Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB3629 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3629 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program Act. Provides that, no later than July 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall establish and oversee an Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program to provide preschool children with access to educational technology programs that use family engagement to improve kindergarten readiness. Provides that, during the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pilot Program shall provide a cohort of eligible children with access to an educational technology program that satisfies specified goals concerning kindergarten readiness. Sets forth provisions concerning the selection of a provider for the Pilot Program; provider duties; and reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2028. Effective July 1, 2025. LRB104 10035 SPS 20106 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3629 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act New Act Creates the Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program Act. Provides that, no later than July 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall establish and oversee an Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program to provide preschool children with access to educational technology programs that use family engagement to improve kindergarten readiness. Provides that, during the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pilot Program shall provide a cohort of eligible children with access to an educational technology program that satisfies specified goals concerning kindergarten readiness. Sets forth provisions concerning the selection of a provider for the Pilot Program; provider duties; and reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2028. Effective July 1, 2025. LRB104 10035 SPS 20106 b LRB104 10035 SPS 20106 b A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3629 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	New Act New Act
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5	5	Creates the Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program Act. Provides that, no later than July 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall establish and oversee an Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program to provide preschool children with access to educational technology programs that use family engagement to improve kindergarten readiness. Provides that, during the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pilot Program shall provide a cohort of eligible children with access to an educational technology program that satisfies specified goals concerning kindergarten readiness. Sets forth provisions concerning the selection of a provider for the Pilot Program; provider duties; and reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2028. Effective July 1, 2025.
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11	11	1 AN ACT concerning State government.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
15	15	5 Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program Act.
16	16	6 Section 5. Findings. The General finds and declares:
17	17	7 (a) During the first 5 years of life, children experience
18	18	8 rapid learning and development that has effects that endure
19	19	9 for a lifetime.
20	20	10 (b) A key milestone in a child's development is the
21	21	11 child's transition into and readiness for kindergarten.
22	22	12 (c) High quality early childhood literacy programs can
23	23	13 significantly improve a child's readiness for kindergarten and
24	24	14 future academic success.
25	25	15 (d) Children in Illinois would benefit from access to
26	26	16 varied and effective early literacy services.
27	27	17 (e) This State should develop new and innovative services
28	28	18 to expand access to early literacy services and improve
29	29	19 kindergarten readiness.
30	30	20 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
31	31	21 "Eligible child" means a child who is 4 or 5 years of age
32	32	22 and is not currently enrolled in kindergarten, but is eligible
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36	36	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3629 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
37	37	New Act New Act
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39	39	Creates the Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program Act. Provides that, no later than July 1, 2026, the Secretary of State shall establish and oversee an Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program to provide preschool children with access to educational technology programs that use family engagement to improve kindergarten readiness. Provides that, during the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pilot Program shall provide a cohort of eligible children with access to an educational technology program that satisfies specified goals concerning kindergarten readiness. Sets forth provisions concerning the selection of a provider for the Pilot Program; provider duties; and reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on January 1, 2028. Effective July 1, 2025.
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67	67	1 to enroll during the following school year.
68	68	2 "Internal reliability" means questions across assessments
69	69	3 that can be demonstrated to be consistent at a level deemed to
70	70	4 be acceptable on the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20, Cronbach's
71	71	5 alpha, or comparable psychometric evaluation tool.
72	72	6 "Secretary" means the Secretary of State.
73	73	7 "Test-retest reliability" means a correlation of at least
74	74	8 70% between the outcomes from the same assessment separated by
75	75	9 days, weeks, and months.
76	76	10 "Valid and reliable adaptive reading test" means an
77	77	11 assessment that:
78	78	12 (1) demonstrates test-retest reliability and internal
79	79	13 reliability;
80	80	14 (2) accurately measures reading readiness;
81	81	15 (3) is capable of delivery to children 4 years of age
82	82	16 without the presence of trained adults; and
83	83	17 (4) correlates its results to other validated
84	84	18 assessments for reading readiness.
85	85	19 Section 15. Adaptive Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program.
86	86	20 (a) Subject to appropriation, no later than July 1, 2026,
87	87	21 the Secretary shall establish and oversee an Adaptive
88	88	22 Kindergarten Readiness Pilot Program to provide preschool
89	89	23 children with access to educational technology programs that
90	90	24 use family engagement to improve kindergarten readiness.
91	91	25 During the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pilot Program shall
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102	102	1 provide a cohort of eligible children with access to an
103	103	2 educational technology program that:
104	104	3 (1) utilizes family engagement to deliver
105	105	4 age-appropriate instruction in reading that may be
106	106	5 implemented at-home;
107	107	6 (2) offers optional instruction in mathematics and
108	108	7 science;
109	109	8 (3) aligns learning goals with relevant State
110	110	9 standards for preschool as issued by the State Board of
111	111	10 Education;
112	112	11 (4) assists with the objectives of the Head Start Act,
113	113	12 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.;
114	114	13 (5) demonstrates through endorsements and
115	115	14 certifications that it assists children with disabilities
116	116	15 in preparing for kindergarten; and
117	117	16 (6) satisfies the United States Department of
118	118	17 Education's requirements to be considered a Tier 1 program
119	119	18 under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
120	120	19 (b) The Secretary shall reserve 70% of the seats available
121	121	20 in the Pilot Program for eligible children from households:
122	122	21 (1) with a household income no more than 200% above
123	123	22 the federal poverty level; or
124	124	23 (2) whose primary household language is not English.
125	125	24 If a seat reserved under this subsection remains vacant
126	126	25 for more than 2 months after the start of the 2026-2027
127	127	26 academic year, the seat may be given to any child otherwise
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138	138	1 eligible for the Pilot Program. The Pilot Program shall enroll
139	139	2 eligible children in both the reserved and unreserved seats in
140	140	3 the order the completed applications are submitted. The
141	141	4 Secretary shall determine the maximum enrollment for the Pilot
142	142	5 Program based on the funds available to operate the Pilot
143	143	6 Program.
144	144	7 (c) The Secretary shall solicit families to encourage
145	145	8 participation in the Pilot Program through public information
146	146	9 campaigns, outreach programs, community partners, and
147	147	10 referrals from other educational entities that are partially
148	148	11 focused on communities and areas of the State experiencing
149	149	12 persistent poverty.
150	150	13 Section 20. Pilot Program provider. The Secretary shall
151	151	14 select a provider to implement the Pilot Program. In
152	152	15 evaluating provider applicants, the Secretary shall require an
153	153	16 applicant to:
154	154	17 (1) have at least 3 years of experience in
155	155	18 implementing similar services;
156	156	19 (2) conduct a randomized controlled trial or other
157	157	20 external evaluation that satisfy the United States
158	158	21 Department of Education's requirements to be considered a
159	159	22 Tier 1 program under the Every Student Succeeds Act;
160	160	23 (3) register and maintain its status as a 501(c)(3)
161	161	24 with the Internal Revenue Service; and
162	162	25 (4) demonstrate the capability to:
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173	173	1 (A) provide a valid and reliable reading test that
174	174	2 does not require the presence of trained adults to
175	175	3 administer and is an accurate indicator of reading
176	176	4 readiness of children who cannot read; and
177	177	5 (B) partner with community organizations, early
178	178	6 intervention waitlist, head start, and early childhood
179	179	7 organizations to serve participating children;
180	180	8 (C) communicate with parents and other education
181	181	9 professionals involved in the Pilot Program;
182	182	10 (D) update the instructional software as needed;
183	183	11 (E) validate user access;
184	184	12 (F) collect user data;
185	185	13 (G) store research data;
186	186	14 (H) produce reports for parents, schools, and the
187	187	15 Secretary; and
188	188	16 (I) comply with State and federal education and
189	189	17 digital privacy laws.
190	190	18 Section 25. Provider responsibilities. The provider
191	191	19 selected by the Secretary under Section 20 shall have the
192	192	20 following duties:
193	193	21 (1) develop a recruitment plan to solicit families to
194	194	22 participate in the Pilot Program;
195	195	23 (2) implement the Pilot Program in compliance with
196	196	24 this Act, including:
197	197	25 (A) provide program participants with a
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208	208	1 multi-sensory reading tutoring program; and
209	209	2 (B) provide program participants with a validated
210	210	3 adaptive reading assessment that does not require the
211	211	4 presence of trained adults to administer and that has
212	212	5 been demonstrated as an accurate indicator of a
213	213	6 child's reading readiness; and
214	214	7 (C) as needed and at no cost, provide a
215	215	8 participating child from a household with an income no
216	216	9 more than 400% above the federal poverty level with a
217	217	10 computer or tablet and access to Internet service for
218	218	11 the duration of the child's participation in Pilot
219	219	12 Program;
220	220	13 (3) provide administrative and technical support to
221	221	14 participating children, families, and any other involved
222	222	15 education professionals for the installation and operation
223	223	16 of the instructional software;
224	224	17 (4) seek the advice and expertise of local
225	225	18 stakeholders such as public and private early childhood
226	226	19 education professionals, the State Board of Education,
227	227	20 local community organizations, kindergarten teachers, and
228	228	21 parents, on the implementation of the Pilot Program,
229	229	22 including:
230	230	23 (A) soliciting families to participate in the
231	231	24 Pilot Program;
232	232	25 (B) providing training to families and education
233	233	26 professionals; and
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244	244	1 (C) motivating families to regularly use the
245	245	2 instructional software; and
246	246	3 (5) report any data required by the Secretary to
247	247	4 conduct an evaluation of the Pilot Program's
248	248	5 effectiveness.
249	249	6 Section 30. Report. No later than July 1, 2027, the
250	250	7 provider awarded the contract under Section 20 shall report to
251	251	8 the Secretary the following information:
252	252	9 (1) the extent to which the Pilot Program is
253	253	10 accomplishing the objectives identified in this Act;
254	254	11 (2) the number of families participating in the Pilot
255	255	12 Program who:
256	256	13 (A) received technology devices or Internet
257	257	14 service; and
258	258	15 (B) have household incomes no more than 200% of
259	259	16 the federal poverty level or whose household language
260	260	17 is not English;
261	261	18 (3) the frequency of use of the instructional
262	262	19 software;
263	263	20 (4) obstacles encountered with software usage,
264	264	21 hardware, Internet access, or providing technical
265	265	22 assistance; and
266	266	23 (5) the performance on any kindergarten entry or exit
267	267	24 assessments conducted by school districts that compare
268	268	25 children who have participated in the Pilot Program and
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279	279	1 children who have not, provided that the provider shall
280	280	2 report on the information contained in this paragraph to
281	281	3 the extent that the State Board of Education provides
282	282	4 comparative results from applicable school districts.
283	283	5 Section 35. Repeal. This Act is repealed on January 1,
284	284	6 2028.
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