Section 105 ILCS 5/2-3.61a - 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant Program(a) The State Board of Education shall be the designated agency responsible for the administration of programs under Part I of Subchapter X of Chapter 70 of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.(b) The State Board of Education shall establish and implement a 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant Program, in accordance with federal guidelines, to provide grants to support whole child-focused after-school programs that are aligned with the regular academic programs of a school and the academic needs of students. These grants shall be used to help those students who attend high-poverty, low-performing schools meet State and local performance standards in core academic subjects and, if applicable, increase school day attendance and improve social-emotional skills and to offer opportunities for families of participating students to have meaningful engagement in their children's education that are linked to learning and healthy development outcomes . If appropriate, external stakeholder feedback shall be gathered and used to inform the grant application. The State Board of Education shall award grants to eligible applicants that are of sufficient size and scope to implement effective after-school programs, to ensure reasonable success of achieving the goals identified in the grant application, and to offer those activities that are necessary to achieve these goals and performance indicators and measures with a direct link to student achievement.
(c) Using State funds, subject to appropriation, and any federal funds received for this purpose, the State Board of Education may establish any other grant programs that are necessary to establish high-quality, academically based, after-school programs that include family-centered education activities.(d) The State Board of Education may adopt any rules necessary to implement this Section.Amended by P.A. 100-1046,§ 5, eff. 8/23/2018.Added by P.A. 093-0374, § 5, eff. 7/24/2003.