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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Pope Francis, in his address to Congress, called
3upon the American people to come together in aiding those
4"trapped in a cycle of poverty"; in his address, Pope Francis
5asserted that "[t]he Golden Rule . . . reminds us of our
6responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage
7of its development"; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Article X, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution
9states that a fundamental goal of the people of the State is
10the educational development of all persons to the limits of
11their capacities; and
 
12    WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of this State to ensure
13that every child has access to the high quality education he or
14she deserves, whether in the childcare context, early childhood
15education classrooms, elementary school, middle school, high
16school, or college; and
 
17    WHEREAS, House Resolution 56 of the 96th General Assembly
18urged the State Board of Education to establish a comprehensive
19plan to close the student achievement gap by the 2010-2011
20school year; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Time and time again, schools in low-income

 

 

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1communities are strapped for resources and are labeled
2underperforming; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The ongoing inequality of education resources is a
4potential human rights violation that needs to be investigated
5immediately; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois should support gifted students with
7educational resources, regardless of school district; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Low-income neighborhoods have a clear
9disadvantage in our State's education system and this body
10seeks to be responsive to the needs of these communities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, A closer look at systemic income-related
12discrimination in our schools is needed to develop a clear
13understanding of the challenges we face and what we can do to
14overcome them; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17the Task Force on Equality in Education be created to conduct
18an investigation on education services provided to low-income
19families; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the task force shall consist of the

 

 

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1following members: 3 task force members appointed by the
2Speaker of the House; 3 task force members appointed by the
3Minority Leader of the House; one task force member from the
4Department of Human Rights, appointed by the Governor; one task
5force member from the State Board of Education, appointed by
6the Governor; one task force member who is an educator
7representing a statewide professional teachers' organization,
8appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; one task
9force member who is an educator representing a different
10statewide professional teachers' organization, appointed by
11the State Superintendent of Education; one task force member
12who is an educator representing a professional teachers'
13organization in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
14appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; one task
15force member from an organization that exists to ensure the
16political, educational, social, and economic equality of
17rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based
18discrimination, appointed by the State Superintendent of
19Education; and one task force member from an organization that
20works for economic, educational, and social progress for
21African Americans and promotes strong, sustainable communities
22through advocacy, collaboration, and innovation, appointed by
23the State Superintendent of Education; and be it further
 
24    RESOLVED, That the task force be appointed and hold its
25first meeting by March 1, 2016; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the task force shall take voluntary
2assistance and testimony from individuals and professional
3organizations and institutions; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the members of the task force shall serve
5without compensation; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Rights shall provide
7staffing and administrative support services to the task force
8upon request; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the task force shall submit its final report
10to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than December
1131, 2016.