SB3705eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3705 Engrossed LRB096 20562 MJR 36252 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by changing Section 2-25 as follows:

(110 ILCS 805/2-25)

Sec. 2-25. College and Career Readiness Pilot Program.

(a) The General Assembly finds that there is a direct and significant link between academic preparation of students being academically prepared for college and success in postsecondary education and careers. Many students enter college unprepared for the academic rigors of college and require noncredit remedial courses to attain skills and knowledge needed for regular, credit coursework. Remediation lengthens time to degree, imposes additional costs on students and colleges, and uses student financial aid for courses that will not count toward a degree. All students entering college take a college entrance exam or a placement test. These tests All high school juniors take the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which contains the ACT college assessment exam. ACT test elements and scores can be correlated to specific course placements in community colleges. Customized ACT test results can be used in collaboration with high schools to assist high school students to identify areas for improvement and help to them close skill gaps during students' their senior year. College Greater college and career readiness reduces will reduce the need for remediation, lowers lower educational costs, shortens shorten time to degree, and increases increase the overall success rate of Illinois college students.

(b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall create a 3-year pilot project, to be known as the College and Career Readiness Pilot Program. Subject to appropriation, on July 1, 2010, the State Board shall extend the current program for an additional 3 years and include an additional 7 sites (or as many as are allowed by available funding), as evidenced by the effectiveness of the current program. If in any of these 3 additional years, money is not appropriated for the program, then the State Board shall extend the program for an additional year. The goals of the program are as follows:

(1) To diagnose college readiness by developing a system that aligns to align ACT scores or college placement examinations to specific community college courses in developmental and freshman curriculums.

(2) To reduce remediation by decreasing the need for remedial coursework in mathematics, reading, and writing at the college level through (i) increasing the number of students enrolled in a college-prep core curriculum, (ii) assisting students in improving college readiness skills, and (iii) increasing successful student transitions into postsecondary education.

(3) To align high school and college curriculums.

(4) To provide resources and academic support to students to enrich the junior and senior year of high school through remedial or advanced coursework and other interventions.

(5) To develop an appropriate evaluation process to measure the effectiveness of readiness intervention strategies.

(c) The first year of the program extended created under this Section by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall begin with the high school class of 2011 and the high school class of 2012 (or such later classes if money is not appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year) 2008.

(1) In addition to the community colleges participating in the program before July 1, 2010, the The State Board shall select 7 additional 4 community colleges (or as many as are allowable by available funding) to participate in the program based on all of the following:

(A) The percentage of students in developmental coursework.

(B) Demographics of student enrollment, including socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and enrollments of first-generation college students.

(C) Geographic diversity.

(D) The willingness of the community college to submit developmental and introductory courses to ACT for analysis of college placement.

(D) (E) The ability of the community college to partner with local high schools to develop college and career readiness strategies and college readiness teams.

(2) The State Board shall work with ACT to analyze up to 10 courses at each participating community college for purposes of determining student placement and college readiness.

(2) (3) Each participating community college shall establish an agreement with a high school or schools to do all of the following:

(A) Create a data-sharing agreement.

(B) Create a Readiness Plan Prescription for each student, showing all of the following:

(i) The readiness status for college-level work.

(ii) Course recommendations for remediation or for advanced coursework in Advanced Placement classes or dual credit and dual enrollment programs.

(iii) Additional academic support services, including tutoring, mentoring, and college application assistance.

(C) Create college and career readiness teams, which shall include the chief academic officer, the chief student services officer, an institutional researcher, faculty, and counselors or advisers comprised of faculty and counselors or advisers from the community college and high school, the college and career readiness coordinator from the community college, and other members as determined by the high school and community college. The teams may include local business or civic leaders. The teams shall develop intervention strategies as follows:

(i) Use the Readiness Plan Prescription to develop a contract with each student for remedial or advanced coursework to be taken during the senior year.

(ii) Monitor student progress.

(iii) Provide readiness support services.

(D) Retest students upon the completion of the appropriate intervention in the spring of 2008 to assess progress and college readiness.

(3) (4) The State Board shall work with participating community colleges and high schools to develop an appropriate evaluation process to measure effectiveness of intervention strategies, including all of the following:

(A) Baseline data for each participating school.

(B) Baseline data for the Illinois system.

(C) Comparison of college entrance exams or college placement scores, or both, within each group of students ACT scores from March 2007 to March 2008.

(D) Student enrollment in each applicable intervention college in the fall of 2008.

(E) Placement of college and career readiness students in developmental and regular courses upon the completion of the intervention and subsequent enrollment in additional courses in the fall of 2008.

(F) Retention of college and career readiness students in the spring semester after enrollment of 2009.

(G) Other measures as selected by the State Board.

(5) The State Board shall work with participating community colleges and high schools to establish operational processes and a budget for college and career readiness pilot programs, including all of the following:

(A) Employment of a college and career readiness coordinator at each community college site.

(B) Establishment of a budget.

(C) Creation of college and career readiness teams, resources, and partnership agreements.

(d) The second year of the program extended created under this Section by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall begin with the high school class of 2012 and the high school class of 2013 (or such later classes if money is not appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year) 2009. In the second year of the extended program, the State Board shall have all of the following duties:

(1) Analyze courses at 3 new community college sites.

(1) (2) Undertake intervention strategies through college and career readiness teams with students of in the classes class of 2012 and 2013 2009.

(2) (3) Monitor and assist college and career readiness graduates from the class of 2011 2008 in college.

(e) The third year of the program extended created under this Section by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly shall begin with the high school class of 2013 and the high school class of 2014 (or such later classes if money is not appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year) 2010. In the third year of the extended program, the State Board shall have all of the following duties:

(1) Analyze courses at 5 new community college sites.

(2) Add college and career readiness teams at 3 new sites (from year 2 of the program).

(1) (3) Undertake intervention strategies through college and career readiness teams with students of the classes class of 2013 and 2014 2010 at 7 sites.

(2) (4) Monitor and assist students from the classes of 2011 2008 and 2012 2009 in college.

(f) At the end of the 3-year extension of the program, the State Board shall prepare and submit a report outlining its findings and recommendations to the Senate and the House of Representatives by filing a copy of its report with the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives no later than December 31, 2013.

(Source: P.A. 95-694, eff. 11-5-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2010.