093_SB0381eng SB381 Engrossed LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 AN ACT concerning education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 5 Section 1D-1 and adding Section 2-3.51a as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/1D-1) 7 Sec. 1D-1. Block grant funding. 8 (a) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year 9 thereafter, the State Board of Education shall award to a 10 school district having a population exceeding 500,000 11 inhabitants a general education block grant and an 12 educational services block grant, determined as provided in 13 this Section, in lieu of distributing to the district 14 separate State funding for the programs described in 15 subsections (b) and (c). The provisions of this Section, 16 however, do not apply to any federal funds that the district 17 is entitled to receive. In accordance with Section 2-3.32, 18 all block grants are subject to an audit. Therefore, block 19 grant receipts and block grant expenditures shall be recorded 20 to the appropriate fund code for the designated block grant. 21 (b) The general education block grant shall include the 22 following programs: REI Initiative, Summer Bridges, Preschool 23 At Risk, K-6 Comprehensive Arts, School Improvement Support, 24 Urban Education, Scientific Literacy, Substance Abuse 25 Prevention, Second Language Planning, Staff Development, 26 Outcomes and Assessment, K-6 Reading Improvement, 7-12 27 Continued Reading Improvement, Truants' Optional Education, 28 Hispanic Programs, Agriculture Education, Gifted Education, 29 Parental Education, Prevention Initiative, Report Cards, and 30 Criminal Background Investigations. Notwithstanding any 31 other provision of law, all amounts paid under the general SB381 Engrossed -2- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 education block grant from State appropriations to a school 2 district in a city having a population exceeding 500,000 3 inhabitants shall be appropriated and expended by the board 4 of that district for any of the programs included in the 5 block grant or any of the board's lawful purposes. 6 (c) The educational services block grant shall include 7 the following programs: Bilingual, Regular and Vocational 8 Transportation, State Lunch and Free Breakfast Program, 9 Special Education (Personnel, Extraordinary, Transportation, 10 Orphanage, Private Tuition), Summer School, Educational 11 Service Centers, and Administrator's Academy. This 12 subsection (c) does not relieve the district of its 13 obligation to provide the services required under a program 14 that is included within the educational services block grant. 15 It is the intention of the General Assembly in enacting the 16 provisions of this subsection (c) to relieve the district of 17 the administrative burdens that impede efficiency and 18 accompany single-program funding. The General Assembly 19 encourages the board to pursue mandate waivers pursuant to 20 Section 2-3.25g. 21 (d) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year 22 thereafter, the amount of the district's block grants shall 23 be determined as follows: (i) with respect to each program 24 that is included within each block grant, the district shall 25 receive an amount equal to the same percentage of the current 26 fiscal year appropriation made for that program as the 27 percentage of the appropriation received by the district from 28 the 1995 fiscal year appropriation made for that program, and 29 (ii) the total amount that is due the district under the 30 block grant shall be the aggregate of the amounts that the 31 district is entitled to receive for the fiscal year with 32 respect to each program that is included within the block 33 grant that the State Board of Education shall award the 34 district under this Section for that fiscal year. In the SB381 Engrossed -3- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 case of the Summer Bridges program, the amount of the 2 district's block grant shall be equal to 44% of the amount of 3 the current fiscal year appropriation made for that program. 4 (e) The district is not required to file any application 5 or other claim in order to receive the block grants to which 6 it is entitled under this Section. The State Board of 7 Education shall make payments to the district of amounts due 8 under the district's block grants on a schedule determined by 9 the State Board of Education. 10 (f) A school district to which this Section applies 11 shall report to the State Board of Education on its use of 12 the block grants in such form and detail as the State Board 13 of Education may specify. 14 (g) This paragraph provides for the treatment of block 15 grants under Article 1C for purposes of calculating the 16 amount of block grants for a district under this Section. 17 Those block grants under Article 1C are, for this purpose, 18 treated as included in the amount of appropriation for the 19 various programs set forth in paragraph (b) above. The 20 appropriation in each current fiscal year for each block 21 grant under Article 1C shall be treated for these purposes as 22 appropriations for the individual program included in that 23 block grant. The proportion of each block grant so allocated 24 to each such program included in it shall be the proportion 25 which the appropriation for that program was of all 26 appropriations for such purposes now in that block grant, in 27 fiscal 1995. 28 Payments to the school district under this Section with 29 respect to each program for which payments to school 30 districts generally, as of the date of this amendatory Act of 31 the 92nd General Assembly, are on a reimbursement basis shall 32 continue to be made to the district on a reimbursement basis, 33 pursuant to the provisions of this Code governing those 34 programs. SB381 Engrossed -4- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 2 school district receiving a block grant under this Section 3 may classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives 4 in a particular fiscal year from any block grant authorized 5 under this Code or from general State aid pursuant to Section 6 18-8.05 of this Code (other than supplemental general State 7 aid) as funds received in connection with any funding program 8 for which it is entitled to receive funds from the State in 9 that fiscal year (including, without limitation, any funding 10 program referred to in subsection (c) of this Section), 11 regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The 12 district may not classify more funds as funds received in 13 connection with the funding program than the district is 14 entitled to receive in that fiscal year for that program. 15 Any classification by a district must be made by a resolution 16 of its board of education. The resolution must identify the 17 amount of any block grant or general State aid to be 18 classified under this subsection (h) and must specify the 19 funding program to which the funds are to be treated as 20 received in connection therewith. This resolution is 21 controlling as to the classification of funds referenced 22 therein. A certified copy of the resolution must be sent to 23 the State Superintendent of Education. The resolution shall 24 still take effect even though a copy of the resolution has 25 not been sent to the State Superintendent of Education in a 26 timely manner. No classification under this subsection (h) 27 by a district shall affect the total amount or timing of 28 money the district is entitled to receive under this Code. 29 No classification under this subsection (h) by a district 30 shall in any way relieve the district from or affect any 31 requirements that otherwise would apply with respect to the 32 block grant as provided in this Section, including any 33 accounting of funds by source, reporting expenditures by 34 original source and purpose, reporting requirements, or SB381 Engrossed -5- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 requirements of provision of services. 2 (Source: P.A. 91-711, eff. 7-1-00; 92-568, eff. 6-26-02; 3 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.) 4 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.51a new) 5 Sec. 2-3.51a. Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant 6 Program. To improve the reading and study skills of children 7 from seventh through twelfth grade in school districts. The 8 State Board of Education is authorized to administer a 9 Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program. As used 10 in this Section, "school district" includes those schools 11 designated as laboratory schools. 12 (a) Funds for the Continued Reading Improvement Block 13 Grant Program shall be distributed to school districts on the 14 following basis: 70% of moneys shall be awarded on the prior 15 year's best 3 months average daily attendance and 30% shall 16 be distributed on the number of economically disadvantaged 17 (E.C.I.A. Chapter I) pupils in the district, provided that 18 the State Board may distribute an amount not to exceed 2% of 19 the moneys appropriated for the Continued Reading Improvement 20 Block Grant Program for the purpose of providing teacher 21 training and re-training in the teaching of reading. Program 22 funds shall be distributed to school districts in 2 23 semi-annual installments, one payment on or before October 30 24 and one payment prior to April 30 of each year. The State 25 Board shall adopt any rules necessary for the implementation 26 of this program. 27 (b) Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program 28 funds shall be used by school districts in the following 29 manner to support students in grades 7 through 12 who are 30 reading significantly below grade level: 31 (1) to continue direct reading instruction for 32 grades 7 through 12, focusing on the application of 33 reading skills for understanding informational text; SB381 Engrossed -6- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 (2) to focus on and to commit time and resources to 2 the reading of rich literature; 3 (3) to conduct intense vocabulary, spelling, and 4 related writing programs that promote better 5 understanding of language and words; 6 (4) to provide professional development based on 7 scientifically based research and best practices and 8 delivered by providers approved by the State Board of 9 Education; and 10 (5) to increase the availability of reading 11 specialists and teacher aides trained in research-based 12 reading intervention or improvement practices or both. 13 (c) Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program 14 funds shall be made available to each eligible school 15 district submitting an approved application developed by the 16 State Board, beginning with the 2003-2004 school year. 17 Applications shall include a proposed assessment method or 18 methods for measuring student reading skills. Such methods 19 may include the reading portion of State tests. At the end 20 of each school year the district shall report assessment 21 results to the State Board. Districts not demonstrating 22 performance progress using an approved assessment method 23 shall not be eligible for funding in the third or subsequent 24 years until such progress is established. 25 (d) 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 Continued Reading 29 Improvement Block Grant Program and the progress being made 30 on improving the reading skills of students in grades 7 31 through 12. 32 (e) Grants under the Continued Reading Improvement Block 33 Grant Program shall be awarded provided there is an 34 appropriation for the program, and funding levels for each SB381 Engrossed -7- LRB093 05990 NHT 06091 b 1 district shall be prorated according to the amount of the 2 appropriation. Funding for the program established under 3 Section 2-3.51 of this Code shall not be reduced in order to 4 fund the Continued Reading Improvement Block Grant Program. 5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 6 July 1, 2003.