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91_HB4587enr HB4587 Enrolled LRB9112942REdv 1 AN ACT in relation to State government. 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 FY2001 Budget Implementation Act relating to education. 6 Section 3. The State Finance Act is amended by changing 7 Section 6z-45 as follows: 8 (30 ILCS 105/6z-45) 9 Sec. 6z-45. The School Infrastructure Fund. 10 (a) The School Infrastructure Fund is created as a 11 special fund in the State Treasury. 12 In addition to any other deposits authorized by law, 13 beginning January 1, 2000, on the first day of each month, or 14 as soon thereafter as may be practical, the State Treasurer 15 and State Comptroller shall transfer the sum of $5,000,000 16 from the General Revenue Fund to the School Infrastructure 17 Fund. 18 (b) Subject to the transfer provisions set forth below, 19 money in the School Infrastructure Fund shall, if and when 20 the State of Illinois incurs any bonded indebtedness for the 21 construction of school improvements under the School 22 Construction Law, be set aside and used for the purpose of 23 paying and discharging annually the principal and interest on 24 that bonded indebtedness then due and payable, and for no 25 other purpose. 26 In addition to other transfers to the General Obligation 27 Bond Retirement and Interest Fund made pursuant to Section 15 28 of the General Obligation Bond Act, upon each delivery of 29 bonds issued for construction of school improvements under 30 the School Construction Law, the State Comptroller shall HB4587 Enrolled -2- LRB9112942REdv 1 compute and certify to the State Treasurer the total amount 2 of principal of, interest on, and premium, if any, on such 3 bonds during the then current and each succeeding fiscal 4 year. 5 On or before the last day of each month, the State 6 Treasurer and State Comptroller shall transfer from the 7 School Infrastructure Fund to the General Obligation Bond 8 Retirement and Interest Fund an amount sufficient to pay the 9 aggregate of the principal of, interest on, and premium, if 10 any, on the bonds payable on their next payment date, divided 11 by the number of monthly transfers occurring between the last 12 previous payment date (or the delivery date if no payment 13 date has yet occurred) and the next succeeding payment date. 14 (c) The surplus, if any, in the School Infrastructure 15 Fund after the payment of principal and interest on that 16 bonded indebtedness then annually due shall, subject to 17 appropriation, be used as follows: 18 First - to make 3 payments to the School Technology 19 Revolving Loan Fund as follows: 20 Transfer of $30,000,000 in fiscal year 1999; 21 Transfer of $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2000; and 22 Transfer of $10,000,000 in fiscal year 2001. 23 Second - to pay the expenses of the State Board of 24 Education and the Capital Development Board in administering 25 programs under the School Construction Law, the total 26 expenses not to exceed $1,200,000$1,000,000in any fiscal 27 year. 28 Third - to pay any amounts due for grants for school 29 construction projects and debt service under the School 30 Construction Law. 31 Fourth - to pay any amounts due for grants for school 32 maintenance projects under the School Construction Law. 33 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-587, eff. 7-1-98; 34 91-38, eff. 6-15-99.) HB4587 Enrolled -3- LRB9112942REdv 1 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 2 Sections 1D-1 and 2-3.51.5 as follows: 3 (105 ILCS 5/1D-1) 4 Sec. 1D-1. Block grant funding. 5 (a) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year 6 thereafter, the State Board of Education shall award to a 7 school district having a population exceeding 500,000 8 inhabitants a general education block grant and an 9 educational services block grant, determined as provided in 10 this Section, in lieu of distributing to the district 11 separate State funding for the programs described in 12 subsections (b) and (c). The provisions of this Section, 13 however, do not apply to any federal funds that the district 14 is entitled to receive. In accordance with Section 2-3.32, 15 all block grants are subject to an audit. Therefore, block 16 grant receipts and block grant expenditures shall be recorded 17 to the appropriate fund code for the designated block grant. 18 (b) The general education block grant shall include the 19 following programs: REI Initiative, Summer Bridges, Preschool 20 At Risk, K-6 Comprehensive Arts, School Improvement Support, 21 Urban Education, Scientific Literacy, Substance Abuse 22 Prevention, Second Language Planning, Staff Development, 23 Outcomes and Assessment, K-6 Reading Improvement, Truants' 24 Optional Education, Hispanic Programs, Agriculture Education, 25 Gifted Education, Parental Education, Prevention Initiative, 26 Report Cards, and Criminal Background Investigations. 27 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all amounts paid 28 under the general education block grant from State 29 appropriations to a school district in a city having a 30 population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants shall be 31 appropriated and expended by the board of that district for 32 any of the programs included in the block grant or any of the 33 board's lawful purposes. HB4587 Enrolled -4- LRB9112942REdv 1 (c) The educational services block grant shall include 2 the following programs: Bilingual, Regular and Vocational 3 Transportation, State Lunch and Free Breakfast Program, 4 Special Education (Personnel, Extraordinary, Transportation, 5 Orphanage, Private Tuition), Summer School, Educational 6 Service Centers, and Administrator's Academy. This 7 subsection (c) does not relieve the district of its 8 obligation to provide the services required under a program 9 that is included within the educational services block grant. 10 It is the intention of the General Assembly in enacting the 11 provisions of this subsection (c) to relieve the district of 12 the administrative burdens that impede efficiency and 13 accompany single-program funding. The General Assembly 14 encourages the board to pursue mandate waivers pursuant to 15 Section 2-3.25g. 16 (d) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year 17 thereafter, the amount of the district's block grants shall 18 be determined as follows: (i) with respect to each program 19 that is included within each block grant, the district shall 20 receive an amount equal to the same percentage of the current 21 fiscal year appropriation made for that program as the 22 percentage of the appropriation received by the district from 23 the 1995 fiscal year appropriation made for that program, and 24 (ii) the total amount that is due the district under the 25 block grant shall be the aggregate of the amounts that the 26 district is entitled to receive for the fiscal year with 27 respect to each program that is included within the block 28 grant that the State Board of Education shall award the 29 district under this Section for that fiscal year. In the 30 case of the Summer Bridges program, the amount of the 31 district's block grant shall be equal to 44% of the amount of 32 the current fiscal year appropriation made for that program. 33 (e) The district is not required to file any application 34 or other claim in order to receive the block grants to which HB4587 Enrolled -5- LRB9112942REdv 1 it is entitled under this Section. The State Board of 2 Education shall make payments to the district of amounts due 3 under the district's block grants on a schedule determined by 4 the State Board of Education. 5 (f) A school district to which this Section applies 6 shall report to the State Board of Education on its use of 7 the block grants in such form and detail as the State Board 8 of Education may specify. 9 (g) This paragraph provides for the treatment of block 10 grants under Article 1C for purposes of calculating the 11 amount of block grants for a district under this Section. 12 Those block grants under Article IC are, for this purpose, 13 treated as included in the amount of appropriation for the 14 various programs set forth in paragraph (b) above. The 15 appropriation in each current fiscal year for each block 16 grant under Article 1C shall be treated for these purposes as 17 appropriations for the individual program included in that 18 block grant. The proportion of each block grant so allocated 19 to each such program included in it shall be the proportion 20 which the appropriation for that program was of all 21 appropriations for such purposes now in that block grant, in 22 fiscal 1995. 23 (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 89-698, eff. 1-14-97; 24 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 90-653, eff. 7-29-98.) 25 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51.5) 26 Sec. 2-3.51.5. School Safety and Educational Improvement 27 Block Grant Program. To improve the level of education and 28 safety of students from kindergarten through grade 12 in 29 school districts. The State Board of Education is authorized 30 to fund a School Safety and Educational Improvement Block 31 Grant Program. 32 (1) The program shall provide funding for school safety, 33 textbooks and software, teacher training and curriculum HB4587 Enrolled -6- LRB9112942REdv 1 development, school improvements,andremediation programs 2 under subsection (a) of Section 2-3.64, school report cards 3 under Section 10-17a, and criminal background investigations 4 under Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5. A school district or 5 laboratory school as defined in Section 18-8 or 18-8.05 is 6 not required to file an application in order to receive the 7 categorical funding to which it is entitled under this 8 Section. Funds for the School Safety and Educational 9 Improvement Block Grant Program shall be distributed to 10 school districts and laboratory schools based on the prior 11 year's best 3 months average daily attendance. The State 12 Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations 13 necessary for the implementation of this program. 14 (2) Distribution of moneys to school districts shall be 15 made in 2 semi-annual installments, one payment on or before 16 October 30, and one payment prior to April 30, of each fiscal 17 year. 18 (3) Grants under the School Safety and Educational 19 Improvement Block Grant Program shall be awarded provided 20 there is an appropriation for the program, and funding levels 21 for each district shall be prorated according to the amount 22 of the appropriation. 23 (Source: P.A. 89-610, eff. 8-6-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.) 24 Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act 25 is amended by adding Section 65.57 as follows: 26 (110 ILCS 947/65.57 new) 27 Sec. 65.57. Arthur F. Quern Information Technology Grant 28 Program. 29 (a) In order to strengthen the workforce in this State 30 by increasing the supply of skilled information technology 31 workers in this State, the Commission shall, each year and 32 subject to available appropriations, receive and consider HB4587 Enrolled -7- LRB9112942REdv 1 applications for grant assistance under this Section to 2 provide need-based grants for retraining in information 3 technology fields, to be named Arthur F. Quern Information 4 Technology Grants, to qualified students pursuing additional 5 certification or a degree in an information technology field 6 at a degree-granting institution. An applicant is eligible 7 for a grant under this Section if the Commission finds that 8 the applicant: 9 (1) is a United States citizen or a permanent 10 resident of the United States; 11 (2) is a resident of this State; 12 (3) has made a timely application to the Commission 13 for an information technology grant; and 14 (4) enrolls or is enrolled in an eligible program 15 of undergraduate information technology related study, as 16 determined by the Board of Higher Education, at a 17 qualified institution of higher learning in this State. 18 (b) Recipients shall be selected from among applicants 19 who qualify pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section based 20 on financial need, as determined by the Commission. 21 Preference may be given to individuals who have received a 22 baccalaureate degree and who seek information technology 23 training or certification. Preference may also be given to 24 previous recipients of assistance under this Section. 25 (c) A recipient must maintain satisfactory academic 26 progress, as determined by the institution of higher learning 27 at which he or she is enrolled. 28 (d) The Commission shall receive initial and subsequent 29 State appropriations for distribution to participating 30 institutions on behalf of information technology grant 31 recipients under this Section. The Commission shall also 32 receive appropriate annual State appropriations for program 33 administration under this Section. 34 (e) The Commission shall administer the information HB4587 Enrolled -8- LRB9112942REdv 1 technology grant program established by this Section and 2 shall make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent 3 with this Section for the program's effective implementation. 4 (f) Each information technology grant is an award of up 5 to $2,500, payable to a qualified institution on behalf of 6 the award recipient and applicable towards tuition and fees 7 and other educational costs, as determined by the Commission. 8 A qualified student may be eligible to receive an information 9 technology grant for up to 2 years. 10 (g) The total amount of grant assistance awarded by the 11 Commission under this Section to an individual in any given 12 fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance awarded 13 to that individual for that year, shall not exceed the cost 14 of attendance at the institution of higher learning at which 15 the student is enrolled. If a recipient does not qualify for 16 the maximum $2,500 grant amount during the academic year, the 17 excess award amount shall not be carried forward to the award 18 amount for the following academic year for which the 19 recipient is eligible for a grant award under this Section. 20 (h) All applications for grant assistance to be awarded 21 under this Section shall be made to the Commission in a 22 format set forth by the Commission. The format of the 23 application and the information required to be set forth in 24 the application shall be determined by the Commission. 25 (i) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such 26 purposes, payment of a grant awarded under this Section shall 27 be determined by the Commission. All grant funds distributed 28 in accordance with this Section shall be paid to the 29 institution on behalf of the recipients. 30 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 31 July 1, 2000.