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093_SB0381enr
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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;
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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
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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.
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