools on which a | ||||||
5 | program is focused.
| ||||||
6 | The Board shall select consortia that meet the following | ||||||
7 | requirements:
| ||||||
8 | (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one | ||||||
9 | 4-year institution of higher education with an accredited | ||||||
10 | program, at least one eligible school or group of eligible | ||||||
11 | schools, and one or more community organizations. The | ||||||
12 | consortium membership may also include a 2-year | ||||||
13 | institution of higher education, a school employee union, | ||||||
14 | or a regional office of education.
| ||||||
15 | (2) The 4-year institution of higher education
| ||||||
16 | participating in the consortium shall have past, | ||||||
17 | demonstrated success in preparing service providers.
| ||||||
18 | (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined
set | ||||||
19 | of eligible schools that will participate in the program. | ||||||
20 | The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will | ||||||
21 | carry out in preparing service providers for its | ||||||
22 | participating schools.
| ||||||
23 | (4) A candidate in a program under the Initiative
must | ||||||
24 | be a service provider.
| ||||||
25 | (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures
| ||||||
26 | for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | highly competent service providers. Professional | ||||||
2 | preparation shall include on-going direct experience in | ||||||
3 | target schools and evaluation of this experience.
| ||||||
4 | (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts
| ||||||
5 | of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a | ||||||
6 | schedule that enables candidates to work full time while | ||||||
7 | participating in the program and allows service providers | ||||||
8 | to continue in their current positions. In any fiscal year | ||||||
9 | in which an appropriation for the Initiative is made, the | ||||||
10 | consortium shall guarantee that support will be available | ||||||
11 | to an admitted cohort for the cohort's education for that | ||||||
12 | fiscal year. At the beginning of the Initiative, programs | ||||||
13 | that are already operating and existing cohorts of | ||||||
14 | candidates under this model are eligible for funding.
| ||||||
15 | (7) The institutions of higher education
participating | ||||||
16 | in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the | ||||||
17 | same amount of funds in implementing the program that these | ||||||
18 | institutions spend per student on similar educational | ||||||
19 | programs. Grants received by the consortium shall | ||||||
20 | supplement and not supplant these amounts.
| ||||||
21 | (8) The Board shall establish additional
criteria for | ||||||
22 | review of proposals, including criteria that address the | ||||||
23 | following issues:
| ||||||
24 | (A) Previous experience of the institutions of
| ||||||
25 | higher education in preparing service providers and in | ||||||
26 | working with students with non-traditional |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | backgrounds.
| ||||||
2 | (B) The quality of the implementation plan,
| ||||||
3 | including strategies for overcoming institutional | ||||||
4 | barriers to the progress of non-traditional | ||||||
5 | candidates.
| ||||||
6 | (C) If a community college is a participant, the
| ||||||
7 | nature and extent of existing articulation agreements | ||||||
8 | and guarantees between the community college and the | ||||||
9 | 4-year institution of higher education.
| ||||||
10 | (D) The number of candidates to be educated in
the | ||||||
11 | planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the | ||||||
12 | consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.
| ||||||
13 | (E) Experience of the community organization or
| ||||||
14 | organizations in organizing parents and community | ||||||
15 | leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong | ||||||
16 | relational school culture.
| ||||||
17 | (F) The qualifications of the person or persons
| ||||||
18 | designated by the 4-year institution of higher | ||||||
19 | education to be responsible for cohort support and the | ||||||
20 | development of a shared learning and social | ||||||
21 | environment among candidates.
| ||||||
22 | (G) The consortium's plan for collective
| ||||||
23 | consortium decision-making, involving all consortium | ||||||
24 | members, including mechanisms for candidate input.
| ||||||
25 | (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of
the | ||||||
26 | program on the quality of education in the eligible |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | schools.
| ||||||
2 | (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs
of | ||||||
3 | the eligible schools and positions, and the use in | ||||||
4 | curriculum and instructional planning of principles | ||||||
5 | for effective education for adults.
| ||||||
6 | (J) The availability of classes under the program
| ||||||
7 | in places and times accessible to the candidates.
| ||||||
8 | (K) Provision of a level of performance to be
| ||||||
9 | maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing | ||||||
10 | in the program.
| ||||||
11 | (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher
| ||||||
12 | education to ensure that candidates take advantage of | ||||||
13 | existing financial aid resources before using the loan | ||||||
14 | funds described in Section 25 of this Act.
| ||||||
15 | (M) The availability of supportive services,
| ||||||
16 | including, but not limited to, transportation, | ||||||
17 | technology, and technology support.
| ||||||
18 | (N) A plan for continued participation of
| ||||||
19 | graduates of the program in a program of support for at | ||||||
20 | least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.
| ||||||
21 | (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation
| ||||||
22 | of candidates' skills that ensures that graduates of | ||||||
23 | the program are as prepared as other individuals | ||||||
24 | completing the institution of higher education's | ||||||
25 | accredited program for the higher level of or | ||||||
26 | additional licensure or certification sought.
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides
| ||||||
2 | reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates | ||||||
3 | towards obtaining a higher level of or additional | ||||||
4 | licensure or certification and the impact of the | ||||||
5 | program on the target schools and their communities.
| ||||||
6 | (Q) Contributions from eligible schools
and other | ||||||
7 | consortia members to the program.
| ||||||
8 | (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the
| ||||||
9 | program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced | ||||||
10 | requirements for external funding, in subsequent | ||||||
11 | cycles.
| ||||||
12 | (S) The inclusion in the planned program of
| ||||||
13 | strategies derived from community organizing that will | ||||||
14 | help candidates develop tools for working with parents | ||||||
15 | and other community members.
| ||||||
16 | Section 25. Expenditures under the Initiative.
| ||||||
17 | (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a | ||||||
18 | program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition and | ||||||
19 | fees of candidates under the program in excess of the | ||||||
20 | candidates' grants-in-aid. All students admitted to a cohort | ||||||
21 | are eligible for a forgivable student loan. Loans shall be | ||||||
22 | fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years of service in an | ||||||
23 | eligible school, with partial forgiveness for shorter periods | ||||||
24 | of service. The Board shall establish standards for the | ||||||
25 | approval of requests for waivers or deferrals from individuals |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | to waive this obligation. The Board shall also define standards | ||||||
2 | for the fiscal management of these loan funds.
| ||||||
3 | (b) The Board shall award grants under the Initiative in | ||||||
4 | such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of | ||||||
5 | candidates for any fiscal year in which an appropriation for | ||||||
6 | the Initiative is made. Program budgets must show expenditures | ||||||
7 | and needed funds for the entire period that candidates are | ||||||
8 | expected to be enrolled.
| ||||||
9 | (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant | ||||||
10 | the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of | ||||||
11 | higher education for candidates.
| ||||||
12 | (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the | ||||||
13 | costs of indirect expenses, such as transportation, | ||||||
14 | technology, and technology support, necessary to permit | ||||||
15 | candidates to maintain their class schedules. Grant funds may | ||||||
16 | be used by any member of a consortium to offset such costs, and | ||||||
17 | the services may be provided by the community organization or | ||||||
18 | organizations, by any other member of the consortium, or by | ||||||
19 | independent contractors.
| ||||||
20 | (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant | ||||||
21 | funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in | ||||||
22 | community settings.
| ||||||
23 | (f) The community organization or organizations may | ||||||
24 | receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of | ||||||
25 | recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of | ||||||
26 | potential candidates, for providing space in the community, and |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | for working with school personnel to facilitate individual work | ||||||
2 | experiences and support of candidates.
| ||||||
3 | (g) The eligible school may receive a portion of the grant | ||||||
4 | money for expenses of supporting the work experiences of | ||||||
5 | candidates and providing mentors for program graduates. | ||||||
6 | (h) One or more members of the consortium may expend funds | ||||||
7 | to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
| ||||||
8 | Section 30. Implementation of Initiative. The Board shall | ||||||
9 | develop guidelines and application procedures for the | ||||||
10 | Initiative. The Board may, if it chooses, award a small number | ||||||
11 | of planning grants during any fiscal year to potential | ||||||
12 | consortia. | ||||||
13 | Section 35. Independent program evaluation. The Board | ||||||
14 | shall contract for an independent evaluation of program | ||||||
15 | implementation by each of its participating consortia and of | ||||||
16 | the impact of each program, including the extent of candidate | ||||||
17 | persistence in program enrollment, acceptance in an accredited | ||||||
18 | program at a 4-year institution of higher education, completion | ||||||
19 | of the higher level of or additional licensure or | ||||||
20 | certification, subsequent effectiveness as a service provider, | ||||||
21 | and persistence in providing public or private school | ||||||
22 | educational services. The evaluation shall assess the | ||||||
23 | Initiative's overall effectiveness and shall identify | ||||||
24 | particular program strategies that are especially effective. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Section 40. Funding. Funding of the Initiative is subject | ||||||
2 | to appropriation. | ||||||
3 | Section 45. Rules. The Board may adopt any rules necessary | ||||||
4 | to carry out its responsibilities under this Act.
|