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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 2-3.71 as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
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7 | Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs.
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8 | (a) Preschool program.
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9 | (1) The
The State Board of Education shall implement | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | and administer
a grant program under the provisions of this | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | subsection which shall
consist of grants to public school | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | districts and other eligible entities, as defined by the | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary
preschool
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14 | educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 which include | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | a parent
education component. A public school district | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | which receives grants under
this subsection may | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | subcontract with other entities that are eligible to | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | conduct a preschool educational
program. These grants must | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | any other source.
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21 | (2) (Blank).
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22 | (3) Any teacher of preschool children in the program | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | authorized by this
subsection shall hold an early childhood |
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1 | teaching certificate.
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2 | (4) This paragraph (4) applies before July 1, 2006 and | ||||||
3 | after June 30, 2008. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
4 | provide the primary source of
funding through | ||||||
5 | appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be | ||||||
6 | distributed for the benefit
of children who because of | ||||||
7 | their home and community environment are subject
to such | ||||||
8 | language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages that | ||||||
9 | they have
been determined as a result of screening | ||||||
10 | procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such | ||||||
11 | screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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12 | established by the State Board of Education.
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13 | (4.5) This paragraph (4.5) applies from July 1, 2006 | ||||||
14 | through June 30, 2008. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
15 | provide the primary source of
funding through | ||||||
16 | appropriations for the program.
Such funds shall be | ||||||
17 | distributed to achieve a goal of "Preschool for All | ||||||
18 | Children" for the benefit
of all children whose families | ||||||
19 | choose to participate in the program. Based on available | ||||||
20 | appropriations, newly funded programs shall be selected | ||||||
21 | through a process giving first priority to qualified | ||||||
22 | programs serving primarily at-risk children and second | ||||||
23 | priority to qualified programs serving primarily children | ||||||
24 | with a family income of less than 4 times the poverty | ||||||
25 | guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by | ||||||
26 | the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the |
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1 | authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For purposes of this | ||||||
2 | paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are those who because of | ||||||
3 | their home and community environment are subject
to such | ||||||
4 | language, cultural, economic and like disadvantages to | ||||||
5 | cause them to have
been determined as a result of screening | ||||||
6 | procedures to be at risk of
academic failure. Such | ||||||
7 | screening procedures shall be based on criteria
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8 | established by the State Board of Education. | ||||||
9 | On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which | ||||||
10 | the General Assembly provides funding for new programs | ||||||
11 | under this paragraph (4.5), the State Board of Education | ||||||
12 | shall report to the General Assembly on what percentage of | ||||||
13 | new funding was provided to programs serving primarily | ||||||
14 | at-risk children, what percentage of new funding was | ||||||
15 | provided to programs serving primarily children with a | ||||||
16 | family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty | ||||||
17 | level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to | ||||||
18 | other programs.
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19 | (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and | ||||||
20 | provide
evaluation tools, including tests, that school | ||||||
21 | districts and other eligible entities may use to
evaluate | ||||||
22 | children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State | ||||||
23 | Board of
Education shall require school districts and other | ||||||
24 | eligible entities
to obtain consent from the parents
or | ||||||
25 | guardians of children before any evaluations are | ||||||
26 | conducted. The State
Board of Education shall encourage |
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1 | local school districts and other eligible entities to | ||||||
2 | evaluate the
population of preschool children in their | ||||||
3 | communities and provide preschool
programs, pursuant to | ||||||
4 | this subsection, where appropriate.
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5 | (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the | ||||||
6 | General Assembly by
July 1, 2007 and every
3 years | ||||||
7 | thereafter on the results and progress of
students who were | ||||||
8 | enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
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9 | assessment of which programs have been most successful in | ||||||
10 | promoting
academic excellence and alleviating academic | ||||||
11 | failure. The State Board of
Education shall assess the | ||||||
12 | academic progress of all students who have been
enrolled in | ||||||
13 | preschool educational programs.
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14 | (b) (Blank).
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15 | (Source: P.A. 94-506, eff. 8-8-05; 94-1054, eff. 7-25-06.)
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