Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1941
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Full Text of SB1941  101st General Assembly

SB1941sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 4/5/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1941

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1941 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
52-3.176 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.176 new)
7    Sec. 2-3.176. Safe Schools and Healthy Learning
8Environments Grant Program.
9    (a) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation,
10is authorized to award competitive grants on an annual basis
11under a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Grant
12Program. The goal of this grant program is to promote school
13safety and healthy learning environments by providing schools
14with additional resources to implement restorative
15interventions and resolution strategies as alternatives to
16exclusionary discipline, and to address the full range of

 

 

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1students' intellectual, social, emotional, physical,
2psychological, and moral developmental needs.
3    (b) To receive a grant under this program, a school
4district must submit with its grant application a plan for
5implementing evidence-based and promising practices that are
6aligned with the goal of this program. The application may
7include proposals to (i) hire additional school support
8personnel, including, but not limited to, restorative justice
9practitioners, school psychologists, school social workers,
10and other mental and behavioral health specialists; (ii) use
11existing school-based resources, community-based resources, or
12other experts and practitioners to expand alternatives to
13exclusionary discipline, mental and behavioral health
14supports, wraparound services, or drug and alcohol treatment;
15and (iii) provide training for school staff on trauma-informed
16approaches to meeting students' developmental needs,
17addressing the effects of toxic stress, restorative justice
18approaches, conflict resolution techniques, and the effective
19utilization of school support personnel and community-based
20services. For purposes of this subsection, "promising
21practices" means practices that present, based on preliminary
22information, potential for becoming evidence-based practices.
23    Grant funds may not be used to increase the use of
24school-based law enforcement or security personnel. Nothing in
25this Section shall prohibit school districts from involving law
26enforcement personnel when necessary and allowed by law.

 

 

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1    (c) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation
2for the grant program, shall annually disseminate a request for
3applications to this program, and funds shall be distributed
4annually. The criteria to be considered by the State Board of
5Education in awarding the funds shall be (i) the average ratio
6of school support personnel to students in the target schools
7over the preceding 3 school years, with priority given to
8applications with a demonstrated shortage of school support
9personnel to meet student needs; and (ii) the degree to which
10the proposal articulates a comprehensive approach for reducing
11exclusionary discipline while building safe and healthy
12learning environments. Priority shall be given to school
13districts that meet the metrics under subsection (b) of Section
142-3.162.
15    (d) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation
16for the grant program, shall produce an annual report on the
17program in cooperation with the school districts participating
18in the program. The report shall include available quantitative
19information on the progress being made in reducing exclusionary
20discipline and the effects of the program on school safety and
21school climate. This report shall be posted on the State Board
22of Education's website by October 31 of each year, beginning in
232020.
24    (e) The State Board of Education may adopt any rules
25necessary for the implementation of this program.
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.".