Full Text of HR0244 101st General Assembly
HR0244 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois School Code provides that each school | 3 | | board is required to annually prepare a
calendar for each | 4 | | school term that specifies both the opening and closing dates | 5 | | of the term; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A school district's calendar must provide for a | 7 | | minimum of at least 185 days that generally
includes five | 8 | | emergency days and four teacher institute days in order to | 9 | | ensure 176 days of actual pupil
attendance; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, While the School Code does not govern when a | 11 | | school term should begin or end, schools are
increasingly | 12 | | starting their school year in mid-August; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Traditionally, especially prior to the mid-1990s, | 14 | | schools would begin their school term after
Labor Day, | 15 | | according to a 2015 CNN article, "Back to school: Why August is | 16 | | the new September"; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Some states, including Michigan and Maryland, | 18 | | have implemented prohibitions on school terms
beginning before | 19 | | Labor Day in an effort to boost their tourism industries; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan recently signed an |
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| 1 | | executive order prohibiting schools from
commencing their | 2 | | school term prior to Labor Day unless the school district has | 3 | | received a waiver; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Research shows that the date upon which a school | 5 | | term begins does not necessarily impact a
student's academic | 6 | | success; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we urge the Illinois State Board of Education to study the | 10 | | impact of beginning a school term during various points | 11 | | throughout August as compared to after Labor Day; and be it | 12 | | further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education submit a report | 14 | | to the General Assembly by December 31,
2019 including the | 15 | | following information and recommendations: | 16 | | (1) A summary of current school term start dates in | 17 | | school districts throughout Illinois; | 18 | | (2) Laws in other states that govern when a school term | 19 | | may commence; and | 20 | | (3) The effects that beginning a school term at various |
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| 1 | | points in August, as compared to after Labor Day, would | 2 | | have on school district
budgets, administrators, teachers, | 3 | | and students; and be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | delivered to the State Superintendent of Education.
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