SB2594 Engrossed LRB096 17075 MJR 32396 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 2-3.71 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
7     Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs.
8     (a) Preschool program.
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
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
17     subcontract with other entities that are eligible to
18     conduct a preschool educational program. These grants must
19     be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from
20     any other source.
21         (2) (Blank).
22         (3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program
23     authorized by this subsection shall hold an early childhood

 

 

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1     teaching certificate.
2         (4) (Blank) This paragraph (4) applies before July 1,
3     2006 and after June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education
4     shall provide the primary source of funding through
5     appropriations for the program. Such funds shall be
6     distributed for the benefit of children who because of
7     their home and community environment are subject to such
8     language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages that
9     they have been determined as a result of screening
10     procedures to be at risk of academic failure. Such
11     screening procedures shall be based on criteria
12     established by the State Board of Education.
13         (4.5) This paragraph (4.5) applies from July 1, 2006
14     through June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education shall
15     provide the primary source of funding through
16     appropriations for the program. Such funds shall be
17     distributed to achieve a goal of "Preschool for All
18     Children" for the benefit of all children whose families
19     choose to participate in the program. Based on available
20     appropriations, newly funded programs shall be selected
21     through a process giving first priority to qualified
22     programs serving primarily at-risk children and second
23     priority to qualified programs serving primarily children
24     with a family income of less than 4 times the poverty
25     guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by
26     the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the

 

 

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1     authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For purposes of this
2     paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are those who because of
3     their home and community environment are subject to such
4     language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages to
5     cause them to have been determined as a result of screening
6     procedures to be at risk of academic failure. Such
7     screening procedures shall be based on criteria
8     established by the State Board of Education.
9         Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5),
10     grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of
11     understanding with the appropriate local Head Start
12     agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than
13     3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the
14     program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program
15     year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the
16     deadline set by the State Board of Education for
17     applications to participate in the program in fiscal year
18     2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's
19     program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues,
20     which shall include without limitation the following:
21             (A) educational activities, curricular objectives,
22         and instruction;
23             (B) public information dissemination and access to
24         programs for families contacting programs;
25             (C) service areas;
26             (D) selection priorities for eligible children to

 

 

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1         be served by programs;
2             (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State
3         funding to benefit young children;
4             (F) staff training, including opportunities for
5         joint staff training;
6             (G) technical assistance;
7             (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth
8         transitions to kindergarten;
9             (I) provision and use of facilities,
10         transportation, and other program elements;
11             (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its
12         statutory and regulatory requirements;
13             (K) improving local planning and collaboration;
14         and
15             (L) providing comprehensive services for the
16         neediest Illinois children and families.
17     If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or
18     unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as
19     required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of
20     understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee
21     under the program must notify the State Board of Education
22     in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or
23     unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile
24     all such written notices and make them available to the
25     public.
26         (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and

 

 

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1     provide evaluation tools, including tests, that school
2     districts and other eligible entities may use to evaluate
3     children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State
4     Board of Education shall require school districts and other
5     eligible entities to obtain consent from the parents or
6     guardians of children before any evaluations are
7     conducted. The State Board of Education shall encourage
8     local school districts and other eligible entities to
9     evaluate the population of preschool children in their
10     communities and provide preschool programs, pursuant to
11     this subsection, where appropriate.
12         (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the
13     General Assembly by November 1, 2010 and every 3 years
14     thereafter on the results and progress of students who were
15     enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
16     assessment of which programs have been most successful in
17     promoting academic excellence and alleviating academic
18     failure. The State Board of Education shall assess the
19     academic progress of all students who have been enrolled in
20     preschool educational programs.
21         On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which
22     the General Assembly provides funding for new programs
23     under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of
24     Education shall report to the General Assembly on what
25     percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving
26     primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding

 

 

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1     was provided to programs serving primarily children with a
2     family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty
3     level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to
4     other programs.
5     (b) (Blank).
6 (Source: P.A. 95-724, eff. 6-30-08; 96-119, eff. 8-4-09.)
 
7     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8 becoming law.