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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The introduction of exclusionary discipline
3should be used only as a method of last resort; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Exclusionary discipline is any type of school
5disciplinary action that removes or excludes a student from the
6their traditional educational setting; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Non-violent offenses carried out by students in
8pre-kindergarten through 12th grade often result in suspension
9or expulsion from traditional school settings; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The offenses that lead to such discipline often
11stem from a child's emotional, social, or family-related
12issues; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Exclusionary discipline often leads to negative
14student outcomes, such as low academic performance, higher
15rates of drop-outs, failures to graduate on time, and even
16continued disciplinary problems; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Statistics show African American and Latino youth
18in Illinois are more often suspended or expelled when a
19progression of disciplinary steps do not have a positive effect
20on the issue; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, From the new study "Girlhood Interrupted: The
2Erasure of Black Girls' childhood" released by Georgetown Law's
3Center on Poverty and Inequality, authors reported that adults
4view black girls as " ... less innocent and more adult-like
5than their white peers, especially in the age range of 5- 14";
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, The study also states, "This new evidence of what
8we call the 'adultification' of black girls may help explain
9why black girls in America are disciplined much more often and
10more severely than white girls - across our schools and in our
11juvenile justice system"; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The report continues by saying, "Black girls are
13five times more likely to be suspended as white girls, and
14twice as likely to be suspended as white boys"; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Lawmakers, educators, counselors, youth councils,
16lawyers, and judges in the State of Illinois have insight into
17the problems facing youth today; and
 
18    WHEREAS, A review of current practices as well as proposed
19ideas and policies are in order to change exclusionary
20practices to a restorative justice model for child discipline;
21therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3recognize the practice of exclusionary discipline among
4pre-kindergarten to 12th grade students occurs at a rate above
5and beyond that which is necessary; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Departments of Education,
7juvenile court officials, and other legal legislative and court
8staff to review current laws and policies related to
9exclusionary discipline practices in public schools for
10students in prekindergarten through kindergarten who have
11committed non-violent offenses; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we urge the review to 1) examine the number
13of exclusionary discipline actions issues by a local education
14agency (school district) and the length of each respective
15action, 2) detail the type of offenses committed by the
16student(s) that led to the disciplinary action, 3) review the
17impact the discipline had on the student(s), 4) examine
18restorative recommendations that may be used as opposed to
19exclusionary practices, 5) identify resources to support
20teachers, parents and school personnel as they work to address
21the child's social, emotional and behavioral health, and 6)
22encourage schools to adopt restorative justice and
23disciplinary practices; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2delivered to the President of the United States, the Vice
3President of the United States, all members of the U.S.
4Congress, and other federal and Illinois state government
5officials as appropriate.