94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
SB0010

 

Introduced 1/26/2005, by Sen. Miguel del Valle

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
30 ILCS 105/5.640 new
105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 new

    Amends the School Code. Provides that by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, the State Board of Education shall by rule establish a parental participation pilot project to provide grants to the lowest performing school districts to help these districts improve parental participation through certain activities. Provides that the pilot project shall be for a period of at least 4 school years. Provides that the Board shall select 4 school districts to participate in the pilot project, and sets forth criteria for the Board to consider when selecting participating school districts. Sets forth requirements for participants. Provides for a review and final evaluation of the project. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Repeals these provisions on December 31, 2010. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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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 State Finance Act is amended by adding
5 Section 5.640 as follows:
 
6     (30 ILCS 105/5.640 new)
7     Sec. 5.640. The Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund.
8 This Section is repealed on December 31, 2010.
 
9     Section 10. The School Code is amended by adding Section
10 2-3.137 as follows:
 
11     (105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 new)
12     Sec. 2-3.137. Parental participation pilot project.
13     (a) By the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, the
14 State Board of Education shall by rule establish a parental
15 participation pilot project to provide grants to the lowest
16 performing school districts to help such districts improve
17 parental participation through activities, including, but not
18 limited to, parent-teacher conferences, open houses, family
19 nights, volunteer opportunities, and family outreach
20 materials.
21     (b) The pilot project shall be for a period of at least 4
22 school years. The State Board shall establish a procedure and
23 develop criteria for the administration of the pilot project.
24 In administering the pilot project, the State Board shall do
25 the following:
26         (1) select participating school districts or schools;
27         (2) define the conditions for the distribution and use
28     of grant funds;
29         (3) enter into contracts as necessary to implement the
30     pilot project; and

 

 

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1         (4) monitor local pilot project implementation.
2     (c) The Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund is
3 created as a special fund in the State treasury. All money in
4 the Parental Participation Pilot Project Fund shall be used,
5 subject to appropriation, by the State Board for the pilot
6 project. To implement the pilot project, the State Board may
7 use any funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the
8 purposes of the pilot project as well as any gift, grant, or
9 donation given for the pilot project. The State Board may
10 solicit and accept a gift, grant, or donation of any kind from
11 any source, including from a foundation, private entity,
12 governmental entity, or institution of higher education, for
13 the implementation of the pilot project.
14     The State Board shall use pilot project funds for grants to
15 low-performing school districts to encourage parental
16 participation.
17     The State Board may not allocate more than $250,000
18 annually for the pilot project. The pilot project may be
19 implemented only if sufficient funds are available under this
20 Section for that purpose.
21     (d) A school district may apply to the State Board for the
22 establishment of a parental participation pilot project for the
23 entire district or for a particular school or group of schools
24 in the district.
25     The State Board shall select 4 school districts to
26 participate in the pilot project. One school district shall be
27 located in the City of Chicago, one school district shall be
28 located in that portion of Cook County that is located outside
29 of the City of Chicago, one school district shall be located in
30 the area that makes up the counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake,
31 McHenry, and Will, and one school district shall be located in
32 the remainder of the State.
33     The State Board shall select the participating districts
34 and schools for the pilot project based on each district's or
35 school's need for the pilot project. In selecting participants,
36 the State Board shall consider the following criteria:

 

 

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1         (1) whether the district or school has any of the
2     following problems and whether those problems can be
3     mitigated or addressed through enhanced parental
4     participation:
5             (A) low rates of satisfactory performance on
6         assessment instruments under Section 2-3.64 of this
7         Code;
8             (B) high rates of low-income students, limited
9         English proficient students, dropouts, chronically
10         truant students, and student mobility; or
11             (C) low student attendance rates; and
12         (2) the methods the district or school will use to
13     measure the progress of the pilot project in the district
14     or school in accordance with subsection (f) of this
15     Section.
16     (e) Each participating school district or school shall
17 establish a parental participation committee to assist in
18 developing and implementing the parental participation pilot
19 project.
20     The school board of a participating district or of a
21 district in which a participating school is located shall
22 appoint individuals to the committee. The committee may be
23 composed of any of the following:
24         (1) educators;
25         (2) district-level administrators;
26         (3) community leaders;
27         (4) parents of students who attend a participating
28     school; or
29         (5) any other individual the school board finds
30     appropriate.
31     The committee shall develop an academic improvement plan
32 that details how the pilot project should be implemented in the
33 participating district or school. In developing the academic
34 improvement plan, the committee shall consider the educational
35 problems in the district or school that could be mitigated
36 through the implementation of the pilot project.

 

 

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1     The committee shall recommend to the school board how the
2 pilot project funds should be used to implement the academic
3 improvement plan. The committee may recommend annually any
4 necessary changes in the academic improvement plan to the
5 school board. The State Board must approve the academic
6 improvement plan or any changes in the academic improvement
7 plan before disbursing pilot project funds to the school board.
8     (f) The school board of each school district participating
9 in the pilot project shall send an annual progress report to
10 the State Board no later than August 1 of each year that the
11 district is participating in the pilot project. The report must
12 state in detail the type of plan being used in the district or
13 school and the effect of the pilot project on the district or
14 school, including the following:
15         (1) the academic progress of students who are
16     participating in the pilot project, as measured by
17     performance on assessment instruments;
18         (2) if applicable, a comparison of student progress in
19     a school or classroom that is participating in the pilot
20     project as compared with student progress in the schools or
21     classrooms in the district that are not participating in
22     the pilot project;
23         (3) any elements of the pilot project that contribute
24     to improved student performance on assessment instruments
25     administered under Section 2-3.64 of this Code or any other
26     assessment instrument required by the State Board;
27         (4) any cost savings and improved efficiency relating
28     to school personnel;
29         (5) any effect on student dropout and attendance rates;
30         (6) any effect on student enrollment in higher
31     education;
32         (7) any effect on teacher performance and retention;
33         (8) any improvement in communications among students,
34     teachers, parents, and administrators;
35         (9) any improvement in parental involvement in the
36     education of the parent's child; and

 

 

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1         (10) any effect on community involvement and support
2     for the district or school.
3     (g) After the expiration of the 4-year pilot project, the
4 State Board shall review the pilot project, based on the annual
5 reports the State Board receives from the school boards of
6 participating school districts, conduct a final evaluation,
7 and report its findings to the General Assembly no later than
8 December 31, 2010.
9     (h) This Section is repealed on December 31, 2010.
 
10     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11 becoming law.