Section 227.50  Statewide Activities

a)         Funding made available pursuant to Article 14A of the School Code may be used by the State Board of Education for purposes including, but not limited to:

1)         upgrading professional development materials and events for personnel statewide who serve gifted students, including the Gifted Education Seminar referenced in Section 227.25, or making professional development materials and opportunities more widely available;

2)         reaching underserved demographic groups or geographic areas of the State;

3)         developing and disseminating new knowledge in this field;

4)         developing and disseminating materials for use by parents of gifted students;

5)         building awareness of and support for gifted education;

6)         providing financial resources to support the review of portfolios developed by teachers to demonstrate required qualifications;

7)         supporting the administrative functions of the State Board required or authorized pursuant to Section 14A-35 of the School Code; and

8)         other experimental projects and initiatives as outlined in Section 14A-50 of the School Code.

b)         When the funds appropriated under Article 14A of the School Code are sufficient to provide effective support for local programs of gifted education, the State Superintendent may reserve no more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated for the purposes discussed in subsection (a) of this Section.  When the State Superintendent determines that the level of service to gifted and talented students statewide can more effectively be increased through statewide activities rather than through support for a small number of local programs, the State Superintendent may devote the entire amount available to these purposes.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 7255, effective June 7, 2019)