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91_SR0284
LRB9112996CBcbA
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education offers
3 teacher certification in the following foreign languages:
4 Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, and Russian;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, There are approximately 403,247 Asian Americans
7 in the State of Illinois; and
8 WHEREAS, Asian American residents contribute to the
9 cultural diversity of the State, and
10 WHEREAS, Asian language programs, including instruction
11 in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, have successfully enriched
12 the cultural experiences for students and expanded
13 educational opportunities for students so that they may
14 compete more effectively in the global economy; and
15 WHEREAS, Asian language instruction programs have been
16 popular at public schools in Illinois at both the elementary
17 and high school level; and
18 WHEREAS, In Chicago alone Japanese is offered at Burr,
19 Langston Hughes, Jackson, Murray, and Vanderpoel elementary
20 schools and Kenwood and Northside College Prep high schools,
21 and Chinese is offered at Bell and Healy elementary schools
22 and Kelly and Northside College Prep high schools, and Korean
23 is offered at Budlong elementary school; and
24 WHEREAS, In the fall of 2000 an additional ten elementary
25 schools and three high schools in Chicago anticipate offering
26 Asian language programs; and
27 WHEREAS, In order to enter the public school system
28 instructors of Asian languages must receive certification in
29 alternate subjects or transitional bilingual instruction,
30 thereby discouraging qualified teachers from applying for
-2- LRB9112996CBcbA
1 potential positions; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
3 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois
4 State Board of Education, in conjunction with the State
5 Teacher Certification Board, the Joint Education Committee,
6 and the public universities of the State of Illinois to
7 establish teacher education and certification programs for
8 Asian languages being taught in Illinois public schools; and
9 be it further
10 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11 delivered to the State Superintendent of Education, the
12 Chairperson of the State Board of Education, the Secretary of
13 the State Teacher Certification Board, the members of the
14 Joint Education Committee, and the chairpersons of the Boards
15 of Trustees of each public university in the State of
16 Illinois.