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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Encouraging educational excellence is in the best
3interests of the people of Illinois; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The intention of Charter School Law in Illinois is
5to improve pupil learning by creating schools with high,
6rigorous standards for pupil performance; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Charter schools try to encourage the use of
8teaching methods that may be different in some respects than
9others regularly used in the public school systems; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Charter schools allow the development of new,
11different, or alternative forms of measuring pupil learning and
12achievement; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Charter schools create new professional
14opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity to be
15responsible for the learning programs at school sites; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The State shall hold charter schools accountable
17for meeting rigorous school content standards and for providing
18those schools with the opportunity to improve accountability;
19and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The General Assembly seeks to create
2opportunities within the public school system of Illinois for
3development of innovative and accountable teaching techniques;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a commitment to the
6mission, goals, and diversity of public education; and
 
7    WHEREAS, There is a wide variety of charter school types,
8practices, and levels of success achieved by those schools; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In a 2013 study of Illinois' schools by the Center
10for Research on Education Outcomes, it was found that 20% of
11charter schools perform significantly better than the
12traditional public school market, and 21% of them performed
13significantly worse; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In the 2013-2014 school year, statewide charter
15school enrollment has risen to 59,925 pupils within 143
16campuses of 64 charter schools; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The current statewide cap on the amount of charter
18schools is 120; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 2013, the statewide 4-year graduation rate
20among all charters was 60.4%, compared with an 84% graduation

 

 

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1rate among traditional public schools; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In the 2012-2013 school year, only 13% of all
3charters statewide met or exceeded the State's Adequate Yearly
4Progress target for State standards in reading and math,
5compared with 16% for traditional public schools; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Charter school authorizers are responsible for
7issuing charter contracts to school boards and determining
8whether each charter contract merits renewal, nonrenewal, or
9revocation; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Charter school authorizers provide oversight and
11enforce accountability mechanisms to ensure quality schools;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Charter school authorizers set academic, fiscal,
14and managerial standards for charter schools to meet;
15therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18the House Elementary & Secondary Education Charter School
19Policy Committee is directed to hold several subject matter
20hearings on charter school best practices; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That charter school authorizers and charter
2entities throughout the State, including the Illinois State
3Charter School Commission, are invited and encouraged to attend
4these hearings to provide their expertise on the subject.