HR0254ham001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0254HAM001 LRB097 11351 NHT 55564 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 254

AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Resolution 254 by replacing everything after the heading of the resolution with the following:

"WHEREAS, Section 27-12 of the School Code states that "every public school teacher shall teach character education, which includes the teaching of respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, and citizenship, in order to raise pupils' honesty, kindness, justice, discipline, respect for others, and moral courage for the purpose of lessening crime and raising the standard of good character"; and

WHEREAS, School is not the only opportunity for lessons of character development to occur; it is often difficult for school districts and community organizations to identify and find resources and programs that meet the statutory educational requirements, and educational opportunities often arise only in a haphazard way throughout the period of a season or school year; and

WHEREAS, Examples of a need for programs that can meet the needs of a changing society are present from institutions of higher education, newspapers, and the media that decry the lack of character development and moral and ethical education and the seeming lack of moral judgment in making business, political, and even personal decisions; and

WHEREAS, There are Illinois programs that can have great positive impact on the character development of the children of this State and that satisfy Section 27-12 of the School Code; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize that there are Illinois programs that are qualified to teach character development and that are fully in compliance with Section 27-12 of the School Code.".