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Public Act 104-0555
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| HB4577 Enrolled | LRB104 17463 LNS 30889 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
10-22.18 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/10-22.18) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-22.18) |
Sec. 10-22.18. Kindergartens. |
(a) As used in this subsection (a), "play-based learning" |
means either teacher-initiated play or student-initiated play. |
In this definition, "teacher-initiated play" means intentional |
teacher-directed play with activities set up and led by a |
teacher that are aligned to learning goals or standards, and |
"student-initiated play" means child-selected opportunities to |
build, pretend, create, move, or explore in an environment |
intentionally curated by a teacher to align with learning |
goals or standards. |
To establish kindergartens for the instruction of children |
between the ages of 4 and 6 years and to pay the necessary |
expenses thereof out of the school funds of the district. |
Until the 2027-2028 school year, upon petition of at least 50 |
parents or guardians of children between the ages of 4 and 6, |
residing within any school district and within one mile of the |
public school where such kindergarten is proposed to be |
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established, the board of directors shall, if funds are |
available, establish a kindergarten in connection with the |
public school designated in the petition and maintain it as |
long as the annual average daily attendance therein is not |
less than 15. Until the 2027-2028 school year, the board may |
establish a kindergarten with half-day attendance or with |
full-day attendance; however, if the board establishes |
full-day kindergarten, it shall also establish half-day |
kindergarten. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, each |
school board must establish a kindergarten with full-day |
attendance and may establish a kindergarten with half-day |
attendance. Full-day and half-day kindergarten should be |
developmentally appropriate and provide opportunities for |
play-based learning. No one shall be employed to teach in a |
kindergarten who does not hold a license as provided by law. |
(b) An elementary or unit school district that does not |
offer full-day kindergarten as of October 1, 2022, may, by |
action of the State Board of Education, apply for an extension |
of the 2027-2028 school year implementation deadline for 2 |
additional years if one of the following criteria are met: |
(1) the school district is funded below 76% of |
adequacy according to the Evidence-Based Funding formula |
under Section 18-8.15 of this Code in Fiscal Year 2023; |
(2) the school district is ranked in the top 25% of |
capital funding need by the Full-Day Kindergarten Task |
Force, but has yet to receive capital funding as of the |