PA 99-826 created a new grant program for school districts to cover the personal services costs of agricultural education teachers beyond their regularly scheduled teaching duties (extended contract) up to 60 days or 400 hours. Eligible entities are public school districts or area vocational education centers offering a State-approved agricultural education program. This new formula grant is designed to partner with districts to cover up to 50 percent of this personal services cost beyond the instructional time in the standard nine-month contract. Districts implementing a new agricultural education program may apply for up to 100 percent of this cost in the first two years of the program and 80 percent of the cost in years three and four.  The paid time would be related to working with students and/or individually on improvement of instruction, work-based learning activities, and/or state-approved career and technical student organization activities where concepts are being applied in various means. The grant must also create a system for tracking the hours completed.

The proposed rules establish the following application procedures:

• Applications must include the names of teachers, current year base salaries, anticipated number of additional hours worked, how those hours are an extension of the teacher's regular duties, and the anticipated number of individuals impacted.
• Initial prorated funding level the district would elect to opt out of the grant.
• Applicants will have a minimum of 30 days from the date of application is released to submit their intent to apply for grant funds.

Grant funds will be distributed as follows:

• If the amounts requested by the school districts exceed the amount appropriated, then each school will receive the prorated amount listed on their application unless it chooses to opt out. If school districts elect to opt out, the remaining school districts will be recalculated to determine the final allocation.
• If the amounts requested by the school districts are less than the amount appropriated, the preliminary allocations will become the final allocations.

Grantees must show satisfactory progress in the previous grant cycle to be eligible for future grants. Only hours the teacher is representing the agricultural education program/chapter are eligible to be paid out under this grant.

All grantees must report the hours the teachers spend on approved activities. School districts must provide ISBE with a report that must be submitted prior to the next grant cycle and shall include the following:

• The school district's and teachers' names
• Date and times of activities
• A description of how the activity performed relates to the activities approved under the grant
• The number of hours spent on the activity
• The number of individuals impacted.

The terms of the grants are as follows:

• The teacher must be a full-time agricultural education teacher
• School districts may apply for a grant for each full-time agricultural education teacher
• Funded activities shall occur outside the teaching day
• Grants are available to assist with personal service costs beyond the nine month contract but not to exceed the total 12 months in any given year
• Each teacher receiving funds under this grant must document the 400 hours of activity
• If the teacher is on leave or long-term illness, the school district may request that a long-term substitute or equivalent fulfill the hours to receive funds.