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91_HB4325
LRB9112122NTks
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by adding Sections
2 2-3.71c and 2-3.71d.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections
6 2-3.71c and 2-3.71d as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71c new)
8 Sec. 2-3.71c. Department of School Readiness. The State
9 Board of Education shall establish the Department of School
10 Readiness. The Department shall have the following duties:
11 (1) to administer such programs and services as may
12 be necessary for the operation and management of
13 voluntary pre-kindergarten;
14 (2) to administer such programs and services as may
15 be necessary for the operation and management of
16 preschool and child development programs and child care
17 regulation and food programs;
18 (3) to act as the agent of the federal government
19 in conformity with law and in the administration of any
20 federal funds granted to the State to aid in the
21 furtherance of any functions of the Department;
22 (4) to assist local units of administration in this
23 State so as to assure the proliferation of services that
24 are under the authority of the Department; and
25 (5) to incorporate prekindergarten with nutrition
26 programs and early intervention services.
27 (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71d new)
28 Sec. 2-3.71d. Voluntary Prekindergarten Program.
29 (a) The State Board of Education shall establish the
30 Voluntary Prekindergarten Program, which the Department of
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1 School Readiness shall administer. The Program shall be
2 offered free statewide to all children who are residents of
3 this State and who are 4 years of age on or before September
4 1 of the school year. The Department shall enter into
5 partnership agreements with licensed child care facilities
6 and public and private schools to provide prekindergarten
7 classes under the Program. Parents shall be allowed to choose
8 which provider has the most appropriate classroom setting for
9 their child. In an application to become a provider, the
10 provider shall agree that all information contained within
11 the application and any documentation submitted with the
12 application is considered public information, will be
13 included in the provider's permanent file, and is subject to
14 an open records request. Falsifying any information that the
15 Department requires to be reported shall result in automatic
16 termination of the partnership agreement. Noncompliance with
17 any of the provisions of this Act shall result in termination
18 of the partnership agreement.
19 The Department shall establish a simple financial
20 contracting, payment, and reporting system for the Program.
21 The Department shall develop a financial reimbursement model
22 and a methodology for allocating and awarding prekindergarten
23 classes under the Program, which shall be agreed upon with a
24 provider. The Department shall establish consistent minimum
25 salaries for teachers in the Program. The Department shall
26 establish an integrated database for the Program. The
27 Department shall engage in meaningful collaboration with
28 providers.
29 If space is available, children who do not meet the age
30 requirement, whether because they are too young or too old,
31 may be served at the expense of the parents or at the expense
32 of the provider. Enrollment of a child who does not meet the
33 age requirement requires Department approval, which shall be
34 granted only if no children who meet the age requirement
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1 request services. The Department shall not pay for children
2 who do not meet the age requirement. Enrollment of a child
3 who does not meet the age requirement may not be requested
4 until after the first week of school has begun.
5 The Program shall provide additional services to children
6 considered at-risk to assist as many children from
7 economically disadvantaged families as possible, including
8 providing free or subsidized before and after school care if
9 their parents participate in education or job training
10 programs, providing free or reduced-price breakfasts,
11 lunches, and snacks, and providing transportation to and from
12 the school at no cost.
13 All children participating in the Program must have
14 hearing, vision, and dental examination certificates on file
15 with the provider within 90 days after the start of school.
16 Evidence of age-appropriate immunizations must be on file
17 with the provider within 30 days after the start of school.
18 At the end of the school year, the Department shall provide
19 parents with comprehensive information on all health and
20 entrance documentation necessary for successful entry into
21 kindergarten.
22 (b) Program providers must comply with the following
23 requirements:
24 (1) A classroom may not have more than 20 children.
25 (2) Children must be provided with a minimum of 6.5
26 hours of direct instructional child contact per day, 5
27 days a week, 180 days a year, with the teacher working at
28 least 8 hours per day.
29 (3) Children must be provided with both
30 teacher-directed and child-initiated activities.
31 (4) Children must be exposed to a child-centered
32 environment with a teacher who is supportive of
33 children's active play.
34 (5) A range of interests and abilities must be
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1 provided for in order to meet the needs of all children.
2 (6) Instructional strategies must encourage active
3 learning and problem solving rather than the rote
4 learning of academic skills.
5 (7) A classroom must contain a variety of
6 materials, such as books, blocks, cards, games, and
7 scientific materials.
8 (8) Art, music, and movement activities must be
9 incorporated into the instructional day.
10 (9) Each classroom must have at least one lead
11 teacher per 10 children, preferably a teacher who is
12 credentialed in early childhood education, and one
13 teaching assistant per 10 children.
14 (10) Children must have consistent daily routines.
15 (11) In the classroom, positive behavioral
16 management and assessment strategies must be used.
17 (12) A provider must have existing space for the
18 Program and appropriate licenses.
19 (13) A provider must submit all enrollment rosters
20 by the reporting dates set by the Department.
21 (14) A provider may not discriminate in its
22 enrollment and registration process.
23 (15) A provider must refer children with suspected
24 special needs to the appropriate school system.
25 (16) A provider may not include any religious
26 activities in the program.
27 (17) At least 2 individual conferences per year
28 between the lead teacher and the family must be offered
29 and documented in the child's on-site file.
30 (18) A provider, to the extent possible, shall
31 provide wraparound child care services by working with
32 child care facilities to provide transportation to and
33 from the child care facility and school.
34 (19) A provider must comply with all State
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1 standards governing preschool education and any other
2 Program guidelines set by the Department.
3 (c) The Department shall establish quality standards for
4 prekindergarten classes under the Program, including
5 requiring interactive learning opportunities that are age
6 appropriate and meet individual needs, requiring appropriate
7 scheduling, transitions, and grouping practices to be
8 reflected in the daily plan, requiring adequate and
9 appropriate facilities, space, equipment, supplies, and
10 materials to be provided, requiring physical spaces to be
11 arranged to promote the interaction of children with
12 materials, other children, and adults, and requiring that
13 children's feelings of comfort, security, and self-esteem be
14 enhanced.
15 (d) Curricula under the Program shall be designed so
16 that learning is achieved through the use of appropriate
17 materials and learning centers. To meet the varied
18 requirements of a diverse prekindergarten population,
19 providers shall be allowed to choose from the nationally
20 recognized curricula options of Bank Street, Creative
21 Curriculum, High/Scope, High Reach Framework, Montessori, or
22 Scholastic Workshop, or providers may submit their own
23 locally developed curriculum to the Department for approval.
24 Parents shall be allowed to choose a provider that uses the
25 curriculum they feel will best meet the needs of their child.
26 Providers shall offer appropriate instruction in the
27 following areas:
28 (1) language development, in which children develop
29 and expand listening skills, develop and expand speaking
30 skills, begin to develop age-appropriate writing skills,
31 and begin to develop age-appropriate strategies that will
32 assist them is reading;
33 (2) mathematical development, in which children
34 classify or sequence objects or events by using one
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1 attribute at a time, identify and create patterns,
2 develop an understanding of numbers, and develop an
3 awareness of simple time concepts;
4 (3) scientific development, in which children
5 actively explore their environment, acquire scientific
6 knowledge related to life science, acquire scientific
7 knowledge related to physical science, acquire scientific
8 knowledge related to earth science, and acquire
9 scientific knowledge related to health science;
10 (4) creative development, in which children express
11 their individuality through different types of
12 representation, including music, movement, and drama,
13 have opportunities to share what they have learned
14 through drawings, constructions, discussions, and making
15 charts, develop confidence and a positive self-concept as
16 they engage in the creative process, and acquire
17 knowledge about the arts and artists;
18 (5) physical development, in which children gain
19 coordination through participation in physical
20 activities, participate in activities that foster fine
21 motor development, and use small muscles to improve a
22 variety of fine motor skills; and
23 (6) social and emotional development, in which
24 children develop self-help skills, develop social
25 awareness, freely participate in a supportive classroom
26 community, and develop self discipline and follow
27 established rules.
28 (e) One time start-up funding shall be available to
29 providers to equip new prekindergarten classrooms. The
30 Department shall furnish providers with a basic equipment,
31 supplies, and materials list to guide them as they purchase
32 manipulatives, books, and supplies. Providers may utilize
33 this funding to purchase computers or playground equipment
34 with prior approval of the Department. Providers must repay
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1 all funds received for classrooms that never become
2 operational.
3 A provider shall be paid only for the number of children
4 that the provider serves. Funding shall be provided for
5 equipment, materials, and supplies for classrooms, salaries
6 and benefits for lead teachers and teaching assistants, with
7 different levels of funding provided based on types of
8 teacher credentials, other staff salaries, operating
9 expenses, rent, utilities, transportation, food, field trips,
10 playground equipment and classroom computers, with approval
11 of the Department, and any other items that benefit or
12 enhance the children and the Program. A maximum of 6% of the
13 funds for operating expenses per year may be spent on
14 administration. A minimum of $1,200 per class per year must
15 be spent on classroom equipment, supplies, and materials.
16 Local school systems that pay salaries and benefits over a
17 12-month period must accrue funds to pay salaries and
18 benefits across fiscal years. Funds received under the
19 Program may only be used to support the Program. Repayment
20 shall be required if the number of children enrolled in
21 September and October is 10% or more below the anticipated
22 enrollment approved in the partnership agreement.
23 (f) The Program shall encourage parents to volunteer in
24 the classroom and to participate in meetings, parent group
25 activities, and workshops offered by providers or the
26 Department. The Department shall encourage parents to read
27 to their children on a daily basis. Under the Program and on
28 a voluntary basis, families shall be given access to services
29 that promote stability and aid in the child's preparation for
30 kindergarten.
31 (g) Resource coordinators shall be assigned to each
32 at-risk child and the child's family and shall be available
33 to assist other families as requested. Resource coordinators
34 shall involve parents in their child's educational
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1 development process. Resource coordinators shall provide
2 parents with opportunities to obtain needed health services
3 for their child, attend informational seminars, and attend
4 child development seminars. Resource coordinators shall
5 provide parents themselves with community resource help as
6 needed, such as General Educational Development information,
7 employment counseling, access to literacy classes, assistance
8 in obtaining Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
9 payments, and access to substance abuse services. Resource
10 coordinators shall help families transition from
11 prekindergarten to kindergarten. Funds for resource
12 coordination services shall be awarded by the Department via
13 a competitive grant process.
14 (h) The Department shall have mandatory training options
15 available for all staff directly associated with the Program.
16 Lead teachers and teaching assistants shall annually be
17 required to attend curriculum or in-service training or both.
18 Lead teachers and teaching assistants shall be trained in the
19 curriculum of their choice by curriculum representatives and
20 shall be encouraged to utilize principles learned in
21 curriculum training and adapt them to their individual
22 personal teaching styles. Providers shall provide salary,
23 subsistence, and mileage for teachers to attend
24 State-approved teacher training. Program directors and
25 resource coordinators shall receive customized training
26 through the Department. In-service training shall be
27 available for lead teachers, teaching assistants, and Program
28 directors, disseminated through sources such as broadcasts
29 from a prekindergarten classroom. Multiple locations
30 throughout the State shall receive this in-service training
31 simultaneously to make the training more convenient and
32 accessible for everyone.
33 (i) To coordinate the progress of the Program and to
34 facilitate the sharing of resources and information, the
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1 Department shall establish local coordinating councils in
2 each county. Local coordinating councils shall include
3 parents, representatives of providers, health officials,
4 educators, and representatives from business communities.
5 (j) The State Board of Education shall adopt all rules
6 necessary to implement this Section.
7 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8 becoming law.