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Public Act 096-0944
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| HB5322 Enrolled |
LRB096 17074 MJR 32395 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
2-3.71 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/2-3.71) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
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Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs. |
(a) Preschool program.
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(1) The State Board of Education shall implement and |
administer
a grant program under the provisions of this |
subsection which shall
consist of grants to public school |
districts and other eligible entities, as defined by the |
State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary
preschool
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educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 which include |
a parent
education component. A public school district |
which receives grants under
this subsection may |
subcontract with other entities that are eligible to |
conduct a preschool educational
program. These grants must |
be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from |
any other source.
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(2) (Blank).
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(3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program |
authorized by this
subsection shall hold an early childhood |
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teaching certificate.
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(4) (Blank) This paragraph (4) applies before July 1, |
2006 and after June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education |
shall provide the primary source of
funding through |
appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be |
distributed for the benefit
of children who because of |
their home and community environment are subject
to such |
language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages that |
they have
been determined as a result of screening |
procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such |
screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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established by the State Board of Education.
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(4.5) This paragraph (4.5) applies from July 1, 2006 |
through June 30, 2010. The State Board of Education shall |
provide the primary source of
funding through |
appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be |
distributed to achieve a goal of "Preschool for All |
Children" for the benefit
of all children whose families |
choose to participate in the program. Based on available |
appropriations, newly funded programs shall be selected |
through a process giving first priority to qualified |
programs serving primarily at-risk children and second |
priority to qualified programs serving primarily children |
with a family income of less than 4 times the poverty |
guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by |
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the |
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authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For purposes of this |
paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are those who because of |
their home and community environment are subject
to such |
language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages to |
cause them to have
been determined as a result of screening |
procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such |
screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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established by the State Board of Education. |
Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5), |
grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of |
understanding with the appropriate local Head Start |
agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than |
3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the |
program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program |
year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the |
deadline set by the State Board of Education for |
applications to participate in the program in fiscal year |
2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's |
program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues, |
which shall include without limitation the following: |
(A) educational activities, curricular objectives, |
and instruction; |
(B) public information dissemination and access to |
programs for families contacting programs; |
(C) service areas; |
(D) selection priorities for eligible children to |
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be served by programs; |
(E) maximizing the impact of federal and State |
funding to benefit young children; |
(F) staff training, including opportunities for |
joint staff training; |
(G) technical assistance; |
(H) communication and parent outreach for smooth |
transitions to kindergarten; |
(I) provision and use of facilities, |
transportation, and other program elements; |
(J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its |
statutory and regulatory requirements; |
(K) improving local planning and collaboration; |
and |
(L) providing comprehensive services for the |
neediest Illinois children and families. |
If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or |
unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as |
required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of |
understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee |
under the program must notify the State Board of Education |
in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or |
unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile |
all such written notices and make them available to the |
public.
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(5) The State Board of Education shall develop and |
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provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school |
districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate |
children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State |
Board of
Education shall require school districts and other |
eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
or |
guardians of children before any evaluations are |
conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage |
local school districts and other eligible entities to |
evaluate the
population of preschool children in their |
communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to |
this subsection, where appropriate.
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(6) The State Board of Education shall report to the |
General Assembly by November 1, 2010
and every
3 years |
thereafter on the results and progress of
students who were |
enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
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assessment of which programs have been most successful in |
promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic |
failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the |
academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled in |
preschool educational programs.
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On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which |
the General Assembly provides funding for new programs |
under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of |
Education shall report to the General Assembly on what |
percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving |
primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding |