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91_HB2985eng
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1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section 1D-1
2 and adding Section 2-3.51a.
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 Section 1D-1 and adding Section 2-3.51a 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-6 Reading Improvement, 7-12 Continued Reading
28 Improvement, Truants' Optional Education, Hispanic Programs,
29 Agriculture Education, Gifted Education, Parental Education,
30 Prevention Initiative, Report Cards, and Criminal Background
31 Investigations. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
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1 all amounts paid under the general education block grant from
2 State 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 5/2-3.51a new)
29 Sec. 2-3.51a. Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant
30 Program. To improve the reading and study skills of children
31 from seventh through twelfth grade in school districts. The
32 State Board of Education is authorized to administer a
33 Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program. As used
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1 in this Section, "school district" includes those schools
2 designated as laboratory schools.
3 (a) Funds for the Continued Reading Improvement Block
4 Grant Program shall be distributed to school districts on the
5 following basis: 70% of moneys 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 moneys appropriated for the Continued Reading Improvement
11 Block Grant Program for the purpose of providing teacher
12 training and re-training in the teaching of reading. Program
13 funds shall be distributed to school districts in 2
14 semi-annual installments, one payment on or before October 30
15 and one payment prior to April 30, of each year. The State
16 Board shall promulgate rules necessary for the implementation
17 of this program.
18 (b) Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program
19 funds shall be used by school districts in the following
20 manner to support students in grades 7 through 12 who are
21 reading significantly below grade level:
22 (1) to continue direct reading instruction for
23 grades 7 through 12, focusing on the application of
24 reading skills for understanding informational text;
25 (2) to focus on and to commit time and resources to
26 the reading of rich literature;
27 (3) to conduct intense vocabulary, spelling, and
28 related writing programs that promote better
29 understanding of language and words;
30 (4) to provide professional development based on
31 research and proper practices and delivered by providers
32 approved by the State Board of Education; and
33 (5) to increase the availability of reading
34 specialists and teacher aides trained in research-based
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1 reading intervention or improvement practices or both.
2 (c) Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program
3 funds shall be made available to each eligible school
4 district submitting an approved application developed by the
5 State Board, beginning with the 2001-2002 school year.
6 Applications shall include a proposed assessment method or
7 methods for measuring student reading skills. Such methods
8 may include the reading portion of State tests. At the end
9 of each school year the district shall report assessment
10 results to the State Board. Districts not demonstrating
11 performance progress using an approved assessment method
12 shall not be eligible for funding in the third or subsequent
13 years until such progress is established.
14 (d) The State Superintendent of Education, in
15 cooperation with the school districts participating in the
16 program, shall annually report to the leadership of the
17 General Assembly on the results of the Continued Reading
18 Improvement Block Grant Program and the progress being made
19 on improving the reading skills of students in grades 7
20 through 12.
21 (e) Grants under the Continued Reading Improvement Block
22 Grant Program shall be awarded provided there is an
23 appropriation for the program, and funding levels for each
24 district shall be prorated according to the amount of the
25 appropriation. Funding for the program established under
26 Section 2-3.51 of this Code shall not be reduced in order to
27 fund the Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program.
28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
29 July 1, 2001.
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