SB0010eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0010 Engrossed LRB094 04952 RAS 34981 b

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.640 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.640 new)

Sec. 5.640. The Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund. This Section is repealed on December 31, 2010.

Section 10. The School Code is amended by adding Section 2-3.137 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 new)

Sec. 2-3.137. Parental participation pilot project.

(a) By the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, the State Board of Education shall by rule establish a parental participation pilot project to provide grants to the lowest performing school districts to help such districts improve parental participation through activities, including, but not limited to, parent-teacher conferences, open houses, family nights, volunteer opportunities, and family outreach materials.

(b) The pilot project shall be for a period of at least 4 school years. The State Board shall establish a procedure and develop criteria for the administration of the pilot project. In administering the pilot project, the State Board shall do the following:

(1) select participating school districts or schools;

(2) define the conditions for the distribution and use of grant funds;

(3) enter into contracts as necessary to implement the pilot project; and

(4) monitor local pilot project implementation.

(c) The Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board for the pilot project. To implement the pilot project, the State Board may use any funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the purposes of the pilot project as well as any gift, grant, or donation given for the pilot project. The State Board may solicit and accept a gift, grant, or donation of any kind from any source, including from a foundation, private entity, governmental entity, or institution of higher education, for the implementation of the pilot project.

The State Board shall use pilot project funds for grants to low-performing school districts to encourage parental participation.

The State Board may not allocate more than $250,000 annually for the pilot project. The pilot project may be implemented only if sufficient funds are available under this Section for that purpose.

(d) A school district may apply to the State Board for the establishment of a parental participation pilot project for the entire district or for a particular school or group of schools in the district.

The State Board shall select 4 school districts to participate in the pilot project. One school district shall be located in the City of Chicago, one school district shall be located in that portion of Cook County that is located outside of the City of Chicago, one school district shall be located in the area that makes up the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will, and one school district shall be located in the remainder of the State.

The State Board shall select the participating districts and schools for the pilot project based on each district's or school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants, the State Board shall consider the following criteria:

(1) whether the district or school has any of the following problems and whether those problems can be mitigated or addressed through enhanced parental participation:

(A) low rates of satisfactory performance on assessment instruments under Section 2-3.64 of this Code;

(B) high rates of low-income students, limited English proficient students, dropouts, chronically truant students, and student mobility; or

(C) low student attendance rates; and

(2) the methods the district or school will use to measure the progress of the pilot project in the district or school in accordance with subsection (f) of this Section.

(e) Each participating school district or school shall establish a parental participation committee to assist in developing and implementing the parental participation pilot project.

The school board of a participating district or of a district in which a participating school is located shall appoint individuals to the committee. The committee may be composed of any of the following:

(1) educators;

(2) district-level administrators;

(3) community leaders;

(4) parents of students who attend a participating school; or

(5) any other individual the school board finds appropriate.

The committee shall develop an academic improvement plan that details how the pilot project should be implemented in the participating district or school. In developing the academic improvement plan, the committee shall consider the educational problems in the district or school that could be mitigated through the implementation of the pilot project.

The committee shall recommend to the school board how the pilot project funds should be used to implement the academic improvement plan. The committee may recommend annually any necessary changes in the academic improvement plan to the school board. The State Board must approve the academic improvement plan or any changes in the academic improvement plan before disbursing pilot project funds to the school board.

(f) The school board of each school district participating in the pilot project shall send an annual progress report to the State Board no later than August 1 of each year that the district is participating in the pilot project. The report must state in detail the type of plan being used in the district or school and the effect of the pilot project on the district or school, including the following:

(1) the academic progress of students who are participating in the pilot project, as measured by performance on assessment instruments;

(2) if applicable, a comparison of student progress in a school or classroom that is participating in the pilot project as compared with student progress in the schools or classrooms in the district that are not participating in the pilot project;

(3) any elements of the pilot project that contribute to improved student performance on assessment instruments administered under Section 2-3.64 of this Code or any other assessment instrument required by the State Board;

(4) any cost savings and improved efficiency relating to school personnel;

(5) any effect on student dropout and attendance rates;

(6) any effect on student enrollment in higher education;

(7) any effect on teacher performance and retention;

(8) any improvement in communications among students, teachers, parents, and administrators;

(9) any improvement in parental involvement in the education of the parent's child; and

(10) any effect on community involvement and support for the district or school.

(g) After the expiration of the 4-year pilot project, the State Board shall review the pilot project, based on the annual reports the State Board receives from the school boards of participating school districts, conduct a final evaluation, and report its findings to the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2010.

(h) This Section is repealed on December 31, 2010.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.