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Full Text of SB1829  100th General Assembly

SB1829sam003 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson

Filed: 4/6/2018

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1829

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1829 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
52-3.71 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.71)
7    Sec. 2-3.71. Grants for preschool educational programs.
8    (a) Preschool program.
9        (1) The State Board of Education shall implement and
10    administer a grant program under the provisions of this
11    subsection which shall consist of grants to public school
12    districts and other eligible entities, as defined by the
13    State Board of Education, to conduct voluntary preschool
14    educational programs for children ages 3 to 5 which include
15    a parent education component. A public school district
16    which receives grants under this subsection may

 

 

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1    subcontract with other entities that are eligible to
2    conduct a preschool educational program. These grants must
3    be used to supplement, not supplant, funds received from
4    any other source.
5        (2) (Blank).
6        (3) Except as otherwise provided under this subsection
7    (a), any Any teacher of preschool children in the program
8    authorized by this subsection shall hold a Professional
9    Educator License with an early childhood education
10    endorsement teaching certificate.
11        (3.5) Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year and
12    until the 2023-2024 school year, an individual may teach
13    preschool children in an early childhood program under this
14    Section if he or she holds a Professional Educator License
15    with an early childhood education endorsement or with
16    short-term approval for early childhood education or he or
17    she pursues a Professional Educator License and holds any
18    of the following:
19            (A) An ECE Credential Level of 5 awarded by the
20        Department of Human Services under the Gateways to
21        Opportunity Program developed under Section 10-70 of
22        the Department of Human Services Act.
23            (B) An Educator License with Stipulations with a
24        transitional bilingual educator endorsement and he or
25        she has (i) passed an early childhood education content
26        test or (ii) completed no less than 9 semester hours of

 

 

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1        postsecondary coursework in the area of early
2        childhood education.
3        (4) (Blank).
4        (4.5) The State Board of Education shall provide the
5    primary source of funding through appropriations for the
6    program. Such funds shall be distributed to achieve a goal
7    of "Preschool for All Children" for the benefit of all
8    children whose families choose to participate in the
9    program. Based on available appropriations, newly funded
10    programs shall be selected through a process giving first
11    priority to qualified programs serving primarily at-risk
12    children and second priority to qualified programs serving
13    primarily children with a family income of less than 4
14    times the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the
15    Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
16    Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). For
17    purposes of this paragraph (4.5), at-risk children are
18    those who because of their home and community environment
19    are subject to such language, cultural, economic and like
20    disadvantages to cause them to have been determined as a
21    result of screening procedures to be at risk of academic
22    failure. Such screening procedures shall be based on
23    criteria established by the State Board of Education.
24        Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (4.5),
25    grantees under the program must enter into a memorandum of
26    understanding with the appropriate local Head Start

 

 

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1    agency. This memorandum must be entered into no later than
2    3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the
3    program, except that, in the case of the 2009-2010 program
4    year, the memorandum must be entered into no later than the
5    deadline set by the State Board of Education for
6    applications to participate in the program in fiscal year
7    2011, and must address collaboration between the grantee's
8    program and the local Head Start agency on certain issues,
9    which shall include without limitation the following:
10            (A) educational activities, curricular objectives,
11        and instruction;
12            (B) public information dissemination and access to
13        programs for families contacting programs;
14            (C) service areas;
15            (D) selection priorities for eligible children to
16        be served by programs;
17            (E) maximizing the impact of federal and State
18        funding to benefit young children;
19            (F) staff training, including opportunities for
20        joint staff training;
21            (G) technical assistance;
22            (H) communication and parent outreach for smooth
23        transitions to kindergarten;
24            (I) provision and use of facilities,
25        transportation, and other program elements;
26            (J) facilitating each program's fulfillment of its

 

 

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1        statutory and regulatory requirements;
2            (K) improving local planning and collaboration;
3        and
4            (L) providing comprehensive services for the
5        neediest Illinois children and families.
6    If the appropriate local Head Start agency is unable or
7    unwilling to enter into a memorandum of understanding as
8    required under this paragraph (4.5), the memorandum of
9    understanding requirement shall not apply and the grantee
10    under the program must notify the State Board of Education
11    in writing of the Head Start agency's inability or
12    unwillingness. The State Board of Education shall compile
13    all such written notices and make them available to the
14    public.
15        (5) The State Board of Education shall develop and
16    provide evaluation tools, including tests, that school
17    districts and other eligible entities may use to evaluate
18    children for school readiness prior to age 5. The State
19    Board of Education shall require school districts and other
20    eligible entities to obtain consent from the parents or
21    guardians of children before any evaluations are
22    conducted. The State Board of Education shall encourage
23    local school districts and other eligible entities to
24    evaluate the population of preschool children in their
25    communities and provide preschool programs, pursuant to
26    this subsection, where appropriate.

 

 

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1        (6) The State Board of Education shall report to the
2    General Assembly by November 1, 2018 and every 2 years
3    thereafter on the results and progress of students who were
4    enrolled in preschool educational programs, including an
5    assessment of which programs have been most successful in
6    promoting academic excellence and alleviating academic
7    failure. The State Board of Education shall assess the
8    academic progress of all students who have been enrolled in
9    preschool educational programs.
10        On or before November 1 of each fiscal year in which
11    the General Assembly provides funding for new programs
12    under paragraph (4.5) of this Section, the State Board of
13    Education shall report to the General Assembly on what
14    percentage of new funding was provided to programs serving
15    primarily at-risk children, what percentage of new funding
16    was provided to programs serving primarily children with a
17    family income of less than 4 times the federal poverty
18    level, and what percentage of new funding was provided to
19    other programs.
20        (7) Due to evidence that expulsion practices in the
21    preschool years are linked to poor child outcomes and are
22    employed inconsistently across racial and gender groups,
23    early childhood programs receiving State funds under this
24    subsection (a) shall prohibit expulsions. Planned
25    transitions to settings that are able to better meet a
26    child's needs are not considered expulsion under this

 

 

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1    paragraph (7).
2            (A) When persistent and serious challenging
3        behaviors emerge, the early childhood program shall
4        document steps taken to ensure that the child can
5        participate safely in the program; including
6        observations of initial and ongoing challenging
7        behaviors, strategies for remediation and intervention
8        plans to address the behaviors, and communication with
9        the parent or legal guardian, including participation
10        of the parent or legal guardian in planning and
11        decision-making.
12            (B) The early childhood program shall, with
13        parental or legal guardian consent as required,
14        utilize a range of community resources, if available
15        and deemed necessary, including, but not limited to,
16        developmental screenings, referrals to programs and
17        services administered by a local educational agency or
18        early intervention agency under Parts B and C of the
19        federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act,
20        and consultation with infant and early childhood
21        mental health consultants and the child's health care
22        provider. The program shall document attempts to
23        engage these resources, including parent or legal
24        guardian participation and consent attempted and
25        obtained. Communication with the parent or legal
26        guardian shall take place in a culturally and

 

 

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1        linguistically competent manner.
2            (C) If there is documented evidence that all
3        available interventions and supports recommended by a
4        qualified professional have been exhausted and the
5        program determines in its professional judgment that
6        transitioning a child to another program is necessary
7        for the well-being of the child or his or her peers and
8        staff, with parent or legal guardian permission, both
9        the current and pending programs shall create a
10        transition plan designed to ensure continuity of
11        services and the comprehensive development of the
12        child. Communication with families shall occur in a
13        culturally and linguistically competent manner.
14            (D) Nothing in this paragraph (7) shall preclude a
15        parent's or legal guardian's right to voluntarily
16        withdraw his or her child from an early childhood
17        program. Early childhood programs shall request and
18        keep on file, when received, a written statement from
19        the parent or legal guardian stating the reason for his
20        or her decision to withdraw his or her child.
21            (E) In the case of the determination of a serious
22        safety threat to a child or others or in the case of
23        behaviors listed in subsection (d) of Section 10-22.6
24        of this Code, the temporary removal of a child from
25        attendance in group settings may be used. Temporary
26        removal of a child from attendance in a group setting

 

 

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1        shall trigger the process detailed in subparagraphs
2        (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph (7), with the child
3        placed back in a group setting as quickly as possible.
4            (F) Early childhood programs may utilize and the
5        State Board of Education, the Department of Human
6        Services, and the Department of Children and Family
7        Services shall recommend training, technical support,
8        and professional development resources to improve the
9        ability of teachers, administrators, program
10        directors, and other staff to promote social-emotional
11        development and behavioral health, to address
12        challenging behaviors, and to understand trauma and
13        trauma-informed care, cultural competence, family
14        engagement with diverse populations, the impact of
15        implicit bias on adult behavior, and the use of
16        reflective practice techniques. Support shall include
17        the availability of resources to contract with infant
18        and early childhood mental health consultants.
19            (G) Beginning on July 1, 2018, early childhood
20        programs shall annually report to the State Board of
21        Education, and, beginning in fiscal year 2020, the
22        State Board of Education shall make available on a
23        biennial basis, in an existing report, all of the
24        following data for children from birth to age 5 who are
25        served by the program:
26                (i) Total number served over the course of the

 

 

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1            program year and the total number of children who
2            left the program during the program year.
3                (ii) Number of planned transitions to another
4            program due to children's behavior, by children's
5            race, gender, disability, language, class/group
6            size, teacher-child ratio, and length of program
7            day.
8                (iii) Number of temporary removals of a child
9            from attendance in group settings due to a serious
10            safety threat under subparagraph (E) of this
11            paragraph (7), by children's race, gender,
12            disability, language, class/group size,
13            teacher-child ratio, and length of program day.
14                (iv) Hours of infant and early childhood
15            mental health consultant contact with program
16            leaders, staff, and families over the program
17            year.
18            (H) Changes to services for children with an
19        individualized education program or individual family
20        service plan shall be construed in a manner consistent
21        with the federal Individuals with Disabilities
22        Education Act.
23        The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
24    Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and the
25    Department of Children and Family Services, shall adopt
26    rules to administer this paragraph (7).

 

 

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1    (b) (Blank).
2(Source: P.A. 100-105, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
42018.".