Public Act 095-0694
 
SB0858 Enrolled LRB095 05587 NHT 25677 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by
adding Section 2.24 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 805/2.24 new)
    Sec. 2.24. College and Career Readiness Pilot Program.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that there is a direct and
significant link between students being academically prepared
for college and success in postsecondary education. Many
students enter college unprepared for the academic rigors of
college and require noncredit remedial courses to attain skills
and knowledge needed for regular, credit coursework.
Remediation lengthens time to degree, imposes additional costs
on students and colleges, and uses student financial aid for
courses that will not count toward a degree. All high school
juniors take the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which
contains the ACT college assessment exam. ACT test elements and
scores can be correlated to specific course placements in
community colleges. Customized ACT test results can be used in
collaboration with high schools to assist high school students
identify areas for improvement and help them close skill gaps
during their senior year. Greater college and career readiness
will reduce the need for remediation, lower educational costs,
shorten time to degree, and increase the overall success rate
of Illinois college students.
    (b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall create
a 3-year pilot project, to be known as the College and Career
Readiness Pilot Program. The goals of the program are as
follows:
        (1) To diagnose college readiness by developing a
    system to align ACT scores to specific community college
    courses in developmental and freshman curriculums.
        (2) To reduce remediation by decreasing the need for
    remedial coursework in mathematics, reading, and writing
    at the college level through (i) increasing the number of
    students enrolled in a college-prep core curriculum, (ii)
    assisting students in improving college readiness skills,
    and (iii) increasing successful student transitions into
    postsecondary education.
        (3) To align high school and college curriculums.
        (4) To provide resources and academic support to
    students to enrich the senior year of high school through
    remedial or advanced coursework and other interventions.
        (5) To develop an appropriate evaluation process to
    measure the effectiveness of readiness intervention
    strategies.
    (c) The first year of the program created under this
Section shall begin with the high school class of 2008.
        (1) The State Board shall select 4 community colleges
    to participate in the program based on all of the
    following:
            (A) The percentage of students in developmental
        coursework.
            (B) Demographics of student enrollment, including
        socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and
        enrollments of first-generation college students.
            (C) Geographic diversity.
            (D) The willingness of the community college to
        submit developmental and introductory courses to ACT
        for analysis of college placement.
            (E) The ability of the community college to partner
        with local high schools to develop college and career
        readiness strategies and college readiness teams.
        (2) The State Board shall work with ACT to analyze up
    to 10 courses at each participating community college for
    purposes of determining student placement and college
    readiness.
        (3) Each participating community college shall
    establish an agreement with a high school or schools to do
    all of the following:
            (A) Create a data-sharing agreement.
            (B) Create a Readiness Prescription for each
        student, showing all of the following:
                (i) The readiness status for college-level
            work.
                (ii) Course recommendations for remediation or
            for advanced coursework in Advanced Placement
            classes or dual credit and dual enrollment
            programs.
                (iii) Additional academic support services,
            including tutoring, mentoring, and college
            application assistance.
            (C) Create college and career readiness teams
        comprised of faculty and counselors or advisers from
        the community college and high school, the college and
        career readiness coordinator from the community
        college, and other members as determined by the high
        school and community college. The teams may include
        local business or civic leaders. The teams shall
        develop intervention strategies as follows:
                (i) Use the Readiness Prescription to develop
            a contract with each student for remedial or
            advanced coursework to be taken during the senior
            year.
                (ii) Monitor student progress.
                (iii) Provide readiness support services.
            (D) Retest students in the spring of 2008 to assess
        progress and college readiness.
        (4) The State Board shall work with participating
    community colleges and high schools to develop an
    appropriate evaluation process to measure effectiveness of
    intervention strategies, including all of the following:
            (A) Baseline data for each participating school.
            (B) Baseline data for the Illinois system.
            (C) Comparison of ACT scores from March 2007 to
        March 2008.
            (D) Student enrollment in college in the fall of
        2008.
            (E) Placement of college and career readiness
        students in developmental and regular courses in the
        fall of 2008.
            (F) Retention of college and career readiness
        students in the spring semester of 2009.
        (5) The State Board shall work with participating
    community colleges and high schools to establish
    operational processes and a budget for college and career
    readiness pilot programs, including all of the following:
            (A) Employment of a college and career readiness
        coordinator at each community college site.
            (B) Establishment of a budget.
            (C) Creation of college and career readiness
        teams, resources, and partnership agreements.
    (d) The second year of the program created under this
Section shall begin with the high school class of 2009. In the
second year, the State Board shall have all of the following
duties:
        (1) Analyze courses at 3 new community college sites.
        (2) Undertake intervention strategies through college
    and career readiness teams with students in the class of
    2009.
        (3) Monitor and assist college and career readiness
    graduates from the class of 2008 in college.
    (e) The third year of the program created under this
Section shall begin with the high school class of 2010. In the
third year, the State Board shall have all of the following
duties:
        (1) Analyze courses at 5 new community college sites.
        (2) Add college and career readiness teams at 3 new
    sites (from year 2 of the program).
        (3) Undertake intervention strategies through college
    and career readiness teams with students of the class of
    2010 at 7 sites.
        (4) Monitor and assist students from the classes of
    2008 and 2009 in college.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.