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92_HB4263
LRB9212686NTsb
1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Section 1D-1 and adding 2-3.51a as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/1D-1)
7 Sec. 1D-1. Block grant funding.
8 (a) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year
9 thereafter, the State Board of Education shall award to a
10 school district having a population exceeding 500,000
11 inhabitants a general education block grant and an
12 educational services block grant, determined as provided in
13 this Section, in lieu of distributing to the district
14 separate State funding for the programs described in
15 subsections (b) and (c). The provisions of this Section,
16 however, do not apply to any federal funds that the district
17 is entitled to receive. In accordance with Section 2-3.32,
18 all block grants are subject to an audit. Therefore, block
19 grant receipts and block grant expenditures shall be recorded
20 to the appropriate fund code for the designated block grant.
21 (b) The general education block grant shall include the
22 following programs: REI Initiative, Summer Bridges, Preschool
23 At Risk, K-6 Comprehensive Arts, School Improvement Support,
24 Urban Education, Scientific Literacy, Substance Abuse
25 Prevention, Second Language Planning, Staff Development,
26 Outcomes and Assessment, K-6 Reading Improvement, Truants'
27 Optional Education, Hispanic Programs, Agriculture Education,
28 Gifted Education, Parental Education, Prevention Initiative,
29 Report Cards, and Criminal Background Investigations.
30 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all amounts paid
31 under the general education block grant from State
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1 appropriations to a school district in a city having a
2 population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants shall be
3 appropriated and expended by the board of that district for
4 any of the programs included in the block grant or any of the
5 board's lawful purposes.
6 (c) The educational services block grant shall include
7 the following programs: Bilingual, Regular and Vocational
8 Transportation, State Lunch and Free Breakfast Program,
9 Special Education (Personnel, Extraordinary, Transportation,
10 Orphanage, Private Tuition), Summer School, Educational
11 Service Centers, and Administrator's Academy. This
12 subsection (c) does not relieve the district of its
13 obligation to provide the services required under a program
14 that is included within the educational services block grant.
15 It is the intention of the General Assembly in enacting the
16 provisions of this subsection (c) to relieve the district of
17 the administrative burdens that impede efficiency and
18 accompany single-program funding. The General Assembly
19 encourages the board to pursue mandate waivers pursuant to
20 Section 2-3.25g.
21 (d) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year
22 thereafter, the amount of the district's block grants shall
23 be determined as follows: (i) with respect to each program
24 that is included within each block grant, the district shall
25 receive an amount equal to the same percentage of the current
26 fiscal year appropriation made for that program as the
27 percentage of the appropriation received by the district from
28 the 1995 fiscal year appropriation made for that program, and
29 (ii) the total amount that is due the district under the
30 block grant shall be the aggregate of the amounts that the
31 district is entitled to receive for the fiscal year with
32 respect to each program that is included within the block
33 grant that the State Board of Education shall award the
34 district under this Section for that fiscal year. In the
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1 case of the Summer Bridges program, the amount of the
2 district's block grant shall be equal to 44% of the amount of
3 the current fiscal year appropriation made for that program.
4 (e) The district is not required to file any application
5 or other claim in order to receive the block grants to which
6 it is entitled under this Section. The State Board of
7 Education shall make payments to the district of amounts due
8 under the district's block grants on a schedule determined by
9 the State Board of Education.
10 (f) A school district to which this Section applies
11 shall report to the State Board of Education on its use of
12 the block grants in such form and detail as the State Board
13 of Education may specify.
14 (g) This paragraph provides for the treatment of block
15 grants under Article 1C for purposes of calculating the
16 amount of block grants for a district under this Section.
17 Those block grants under Article 1C IC are, for this purpose,
18 treated as included in the amount of appropriation for the
19 various programs set forth in paragraph (b) above. The
20 appropriation in each current fiscal year for each block
21 grant under Article 1C shall be treated for these purposes as
22 appropriations for the individual program included in that
23 block grant. The proportion of each block grant so allocated
24 to each such program included in it shall be the proportion
25 which the appropriation for that program was of all
26 appropriations for such purposes now in that block grant, in
27 fiscal 1995.
28 (Source: P.A. 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 90-653, eff. 7-29-98;
29 91-711, eff. 7-1-00; revised 12-04-01.)
30 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51a new)
31 Sec. 2-3.51a. Reading improvement grants.
32 (a) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the State
33 Board of Education, from a separate appropriation made for
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1 the purposes of this Section, shall make reading improvement
2 grants to school districts in order to improve the reading
3 and study skills of students in kindergarten through twelfth
4 grade. The State Board may use up to 2% of the appropriation
5 for the purpose of providing teacher training and retraining
6 in the teaching of reading. The remaining funds shall be
7 distributed to school districts as follows:
8 (1) Up to the first $5,000,000 in new funds in the
9 2002-2003 school year shall be distributed to districts
10 serving grades 7 through 12. Of the funds allocated
11 under this paragraph (1), 70% shall be distributed on the
12 basis of each district's share of the prior year's best 3
13 months average daily attendance in those grades and 30%
14 shall be distributed on the basis of each district's
15 share of the prior year's number of economically
16 disadvantaged (ESEA Title I) pupils in those grades.
17 (2) The remainder of the appropriation shall be
18 distributed to districts serving kindergarten through
19 grade 6. Of the funds allocated under this paragraph
20 (2), 70% shall be distributed on the basis of each
21 district's share of the prior year's best 3 months
22 average daily attendance in those grades and 30% shall be
23 distributed on the basis of each district's share of the
24 prior year's number of economically disadvantaged (ESEA
25 Title I) pupils in those grades.
26 Grants shall be prorated as necessary for the 2002-2003
27 school year to ensure that the grant for each school district
28 shall be no less than the grant that the district received
29 during the 2001-2002 school year under the Reading
30 Improvement Block Grant Program.
31 Program funds shall be distributed to school districts in
32 2 semi-annual installments, one payment on or before October
33 30 and one payment on or before April 30, each year.
34 (b) A grant shall be awarded to each school district
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1 submitting an approved application on a form provided by the
2 State Board of Education. The application shall include a
3 proposed assessment method for measuring the reading growth
4 of students who receive direct instruction as a result of the
5 funding and the impact of staff development activities on
6 student growth in reading. Such methods may include the
7 reading portion of the Illinois Standards Achievement Testing
8 Program. At the end of each school year, the district shall
9 report performance of progress results to the State Board.
10 Districts not demonstrating performance progress using an
11 approved assessment method shall not be eligible for funding
12 in the third or subsequent years until such progress is
13 established.
14 (c) Grants shall be used to hire reading specialists,
15 reading teachers, and reading aides in order to provide early
16 reading intervention in kindergarten through grade 2 and
17 programs of continued reading support for students in grades
18 3 through 12 who need continued assistance in learning to
19 read or in maintaining reading achievement. Programs
20 provided with grant funds shall not replace quality classroom
21 reading instruction, but shall instead supplement such
22 instruction. Therefore, funds may be used for professional
23 development for classroom teachers, administrators, and other
24 appropriate staff members on the teaching of reading. Funds
25 used for instruction and staff development must be based on
26 scientifically based reading research and best practices that
27 demonstrate student growth in reading achievement. In this
28 Section, the term "scientifically based reading research"
29 means the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective
30 procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading
31 development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties.
32 The term includes research that employs systematic, empirical
33 methods that draw on observation or experiment, involves
34 rigorous data analysis that is adequate to test the stated
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1 hypotheses and to justify the general conclusions drawn,
2 relies on measurements or observational methods that provide
3 valid data across evaluators and observers and across
4 multiple measurements and observations, and has been accepted
5 by peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of
6 independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective
7 and scientific review.
8 Grants shall be used as follows:
9 (1) In kindergarten through second grade, funds
10 shall be used to establish short-term tutorial early
11 reading intervention programs for children who are at
12 risk of failing to learn to read. The programs shall (i)
13 focus on scientifically based research and best practices
14 with proven long-term results, (ii) identify students in
15 need of help no later than the middle of first grade,
16 (iii) provide ongoing training for teachers in the
17 program, (iv) focus instruction on strengthening a
18 student's phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and
19 comprehension skills, (v) provide a means to document and
20 evaluate student growth, and (vi) provide properly
21 trained staff.
22 (2) In grades 3 through 6, funds shall be used to
23 establish programs of support for students who
24 demonstrate a need for continued assistance in learning
25 to read and in maintaining reading achievement. These
26 programs shall (i) focus on scientifically based research
27 and best practices with proven long-term results, (ii)
28 provide ongoing training for teachers and other staff
29 members in the program, (iii) focus instruction on
30 strengthening a student's phonics, fluency, and
31 comprehension skills in grades 3 through 6, (iv) provide
32 a means to evaluate and document student growth, and (v)
33 provide properly trained staff.
34 (3) In grades K through 6, funds shall be used to
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1 provide classroom reading materials for students. Each
2 district shall allocate up to 10% of the funds for this
3 purpose if the appropriation exceeds $92,000,000.
4 (4) In grades 7 through 12, funds shall be used to
5 establish programs of support for students who need
6 continued assistance in learning to read and in
7 maintaining reading achievement. These programs shall
8 (i) focus on best scientifically based research and
9 practice with proven long-term results, (ii) provide
10 ongoing training for teachers and other staff members in
11 the program, (iii) focus instruction on strengthening a
12 student's comprehension of informational and technical
13 text and study skills, (iv) provide a means to evaluate
14 and document student progress, and (v) provide properly
15 trained staff.
16 (5) Funds shall be used to provide a long-term
17 professional development program for classroom teachers,
18 administrators, and other appropriate staff. The program
19 shall (i) focus on scientifically based research and best
20 practices with proven long-term results, (ii) provide a
21 means to evaluate student progress in reading as a result
22 of the training, (iii) and be provided by approved staff
23 development providers.
24 (d) The State Superintendent of Education, in
25 cooperation with the school districts participating in this
26 reading grant program, shall annually report to the
27 leadership of the General Assembly on the results of the
28 reading grant program and the progress being made on
29 improving the reading skills of students in kindergarten
30 through twelfth grade.
31 (e) The State Board of Education may promulgate any
32 rules necessary for implementation of this Section.
33 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51 rep.)
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1 Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing
2 Section 2-3.51.
3 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
4 July 1, 2002.