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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois serves over 2,000,000
3students in 862 school districts statewide; and
 
4    WHEREAS, State funding for pre-kindergarten through grade
512 education in Illinois has been reduced by $636,640,000 since
6fiscal year 2009; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The State is currently not meeting its statutory
8obligations of funding general State aid at the Foundation
9Level of support of $6,119; instead, the State is underfunding
10it by close to $560 million, resulting in an 89% proration
11rate; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 50th in terms of the state
13proportion of kindergarten through grade 12 funding, providing
14for just 32.5% of all funds spent on kindergarten through grade
1512 public education, despite the plain language of Article X of
16the Illinois Constitution, which states: "The State has the
17primary responsibility for financing the system of public
18education."; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 2007, 23% of Illinois school districts reported
20deficit spending; today, more than 67% of Illinois school
21districts report deficit spending; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Reductions in State spending have increased
2school districts' reliance on local resources, impacting
3classroom services and financial stability, at a time when
4school districts are required to undertake more necessary
5improvements and initiatives, such as teacher and principal
6evaluations, new and higher learning standards, and
7assessments; and
 
8    WHEREAS, To address this important issue, the Illinois
9Senate passed Senate Resolution 431 in the spring of 2013,
10which created the Advisory Committee on Education Funding; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Senate Advisory Committee on Education
12Funding sought input from stakeholders and members of the
13public on issues and possible improvements to the existing
14funding system and eventually made recommendations on
15education funding reform; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Some, but not all, of the final recommendations of
17the Senate Advisory Committee on Education Funding can be found
18in Senate Bill 16 (Chief Sponsors Sen. Manar and Rep. Chapa
19LaVia) of the 98th General Assembly; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Senate Bill 16 was an important first step in
21moving forward on the topic of education funding reform; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives should
2continue its discussion and give full consideration to any and
3all recommendations on how to adequately address funding and,
4more importantly, underfunding of Illinois education; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The House of Representatives must stay engaged in
6public education issues and be prepared to make legislative and
7administrative recommendations, but to do so it is important
8that our members have an in-depth understanding of how the
9State funds education, what changes have been made over recent
10history, where there is room for improvement, and what
11implications come as result of any reform; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
14there is created the House Education Funding Advisory
15Committee, consisting of members appointed as follows: 4
16members of the House majority caucus appointed by the Speaker
17of the House, one of whom shall be designated as a co-chair,
18and 4 members of the House minority caucus appointed by the
19House Minority Leader, one of whom shall be designated as a
20co-chair; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That the House Education Funding Advisory
22Committee shall do the following:

 

 

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1        (1) conduct a thorough review of the existing
2    distribution methods and expenditures of all
3    pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education funding, with
4    a focus on general State aid as provided in Section 18-8.05
5    of the School Code;
6        (2) make recommendations to implement an education
7    funding system that:
8            (A) is adequate;
9            (B) is equitable;
10            (C) prepares students for achievement and success
11        after high school; and
12            (D) supports teachers and school leaders; and
13        (3) consider the following when making its
14    recommendations:
15            (A) the number of students in a school and school
16        district and the level of need of those students,
17        including special needs populations;
18            (B) a school district's ability to provide local
19        resources to pay for basic educational needs;
20            (C) transparency and accountability;
21            (D) revenue predictability to support sound
22        planning and budgeting by school boards and
23        administrations; and
24            (E) the long-term implications and outcomes of the
25        funding system, along with provisions that require the
26        system to be monitored, publicly reported, assessed,

 

 

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1        and improved over time; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That the House Education Funding Advisory
3Committee shall seek input from stakeholders and members of the
4public on issues and possible improvements to the existing
5funding system; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the House Education Funding Advisory
7Committee shall utilize the findings and reports of the Senate
8Advisory Committee on Education Funding in the preparation of
9its report to the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the House
10of Representatives; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That we encourage the House Education Funding
12Advisory Committee and Senate Advisory Committee on Education
13Funding to hold joint meetings to discuss the recommendations
14and proposed policies created by both committees; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That members of the House Education Funding
17Advisory Committee shall serve without compensation, and the
18State Board of Education shall provide administrative and other
19support to the House Education Funding Advisory Committee; and
20be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That the House Education Funding Advisory

 

 

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1Committee shall meet at the call of the co-chairs, but shall
2meet a minimum of 4 times per year; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That the House Education Funding Advisory
4Committee shall share its legislative and administrative
5recommendations with the Speaker and Minority Leader of the
6House of Representatives no later than December 31, 2014; and
7be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9delivered to the Chairperson of the State Board of Education
10and the State Superintendent of Education; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide a
12copy of this resolution to school districts in the State.