HB5581 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 16812 NHT 42464 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB5581

Introduced 02/06/04, by Michael J. Madigan

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/2-3.106

from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.106

Amends the School Code to make a technical change to a Section concerning State Urban Education Partnership Grants.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT regarding education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 2-3.106 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.106) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.106)

Sec. 2-3.106. State Urban Education Partnership Grants. From State moneys appropriated specifically for purposes of this Section, the State Board of Education shall award State Urban Education Partnership Grants to qualifying attendance centers within school districts that meet the criteria specified in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) below:

(A) The number of students enrolled in the public schools of the district is 1,500 or more, and not less than 10% of those students are low income students as determined with reference to the annual Public Schools Fall Enrollment-Housing Report that the school district is required to file with the State Board of Education; or

(B) The school district receives not less than $100,000 in a fiscal year from funds allocated and distributed under Chapter 1 of Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and not less than 10% of the students enrolled in the public schools of the school district are "minority students", defined for purposes of this Section to mean a pupil who is Black (having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa), Hispanic (of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race), Asian American (having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands), or American Indian or Alaskan Native (having origins in any of the original peoples of North America).

State Urban Education Partnership Grants awarded under this Section shall be used for the planning, development, operation or expansion of programs, projects and activities that are designed to carry out programs that improve student achievement or the quality of education for students and that are comparable or similar in nature to targeted assistance programs for which discretionary federal grant funds are allocated under Chapter 2 of Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; provided, that in evaluating applications and awarding State Urban Education Partnership Grants under this Section, priority consideration and preference shall be given to grant applications that propose to carry out effective school programs that are developed and designed to increase the academic achievement levels of students in large and small urban communities through collaborative efforts or partnerships between the attendance center applying for the grant and at least one parent or community group, social service agency, public sector business entity or institution of higher education. Indicators of such effective school programs shall include but not be limited to components designed to improve student attendance at school and in class, increase student homework output and quality, increase student time on the task of acquiring basic and higher order skills, improve teacher-given classroom grades, improve State and national standardized test scores and assessment results, improve community involvement in the development and implementation of effective school programs, and improve parent involvement to foster a positive home environment, meaningful parent-child communication in matters of educational performance and progress, and increased parent participation in home learning activities, school volunteer activities and school governance.

The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations governing the procedure and requirements applicable to grant applications submitted under this Section. The period during which grants may be awarded to an attendance center under this Section shall not exceed 3 consecutive school years; provided that before approving continuation of a grant for a new school year, the State Board of Education shall review and evaluate a report which the attendance center shall file with respect to its use of grant funds in carrying out grant programs during the preceding school year.

Grants shall be awarded to attendance centers under this Section on a competitive basis, and the State Board of Education shall establish standards, consistent with the provisions of this Section, by which to evaluate grant applications and programs submitted and proposed hereunder.

It is the purpose and intent of this Section to establish a State grant program that parallels and supplements, but that operates independently of federal grant programs that allocate funds for targeted assistance under Chapter 2 of Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)