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91_HB2985
LRB9108041NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Sections 1D-1
2 and 2-3.51.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Sections 1D-1 and 2-3.51 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/1D-1)
8 Sec. 1D-1. Block grant funding.
9 (a) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year
10 thereafter, the State Board of Education shall award to a
11 school district having a population exceeding 500,000
12 inhabitants a general education block grant and an
13 educational services block grant, determined as provided in
14 this Section, in lieu of distributing to the district
15 separate State funding for the programs described in
16 subsections (b) and (c). The provisions of this Section,
17 however, do not apply to any federal funds that the district
18 is entitled to receive. In accordance with Section 2-3.32,
19 all block grants are subject to an audit. Therefore, block
20 grant receipts and block grant expenditures shall be recorded
21 to the appropriate fund code for the designated block grant.
22 (b) The general education block grant shall include the
23 following programs: REI Initiative, Preschool At Risk, K-6
24 Comprehensive Arts, School Improvement Support, Urban
25 Education, Scientific Literacy, Substance Abuse Prevention,
26 Second Language Planning, Staff Development, Outcomes and
27 Assessment, K-12 K-6 Reading Improvement, Truants' Optional
28 Education, Hispanic Programs, Agriculture Education, Gifted
29 Education, Parental Education, Prevention Initiative, Report
30 Cards, and Criminal Background Investigations.
31 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all amounts paid
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1 under the general education block grant from State
2 appropriations to a school district in a city having a
3 population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants shall be
4 appropriated and expended by the board of that district for
5 any of the programs included in the block grant or any of the
6 board's lawful purposes.
7 (c) The educational services block grant shall include
8 the following programs: Bilingual, Regular and Vocational
9 Transportation, State Lunch and Free Breakfast Program,
10 Special Education (Personnel, Extraordinary, Transportation,
11 Orphanage, Private Tuition), Summer School, Educational
12 Service Centers, and Administrator's Academy. This
13 subsection (c) does not relieve the district of its
14 obligation to provide the services required under a program
15 that is included within the educational services block grant.
16 It is the intention of the General Assembly in enacting the
17 provisions of this subsection (c) to relieve the district of
18 the administrative burdens that impede efficiency and
19 accompany single-program funding. The General Assembly
20 encourages the board to pursue mandate waivers pursuant to
21 Section 2-3.25g.
22 (d) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year
23 thereafter, the amount of the district's block grants shall
24 be determined as follows: (i) with respect to each program
25 that is included within each block grant, the district shall
26 receive an amount equal to the same percentage of the current
27 fiscal year appropriation made for that program as the
28 percentage of the appropriation received by the district from
29 the 1995 fiscal year appropriation made for that program, and
30 (ii) the total amount that is due the district under the
31 block grant shall be the aggregate of the amounts that the
32 district is entitled to receive for the fiscal year with
33 respect to each program that is included within the block
34 grant that the State Board of Education shall award the
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1 district under this Section for that fiscal year.
2 (e) The district is not required to file any application
3 or other claim in order to receive the block grants to which
4 it is entitled under this Section. The State Board of
5 Education shall make payments to the district of amounts due
6 under the district's block grants on a schedule determined by
7 the State Board of Education.
8 (f) A school district to which this Section applies
9 shall report to the State Board of Education on its use of
10 the block grants in such form and detail as the State Board
11 of Education may specify.
12 (g) This paragraph provides for the treatment of block
13 grants under Article 1C for purposes of calculating the
14 amount of block grants for a district under this Section.
15 Those block grants under Article IC are, for this purpose,
16 treated as included in the amount of appropriation for the
17 various programs set forth in paragraph (b) above. The
18 appropriation in each current fiscal year for each block
19 grant under Article 1C shall be treated for these purposes as
20 appropriations for the individual program included in that
21 block grant. The proportion of each block grant so allocated
22 to each such program included in it shall be the proportion
23 which the appropriation for that program was of all
24 appropriations for such purposes now in that block grant, in
25 fiscal 1995.
26 (Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 89-698, eff. 1-14-97;
27 90-566, eff. 1-2-98; 90-653, eff. 7-29-98.)
28 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.51)
29 Sec. 2-3.51. Reading Improvement Block Grant Program.
30 To improve the reading and study skills of children from
31 kindergarten through twelfth sixth grade in school districts.
32 The State Board of Education is authorized to administer a
33 Reading Improvement Block Grant Program. As used in this
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1 Section, "school district" shall include those schools
2 designated as "laboratory schools".
3 (a) Funds for the Reading Improvement Block Grant
4 Program shall be distributed to school districts on the
5 following basis: 70% of monies shall be awarded on the prior
6 year's best 3 months average daily attendance and 30% shall
7 be distributed on the number of economically disadvantaged
8 (E.C.I.A. Chapter I) pupils in the district, provided that
9 the State Board may distribute an amount not to exceed 2% of
10 the monies appropriated for the Reading Improvement Block
11 Grant Program for the purpose of providing teacher training
12 and re-training in the teaching of reading. Program funds
13 shall be distributed to school districts in 2 semi-annual
14 installments, one payment on or before October 30, and one
15 payment prior to April 30, of each year. The State Board
16 shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the
17 implementation of this program.
18 (a-5) Reading Improvement Block Grant Program funds
19 shall be used by school districts in the following manner:
20 (1) to reduce class size in grades kindergarten
21 through 3 for the purpose of providing more intensified
22 reading instruction;
23 (2) to extend the time devoted in kindergarten
24 through third grade to intensified reading instruction,
25 including phonic instruction, either by lengthening the
26 school day or lengthening the school year;
27 (3) to create transitional grades for students
28 needing intensified reading instruction either between
29 the first and second grades or between the second and
30 third grades in accordance with the authority granted
31 school districts in Section 10-21.2 of this Code;
32 (4) to continue direct reading instruction for
33 grades 4 through 12 6;
34 (5) to establish reading academies in schools that
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1 focus on the mechanics of reading, the application of
2 reading skills, and the reading of rich literature and
3 that reflect a commitment of time and resources to these
4 functions;
5 (6) to conduct intense vocabulary, spelling, and
6 related writing enrichment programs that promote better
7 understanding of language and words;
8 (7) to increase the availability of reading
9 specialists and teacher aides for reading; and
10 (8) to train and retrain teachers of kindergarten
11 through third grade to be proficient in the teaching of
12 reading, including phonic instruction.
13 (a-10) Reading Improvement Block Grant Program funds
14 shall be made available to each eligible school district
15 submitting an approved application developed by the State
16 Board beginning with the 1998-99 school year. Applications
17 shall include a proposed assessment method or methods for
18 measuring student reading skills. Such methods may include
19 the reading portion of the Illinois Goals and Assessment
20 Program. At the end of each school year the district shall
21 report assessment results to the State Board. Districts not
22 demonstrating performance progress using an approved
23 assessment method shall not be eligible for funding in the
24 third or subsequent years until such progress is established.
25 (a-15) The State Superintendent of Education, in
26 cooperation with the school districts participating in the
27 program, shall annually report to the leadership of the
28 General Assembly on the results of the Reading Improvement
29 Block Grant Program and the progress being made on improving
30 the reading skills of students in kindergarten through the
31 twelfth sixth grade.
32 (b) (Blank).
33 (c) (Blank).
34 (d) Grants under the Reading Improvement Program shall
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1 be awarded provided there is an appropriation for the
2 program, and funding levels for each district shall be
3 prorated according to the amount of the appropriation.
4 (e) (Blank).
5 (f) (Blank).
6 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-640, eff. 1-1-99.)
7 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8 becoming law.