97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3584

 

Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. Joe Sosnowski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Pilot Project Scholarship Program Act. Provides that the State Board of Education shall establish a pilot project scholarship program and shall include in the program any school districts that are or have ever been under federal court order requiring supervision and operational management of the district by the State Board of Education. Provides that the Program shall provide for a number of students residing in any such district to receive scholarships to attend alternative schools, and for an equal number of students to receive tutorial assistance grants while attending public school in any such district. Contains provisions concerning registering schools, priorities for admission of students, implementation of the Program, and payment of scholarships or grants.


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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,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Pilot
5Project Scholarship Program Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Alternative school" means a registered private school
8located in a school district or a public school located in an
9adjacent school district.
10    "Individualized education program" and "child with a
11disability" have the same meanings as in Article 14 of the
12School Code.
13    "Low-income family" means a family whose income is below
14the level that the State Board of Education shall establish.
15    "Mainstreamed student with a disability" means a child with
16a disability who has an individualized education program
17providing for the student to spend more than half of each
18school day in a regular school setting with nondisabled
19students.
20    "Registered private school" means a school registered with
21the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25 of the
22School Code.
23    "Separately educated student with a disability" means a

 

 

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1child with a disability who has an individualized education
2program providing for the student to spend at least half of
3each school day in a class or setting separated from
4nondisabled students.
5    "Tutorial assistance" means instructional services
6provided to a student outside of regular school hours.
7    "Program school district" or "district" means any school
8district included in the Pilot Project Scholarship Program
9pursuant to this Act.
 
10    Section 10. Pilot Project Scholarship Program. The State
11Board of Education shall establish a pilot project scholarship
12program and shall include in such program any school districts
13that are or have ever been under federal court order requiring
14supervision and operational management of the district by the
15State Board of Education. The Program shall provide for a
16number of students residing in any such district to receive
17scholarships to attend alternative schools, and for an equal
18number of students to receive tutorial assistance grants while
19attending public school in any such district.
20    The State Board of Education shall establish an application
21process and deadline for accepting applications from students
22residing in the district to participate in the Program. In the
23initial year of the Program students may only use a scholarship
24to attend school in grades kindergarten through 3. The State
25Board of Education shall award as many scholarships and

 

 

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1tutorial assistance grants as can be funded given the amount
2appropriated for the Program. In no case, however, shall more
3than 50% of all scholarships awarded be used by students who
4were enrolled in a nonpublic school during the school year of
5application for a scholarship.
6    The Program shall continue in effect each year that the
7General Assembly has appropriated sufficient money to fund
8scholarships and tutorial assistance grants. In each year the
9Program continues, no new students may receive scholarships
10unless they are enrolled in grades kindergarten through 8.
11However, any student who has received a scholarship the
12preceding year may continue to receive one until the student
13has completed grade 10.
14    If the General Assembly discontinues the Program, all
15students who are attending an alternative school under the
16Program shall be entitled to continued admittance to that
17specific school through all grades that are provided in such
18school, under the same conditions as when they were
19participating in the Program. The State Board of Education
20shall continue to make scholarship payments for students who
21remain enrolled in an alternative school under this Section in
22any year that funds have been appropriated for this purpose. If
23funds are not appropriated, the tuition charged to the parents
24of a student who remains enrolled in an alternative school
25under this Section shall not be increased beyond the amount
26equal to the amount of the scholarship plus any additional

 

 

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1amount charged that student's parent in the most recent year of
2attendance as a participant in the Program, except that tuition
3for all the students enrolled in such school may be increased
4by the same percentage.
5    If the school district experiences a decrease in enrollment
6due to participation in a State-sponsored scholarship program,
7the district board of education may enter into an agreement
8with any teacher it employs to provide to that teacher
9severance pay or early retirement incentives, or both, if the
10teacher agrees to terminate the employment contract with the
11district board, provided any collective bargaining agreement
12in force does not prohibit such an agreement for termination of
13a teacher's employment contract.
 
14    Section 15. Registering school. No private school may
15receive scholarship payments from parents pursuant to Section
1630 of this Act until the chief administrator of the private
17school registers the school with the State Board of Education.
18The State Board of Education shall register any school that
19meets the following requirements:
20        (1) The school is located within the boundaries of the
21    school district.
22        (2) The school indicates in writing its commitment to
23    follow all requirements for a State-sponsored scholarship
24    program, including, but not limited to, the requirements
25    for admitting students.

 

 

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1        (3) The school meets all State minimum standards for
2    chartered nonpublic schools.
3        (4) The school does not discriminate on the basis of
4    race, religion, or ethnic background.
5        (5) The school enrolls a minimum of 10 students per
6    class or a sum of at least 25 students in all the classes
7    offered.
8        (6) The school does not advocate or foster unlawful
9    behavior or teach hatred of any person or group on the
10    basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion.
11        (7) The school does not provide false or misleading
12    information about the school to parents, students, or the
13    general public.
14        (8) For students in grades kindergarten through 8, the
15    school agrees not to charge any tuition to low-income
16    families receiving 90% of the scholarship amount through
17    the scholarship program, pursuant to subsection (a) of
18    Section 25 of this Act, in excess of 10% of the scholarship
19    amount established pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 25
20    of this Act, excluding any increase described in subsection
21    (f) of that Section. The school shall permit any such
22    tuition, at the discretion of the parent, to be satisfied
23    by the low-income family's provision of in-kind
24    contributions or services.
25        (9) For students in grades kindergarten through 8, the
26    school agrees not to charge any tuition to low-income

 

 

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1    families receiving a 75% scholarship amount through the
2    Program, pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 25 of this
3    Act, in excess of the difference between the actual tuition
4    charge of the school and 75% of the scholarship amount
5    established pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 25,
6    excluding any increase described in subsection (f) of that
7    Section. The school shall permit such tuition, at the
8    discretion of the parent, to be satisfied by the low-income
9    family's provision of in-kind contributions or services.
10        (10) The school agrees not to charge any tuition to
11    families of students in grades 9 through 12 receiving a
12    scholarship in excess of the actual tuition charge of the
13    school less 75% or 90% of the scholarship amount
14    established pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 25, as
15    applicable, excluding any increase described in subsection
16    (f) of that Section.
17    The State Board of Education shall revoke the registration
18of any school if, after a hearing, the State Board of Education
19determines that the school is in violation of any of the
20provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
21    Any public school located in a school district adjacent to
22the Program district may receive scholarship payments on behalf
23of parents if the State Board of Education of the district in
24which such public school is located notifies the State Board of
25Education prior to the first day of March that the district
26intends to admit students from the Program district for the

 

 

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1ensuing school year.
2    Any parent wishing to purchase tutorial assistance from any
3person or governmental entity pursuant to the Program shall
4apply to the State Board of Education. The State Board of
5Education shall approve providers who appear to possess the
6capability of furnishing the instructional services they are
7offering to provide.
 
8    Section 20. Priorities of admission of students.
9    (a) Each registered private school shall admit students to
10kindergarten and first, second, and third grades in accordance
11with the following priorities.
12        (1) Students who were enrolled in the school during the
13    preceding year.
14        (2) Siblings of students enrolled in the school during
15    the preceding year, at the discretion of the school.
16        (3) Children from low-income families attending school
17    or residing in the school district in which the school is
18    located until the number of such students in each grade
19    equals the number that constituted 20% of the total number
20    of students enrolled in the school during the preceding
21    year in such grade. Admission of such 20% shall be by lot
22    from among all low-income family applicants who apply prior
23    to the 15th day of February prior to admission.
24        (4) All other applicants residing anywhere, provided
25    that all remaining available spaces shall be filled from

 

 

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1    among such applicants by lot. Children from low-income
2    families not selected by lot under paragraph (3) of this
3    subsection (a) shall be included in the lottery of all
4    remaining applicants pursuant to this paragraph (4).
5    (b) Each registered private school shall first admit to
6grades 4 through 12 students who were enrolled in the school
7during the preceding year. Any remaining spaces for students in
8these grades may be filled as determined by the school.
9    (c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this
10Section, except where otherwise prohibited by federal law, a
11registered private school may elect to admit students of only
12one gender and may deny admission to any separately educated
13student with a disability.
14    (d) If a scholarship student who has been accepted in
15accordance with this Section fails to enroll in the school for
16any reason or withdraws from the school during the school year
17for any reason, the school may elect to replace such student
18with another scholarship student only by first offering the
19admission to any low-income scholarship students who filed
20applications by the preceding 15th day of February and who were
21not accepted at that time due to space limitations.
 
22    Section 25. Implementation of Program.
23    (a) Annually by the first day of November, the State Board
24of Education shall notify the Program school district of the
25number of initial scholarships that the State Board of

 

 

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1Education will be awarding in each of grades kindergarten
2through 8.
3    The State Board of Education shall provide information
4about the Program to all students residing in the district,
5shall accept applications from any such students until such
6date as shall be established by the State Board of Education as
7a deadline for applications, and shall establish criteria for
8the selection of students to receive scholarships from among
9all those applying prior to the deadline, which criteria shall
10give preference to students from low-income families. For each
11student selected, the State Board of Education shall also
12determine whether the student qualifies for 75% or 90% of the
13scholarship amount. Students whose family income is at or above
14200% of the maximum income level established by the State Board
15of Education for low-income families shall qualify for 75% of
16the scholarship amount and students whose family income is
17below 200% of that maximum income level shall qualify for 90%
18of the scholarship amount. The State Board of Education shall
19notify students of their selection prior to the 15th day of
20January and whether they qualify for 75% or 90% of the
21scholarship amount.
22    (b) A student receiving a scholarship may utilize it at an
23alternative public school by notifying the district
24superintendent, at any time before the beginning of the school
25year, of the name of the public school in an adjacent school
26district to which the student has been accepted.

 

 

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1    (c) A student may decide to utilize a scholarship at a
2registered private school in the district if all of the
3following conditions are met:
4        (1) By the 15th day of February of the preceding school
5    year, or at any time prior to the start of the school year,
6    the parent makes an application on behalf of the student to
7    a registered private school.
8        (2) The registered private school notifies the parent
9    and the State Board of Education that the student has been
10    admitted:
11            (A) by the 15th day of March of the preceding
12        school year if the student filed an application by the
13        15th day of February and was admitted by the school
14        pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 20 of this Act;
15        or
16            (B) within one week after the decision to admit the
17        student if the student is admitted.
18        (3) The student actually enrolls in the registered
19    private school to which the student was first admitted or
20    in another registered private school in the district or in
21    a public school in an adjacent school district.
22    (d) The State Board of Education shall also award in any
23school year tutorial assistance grants to a number of students
24equal to the number of students who receive scholarships under
25subsection (a) of this Section. Tutorial assistance grants
26shall be awarded solely to students who are enrolled in the

 

 

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1public schools of the district in a grade level covered by the
2Program. Tutorial assistance grants may be used solely to
3obtain tutorial assistance from an approved provider.
4    All students wishing to obtain tutorial assistance grants
5shall make application to the State Board of Education by the
6first day of the school year in which the assistance will be
7used. The State Board of Education shall award assistance
8grants in accordance with criteria the State Board of Education
9shall establish. For each student awarded a grant, the State
10Board of Education shall also determine whether the student
11qualifies for 75% or 90% of the grant amount and so notify the
12student. Students whose family income is at or above 200% of
13the maximum income level established by the State Board of
14Education for low-income families shall qualify for 75% of the
15grant amount and students whose family income is below 200% of
16that maximum income level shall qualify for 90% of the grant
17amount.
18    (e) In the case of basic scholarships for students in
19grades kindergarten through 8, the scholarship amount shall not
20exceed the lesser of the tuition charges of the alternative
21school the scholarship recipient attends or $3,450.
22    In the case of basic scholarships for students in grades 9
23through 12, the scholarship amount shall not exceed the lesser
24of the tuition charges of the alternative school the
25scholarship recipient attends or $3,450.
26    (f) The State Board of Education shall provide for an

 

 

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1increase in the basic scholarship amount in the case of any
2student who is a mainstreamed student with a disability and
3shall further increase such amount in the case of any
4separately-educated student with a disability. Such increases
5shall take into account the instruction, related services, and
6transportation costs of educating such students.
7    (g) In the case of tutorial assistance grants, the grant
8amount shall not exceed the lesser of the provider's actual
9charges for such assistance or $400.
10    (h) No scholarship or tutorial assistance grant shall be
11awarded unless the State Board of Education determines that 25%
12or 10%, as applicable, of the amount specified for such
13scholarship or grant pursuant to subsection (e), (f), or (g) of
14this Section will be furnished by a political subdivision, a
15private nonprofit or for-profit entity, or another person. Only
1675% or 90% of such amounts, as applicable, shall be paid from
17State funds pursuant to Section 30 of this Act.
18    (i) Annually by the 1st day of November, the State Board of
19Education shall estimate the maximum per-pupil scholarship
20amounts for the ensuing school year. The State Board of
21Education shall make this estimate available to the general
22public at the offices of the district board of education
23together with the forms required by this Section.
24    (j) Annually by the 15th day of January, the chief
25administrator of each registered private school located in the
26district and the principal of each public school in such

 

 

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1district shall complete a parental information form and forward
2it to the president of the board of education. The parental
3information form shall be prescribed by the State Board of
4Education and shall provide information about the grade levels
5offered, the numbers of students, tuition amounts, achievement
6test results, and any sectarian or other organizational
7affiliations.
8    (k) Any document relative to the Program that the State
9Board of Education holds in its files that contains a student's
10name or other personally identifiable information shall not be
11a public record.
12    (l) The State Board of Education annually shall compile the
13scores attained by scholarship students enrolled in registered
14private schools on the assessments administered to the
15students. The scores shall be aggregated as follows:
16        (1) By school district, which shall include all
17    scholarship students residing in the Program school
18    district who are enrolled in a registered private school
19    and were required to take an assessment; or
20        (2) By registered private school, which shall include
21    all scholarship students enrolled in that school who were
22    required to take an assessment.
23    (m) The State Board of Education shall disaggregate the
24student performance data described in subsection (l) of this
25Section according to the following categories:
26        (1) age;

 

 

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1        (2) race and ethnicity;
2        (3) gender;
3        (4) students who have participated in the scholarship
4    program for 3 or more years;
5        (5) students who have participated in the scholarship
6    program for more than one year and less than 3 years;
7        (6) students who have participated in the scholarship
8    program for one year or less; and
9        (7) economically disadvantaged students.
10    (n) The State Board of Education shall post the student
11performance data required under subsections (l) and (m) of this
12Section on its web site and shall include that data in the
13information about the scholarship program provided to students
14under subsection (a) of this Section. In reporting student
15performance data under this Section, the State Board of
16Education shall not include any data that is statistically
17unreliable or that could result in the identification of
18individual students. For this purpose, the State Board of
19Education shall not report performance data for any group that
20contains less than 10 students.
21    (o) The State Board of Education shall provide the parent
22of each scholarship student enrolled in a registered private
23school with information comparing the student's performance on
24the assessments with the average performance of similar
25students enrolled in the building operated by the Program
26school district that the scholarship student would otherwise

 

 

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1attend. In calculating the performance of similar students, the
2State Board of Education shall consider age, grade, race and
3ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status.
 
4    Section 30. Payment of scholarships or grants.
5    (a) Each scholarship to be used for payments to a
6registered private school is payable to the parents of the
7student entitled to the scholarship. Each scholarship to be
8used for payments to a public school in an adjacent school
9district is payable to the school district of attendance by the
10superintendent of public instruction. Each grant to be used for
11payments to an approved tutorial assistance provider is payable
12to the approved tutorial assistance provider. The amount of
13each scholarship shall be deducted from the student's
14originating school district's general State aid payment by the
15State Board of Education.
16    (b) By the 15th day of each month of the school year that
17any scholarship students are enrolled in a registered private
18school, the chief administrator of that school shall notify the
19State Board of Education of:
20        (1) the number of students who were reported to the
21    school district as having been admitted by that private
22    school and who were still enrolled in the private school as
23    of the first day of such month, and the numbers of such
24    students who qualify for 75% and 90% of the scholarship
25    amount; and

 

 

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1        (2) the number of students who were reported to the
2    school district as having been admitted by another private
3    school and since the date of admission have transferred to
4    the school providing the notification under subsection (a)
5    of this Section, and the numbers of such students who
6    qualify for 75% and 90% of the scholarship amount.
7    (c) From time to time, the State Board of Education shall
8make a payment to the parent of each student entitled to a
9scholarship. Each payment shall include for each student
10reported under subsection (b) of this Section, a portion of 75%
11or 90%, as applicable, of the scholarship amount specified in
12subsections (e) and (f) of Section 25 of this Act. This amount
13shall be proportionately reduced in the case of any such
14student who is not enrolled in a registered private school for
15the entire school year.
16    (d) The first payment under subsection (c) shall be made by
17the last day of November and shall equal one-third of 75% or
1890%, as applicable, of the estimated total amount that will be
19due to the parent for the school year pursuant to subsection
20(c) of this Section.
21    (e) The State Board of Education, on behalf of the parents
22of a scholarship student enrolled in a public school in an
23adjacent school district, shall make the tuition required to
24the school district admitting the student, except that the
25total payments in any school year shall not exceed 75% or 90%,
26as applicable, of the scholarship amount.

 

 

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1    (f) Whenever an approved provider provides tutorial
2assistance to a student, the State Board of Education shall pay
3the approved provider for such costs upon receipt of a
4statement specifying the services provided and the costs of the
5services, which statement shall be signed by the provider and
6verified by the chief administrator having supervisory control
7over the tutoring site. The total payments to any approved
8provider under this subsection (f) for all provider services to
9any individual student in any school year shall not exceed 75%
10or 90%, as applicable, of the grant amount.