Full Text of SB1941 101st General Assembly
SB1941enr 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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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 adding Section | 5 | | 2-3.176 as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.176 new) | 7 | | Sec. 2-3.176. Safe Schools and Healthy Learning | 8 | | Environments Grant Program. | 9 | | (a) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation, | 10 | | is authorized to award competitive grants on an annual basis | 11 | | under a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Grant | 12 | | Program. The goal of this grant program is to promote school | 13 | | safety and healthy learning environments by providing schools | 14 | | with additional resources to implement restorative | 15 | | interventions and resolution strategies as alternatives to | 16 | | exclusionary discipline, and to address the full range of | 17 | | students' intellectual, social, emotional, physical, | 18 | | psychological, and moral developmental needs. | 19 | | (b) To receive a grant under this program, a school | 20 | | district must submit with its grant application a plan for | 21 | | implementing evidence-based and promising practices that are | 22 | | aligned with the goal of this program. The application may | 23 | | include proposals to (i) hire additional school support |
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| 1 | | personnel, including, but not limited to, restorative justice | 2 | | practitioners, school psychologists, school social workers, | 3 | | and other mental and behavioral health specialists; (ii) use | 4 | | existing school-based resources, community-based resources, or | 5 | | other experts and practitioners to expand alternatives to | 6 | | exclusionary discipline, mental and behavioral health | 7 | | supports, wraparound services, or drug and alcohol treatment; | 8 | | and (iii) provide training for school staff on trauma-informed | 9 | | approaches to meeting students' developmental needs, | 10 | | addressing the effects of toxic stress, restorative justice | 11 | | approaches, conflict resolution techniques, and the effective | 12 | | utilization of school support personnel and community-based | 13 | | services. For purposes of this subsection, "promising | 14 | | practices" means practices that present, based on preliminary | 15 | | information, potential for becoming evidence-based practices. | 16 | | Grant funds may not be used to increase the use of | 17 | | school-based law enforcement or security personnel. Nothing in | 18 | | this Section shall prohibit school districts from involving law | 19 | | enforcement personnel when necessary and allowed by law. | 20 | | (c) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation | 21 | | for the grant program, shall annually disseminate a request for | 22 | | applications to this program, and funds shall be distributed | 23 | | annually. The criteria to be considered by the State Board of | 24 | | Education in awarding the funds shall be (i) the average ratio | 25 | | of school support personnel to students in the target schools | 26 | | over the preceding 3 school years, with priority given to |
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| 1 | | applications with a demonstrated shortage of school support | 2 | | personnel to meet student needs; and (ii) the degree to which | 3 | | the proposal articulates a comprehensive approach for reducing | 4 | | exclusionary discipline while building safe and healthy | 5 | | learning environments. Priority shall be given to school | 6 | | districts that meet the metrics under subsection (b) of Section | 7 | | 2-3.162. | 8 | | (d) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation | 9 | | for the grant program, shall produce an
annual report on the | 10 | | program in
cooperation with the school districts participating | 11 | | in the program. The report shall include available
quantitative | 12 | | information on the progress being made in reducing exclusionary | 13 | | discipline and the effects of the program on school safety and | 14 | | school climate. This report shall be posted on the State Board | 15 | | of Education's website by
October 31 of each year, beginning in | 16 | | 2020. | 17 | | (e) The State Board of Education may adopt any rules | 18 | | necessary for the implementation of this program.
| 19 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 | | becoming law. |
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