Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 52, December 27, 2024
Implementation grants shall be offered in years when the level
of available funding is such that one or more new partnerships can be funded
or, for partnerships already funded, a new group of individuals can be
supported in addition to the group of candidates already enrolled.
a) When sufficient funding is available, the
State Superintendent of Education shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP)
specifying the information that applicants shall include in their
implementation proposals, informing applicants of any bidders' conferences, and
requiring that proposals be submitted no later than the date specified in the
RFP. The RFP shall provide at least 45 calendar days in which to submit
proposals.
b) Each proposal
submitted in response to an RFP shall include the following components.
1) Descriptive information about each entity
involved in the partnership, including the roles and responsibilities of each
partner.
A) The teacher preparation program
must indicate specific information about the institution's success in preparing
teachers for early childhood teaching positions, particularly in areas serving
bilingual and minority children.
B)
The community-based organization or nonpublic educational entity must include
its mission statement, organizational structure, and goals or policies
regarding early childhood programs and services, including the applicant's
existing competencies to provide early childhood education programs, if
applicable, and a list of any early childhood accreditations that have been
achieved.
2) The goals
and objectives of the partnership in ensuring a program that is successful and
sustainable.
3) A description of
the need for the program, which shall include:
A) Demographic information about the area to
be served by the program, including statistics about number of programs funded
under Section 2-3.71 of the School Code that serve the area and their need for
educator licensed teachers.
B)
Demographic information about individuals employed by State-funded preschool
education programs and other early childhood education programs in the area to
be served who do not hold professional educator licenses endorsed for early
childhood education, including, but not limited to, their race/ethnicity,
language (other than English) and cultural background, and educational
attainment.
4) A
description of the program to be implemented, to include:
A) the partnership's plans for recruiting and
providing support to individuals enrolled in the program, including working
with employers to ensure that the individuals can fully participate in the
program;
B) strategies to be
employed to ensure that individuals to be enrolled are adequately prepared to
successfully progress through the program, which shall include but not be
limited to assistance to ensure each individual's passage of Illinois' test of
basic skills required prior to a candidate's beginning student teaching
[105
ILCS 5/21B-30] ;
C) coursework and experiences needed to
complete the program, to include the length of the program and sample
schedules;
D) identification of
sites where student teaching will occur; and
E) expectations for candidates' course
completion rates or the performance levels needed to continue their
participation in the program.
5) A plan for evaluating the impact of the
proposed program and activities, which shall correspond to the applicable
specifications set forth in the RFP.
6) Budget information that corresponds to the
categories of allowable expenditures identified in the RFP, completed on the
forms provided and detailing each line item of expenditure. The budget
information shall cover the entire period of time during which the proposed
group of candidates is expected to participate in the teacher preparation
program.
A) Applicants shall be required to
demonstrate that grant funds will supplement and not supplant amounts typically
devoted by the institution of higher education to, and other resources
available for, assisting teacher candidates.
B) Applicants shall be required to describe
the steps that will be taken to decrease the need for external financial
support for the partnership and its program over time.
7) Any certifications and assurances as the
State Superintendent of Education may require.