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91_HB1417eng HB1417 Engrossed LRB9104134NTsb 1 AN ACT concerning school community policing partnerships. 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 5 School Community Policing Partnership Act. 6 Section 5. Legislative findings and declarations; 7 purpose. 8 (a) The General Assembly finds and declares all of the 9 following: 10 (1) Many of the public schools in this State and 11 their surrounding communities are experiencing crime and 12 violence to a degree that makes it difficult for pupils 13 and staff to feel safe. 14 (2) Schools need assistance in carrying out their 15 responsibility to provide safe environments to educate 16 our children. 17 (3) Schools also need assistance in ensuring safe 18 passage for pupils to and from school and in securing the 19 school campus from outside criminal activity and 20 disturbances. 21 (4) A school community policing approach to school 22 safety, modeled after community policing principles, 23 offers an effective strategy for using proactive problem 24 solving and school law enforcement partnerships to 25 address the causes of crime and fear as well as other 26 safe school issues in the school and its surrounding 27 community. 28 (5) Partnerships among schools, law enforcement, 29 and their communities provide a positive support system 30 for schools in addressing safe school issues. 31 (6) Collaboration by school and law enforcement HB1417 Engrossed -2- LRB9104134NTsb 1 community partnerships results in strategic approaches to 2 meet the unique needs of the school community. 3 (b) The purpose of this Act is to provide financial 4 assistance to school districts to ensure safe, secure, and 5 peaceful school campuses through the use of a community 6 policing approach to school crime and safety issues. 7 Section 10. Definition. In this Act "school community 8 policing" means an approach to safe schools that is founded 9 on developing positive relationships between law enforcement 10 and the school community in which (i) schools, law 11 enforcement, community agencies, and the members of the 12 surrounding school community collaboratively develop 13 long-term, proactive approaches and systems to address the 14 underlying conditions that affect the level of school safety 15 and (ii) law enforcement becomes an integral facet of the 16 school community with highly trained law enforcement officers 17 having a visible and active presence on and around school 18 campuses. School community policing also involves highly 19 trained law enforcement officers working with pupils during 20 and after school, providing opportunities for pupils' active 21 involvement in positive activities. School community 22 policing also involves teaching pupils skills and providing 23 them with a consistent system of recognition and 24 reinforcement of positive behavior. 25 Section 15. School Community Policing Partnership Grant 26 Program. 27 (a) The School Community Policing Partnership Grant 28 Program, which is hereby established, shall be administered 29 by the State Board of Education through a School and Law 30 Enforcement Partnership. With respect to this program, the 31 School and Law Enforcement Partnership shall do all of the 32 following: HB1417 Engrossed -3- LRB9104134NTsb 1 (1) Develop application criteria and procedures for 2 school districts pursuant to the provisions of this Act. 3 (2) Award grants to school districts or a 4 consortium of school districts. 5 (3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the funded 6 projects. 7 (4) Report to the General Assembly and the Governor 8 every 2 years on the results of the Program. 9 (b) Grants under the Program shall be awarded on a 10 competitive basis to school districts or a consortium of 11 school districts to develop and implement a plan that 12 demonstrates a collaborative and integrated approach between 13 the grant recipients and local law enforcement agencies for 14 implementing a system of providing safe and secure 15 environments. 16 (c) The School and Law Enforcement Partnership shall 17 award grants to a school district or a consortium of school 18 districts to pay the costs of establishing and operating, on 19 behalf of one or more qualifying schools within the school 20 district or consortium of school districts, programs that 21 apply a community policing approach to school crime and 22 safety, as follows: 23 (1) Grants may be awarded to school districts or 24 consortia of school districts that have demonstrated 25 readiness to begin operation of a program or to expand 26 existing programs. Grants shall supplement, not 27 supplant, existing programs. 28 (2) Grants shall be awarded for no more than 29 $300,000 for the 3-year grant period. 30 (3) Recipients of grants may also receive one-time 31 startup grants, in addition to the base grant, that may 32 be used, among other things, for purchasing equipment, 33 hiring staff, designing a program evaluation, or hiring a 34 program or evaluation consultant. Startup grants shall be HB1417 Engrossed -4- LRB9104134NTsb 1 awarded for not more than $100,000. 2 (4) All grants awarded under this Act shall be 3 matched by the participating school district or 4 consortium of school districts and its cooperating 5 agencies with $1 for each $4 awarded. The match shall be 6 contributed in cash or as services or resources of 7 comparable value. It is the intent of the General 8 Assembly that participants seek and utilize funds or 9 resources for this purpose. The School and Law 10 Enforcement Partnership may waive the match requirement 11 upon verifying that the school district or consortium of 12 school districts made a substantial effort to secure a 13 match but was unable to secure the required match. 14 (5) Pursuant to this Act, the School and Law 15 Enforcement Partnership shall award competitive grants to 16 school districts or consortia of school districts in 17 urban, suburban, and rural areas of northern, central, 18 and southern Illinois. 19 (6) Grants shall be awarded for programs that 20 demonstrate the greatest need and meet the criteria for a 21 program pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 20 of this 22 Act. The School and Law Enforcement Partnership shall 23 consider the latest school crime data for the school or 24 schools in which the program will operate when 25 determining that need. 26 (7) Commencing in fiscal year 2000, and each 27 subsequent year for which funding is available, grants 28 shall be awarded according to the following schedule: 29 (A) The School and Law Enforcement Partnership 30 shall issue requests for applications on or before 31 November 1. 32 (B) Grant applications shall be submitted to 33 the School and Law Enforcement Partnership on or 34 before March 1. HB1417 Engrossed -5- LRB9104134NTsb 1 (C) The School and Law Enforcement Partnership 2 shall award grants on or before May 15. 3 Section 20. Applicant requirements. 4 (a) School districts applying for grants under this Act 5 shall demonstrate that their proposed programs adhere to the 6 definition and principles of school community policing as set 7 forth in this Act. 8 (b) An applicant for funds under the School Community 9 Policing Partnership Grant Program shall demonstrate how a 10 program's overall design addresses the definition of school 11 community policing by describing how the program will do all 12 of the following: 13 (1) Form school community policing partnerships to 14 prevent and respond to crime and violence in the school 15 environment. 16 (2) Employ a proactive problem-solving process to 17 accomplish all of the following: 18 (A) Identify problems through coordinated 19 needs assessments. 20 (B) Analyze in a thorough manner information 21 concerning the problems. 22 (3) Develop responses that are innovative and 23 tailor-made with the best potential for eliminating or 24 reducing the problems. 25 (4) Evaluate the responses to determine their 26 effectiveness and modify them as necessary. 27 (c) An applicant for a grant under the School Community 28 Policing Partnership Grant Program shall demonstrate how the 29 plan will be sustained after the grant period has expired. 30 Section 25. School community policing partnerships. 31 School community policing partnerships funded pursuant to 32 this Act shall demonstrate how their programs will address HB1417 Engrossed -6- LRB9104134NTsb 1 the following: 2 (1) Identify the school communities that face a 3 significant public safety risk of crime, including 4 without limitation gang activity, daylight burglary, 5 late-night robbery, vandalism, truancy, controlled 6 substance sales, firearm related violence, and juvenile 7 alcohol use. 8 (2) Develop information and intelligence sharing 9 systems to ensure that actions by school districts are 10 fully coordinated with local law enforcement agencies. 11 (3) Identify outcome measures to evaluate the 12 effectiveness of the program, which shall include without 13 limitation each of the following: 14 (A) The rate of drug and alcohol-related 15 offenses on the school campus. 16 (B) The rate of crimes against persons on the 17 school campus. 18 (C) The rate of crimes against property on the 19 school campus. 20 (D) Incidence of pupils in possession of 21 firearms or other weapons on the school campus. 22 (E) The rates of school attendance and 23 truancy. 24 (4) Increase understanding and trust between 25 police, the school, and community members. 26 (5) Include an ongoing commitment to developing 27 long-term and proactive programs and strategies to 28 address the underlying conditions that cause school and 29 community problems. 30 (6) Include knowledge of available school and 31 community resources and how to access and mobilize them, 32 as well as the ability to develop new resources within 33 the school and community. 34 (7) Include sustained personal commitment of the HB1417 Engrossed -7- LRB9104134NTsb 1 top management of law enforcement and other local 2 government agencies, as well as from all other levels of 3 management and key personnel. 4 Section 30. Construction. Nothing in this Act shall be 5 construed to require a school district to hire police 6 officers as a condition of receiving a grant under the School 7 Community Policing Partnership Grant Program. Grant funds 8 may not be used to provide funding for school resource 9 officers. 10 Section 35. Funding. It is the intent of the General 11 Assembly that funding for the School Community Policing 12 Partnership Grant Program established pursuant to this Act 13 shall be provided through annual appropriations to the State 14 Board of Education and that grants shall be for a period of 3 15 years. 16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 17 1, 1999.