Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HJR0040
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Full Text of HJR0040  95th General Assembly

HJ0040 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
HJ0040 LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the Center for
3 Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston,
4 Massachusetts, in 2005 in Illinois there were 227,010 youth
5 ages 16 to 24 years old and 59,457 youth ages 16 to 19 years old
6 who left high school before earning a high school diploma; and
 
7     WHEREAS, This study outlines that in Illinois, of the
8 227,010 youth who left school without a high school diploma,
9 92,424 are White, 70,842 are Hispanic, 58,390 are Black, and
10 5,354 are listed as other; and
 
11     WHEREAS, The vast majority of Chicago area and downstate
12 Illinois youth who left school without a high school diploma
13 come from lower income areas; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The vast majority of these youth who left school
15 without a high school diploma see themselves as students who
16 want to return to school and earn a high school diploma, and
17 many of these students return to educational programs that are
18 severely under-funded and that are not able to provide the
19 comprehensive educational program and various support services
20 that these students need to successfully re-enroll and earn a
21 high school diploma; and
 

 

 

HJ0040 - 2 - LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1     WHEREAS, A comprehensive system is needed for all students,
2 those in school and those who want to return to school, but the
3 school experience that will help out-of-school students
4 succeed when they re-enroll must be different; people learn in
5 different ways, one size does not fit all, and smaller schools
6 offer a more personal, flexible, and accountable curriculum
7 that successfully re-enrolls, teaches, and graduates these
8 out-of-school students; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Illinois employers are experiencing a shortage of
10 skilled workers, and these re-enrolled students could provide
11 the needed addition to the workforce needs of the Illinois
12 economy and Illinois businesses; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Eighty percent of prison inmates are students who
14 left school without a high school diploma and, as such, can
15 pose a problem, in terms of crime and public safety, to the
16 general public in their communities and neighborhoods; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Out-of-school students without a high school
18 diploma earn $828,000 less over their lifetimes than people who
19 have a high school diploma and some college education and
20 $410,000 less than high school graduates; and
 
21     WHEREAS, The annual cost to Illinois is over $2.4 billion
22 for these students who left school without a high school

 

 

HJ0040 - 3 - LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1 diploma; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $312,000 over
3 the lifetime of a re-enrolled student who returns to school and
4 earns a high school diploma in terms of that person paying more
5 taxes on his or her increased earnings as well as the reduced
6 social costs in terms of his or her utilizing welfare services,
7 mental health services, and other dependency services and being
8 less likely to enter prison or incur other costs related to
9 crime; and
 
10     WHEREAS, There is significant research and program
11 experience to draw on and use to develop successful programs to
12 re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school before
13 earning a high school diploma; and
 
14     WHEREAS, The Governor and the General Assembly created the
15 Task Force on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School,
16 which had a 2-year cycle to examine and develop an interim and
17 final report to address this issue of students who had left
18 school without a high school diploma; this Task Force will end
19 on January 10, 2008; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The work of this Task Force should continue in
21 terms of addressing the need to develop a comprehensive system
22 for students who left school before earning a high school

 

 

HJ0040 - 4 - LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1 diploma and want to re-enroll to earn a high school diploma;
2 therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
5 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that that there is created the
6 Council on Re-enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School in
7 order to carry on the work of the Task Force on Re-Enrolling
8 Students Who Dropped Out of School by continuing to examine and
9 develop ways to address the growing issue of students who left
10 school before earning a high school diploma; and be it further
 
11     RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Council is to examine
12 policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a
13 variety of successful approaches using best program practices
14 to re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school
15 before earning a high school diploma and, in doing so, improve
16 community safety and the Illinois economy; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That the Council shall be composed of the
18 following members: 8 legislators (2 of whom shall be appointed
19 by the President of the Senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by
20 the Speaker of the House, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the
21 House Minority Leader, and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the
22 Senate Minority Leader); one representative from the
23 Governor's Office appointed by the Governor; one

 

 

HJ0040 - 5 - LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1 representative of the State Board of Education appointed by the
2 State Superintendent of Education; one representative of the
3 Board of Higher Education appointed by its chairperson; one
4 representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by
5 the Secretary of Human Services; one representative of the
6 Department of Children and Family Services appointed by the
7 Director of Children and Family Services; one representative of
8 the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed
9 by the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; one
10 representative of the Illinois Community College Board
11 appointed by the President of the Illinois Community College
12 Board; 17 representatives from the public (8 of whom shall come
13 from schools or programs working with students who had left
14 school before earning a high school diploma) appointed by the
15 Governor, with one of these public representatives serving as
16 chairperson of the Council; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That the duties of the Council shall include
18 continuing a series of public hearings throughout the State to
19 discuss the impact of students who have left school without a
20 high school diploma on various regions of the State, continuing
21 a review of data regarding students who have left school
22 without a high school diploma that allows for a comparison of
23 Illinois data both nationally and with other states in the
24 region and across the country, continuing a review of various
25 financing and funding mechanisms used by other states,

 

 

HJ0040 - 6 - LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

1 counties, cities, foundations, and other financial funding
2 sources, and producing and filing an annual report with
3 recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the
4 State Board of Education on ways and means to address the
5 challenge of re-enrolling students who have left school without
6 a high school diploma; and be it further
 
7     RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall be
8 responsible for facilitating the Council; and be it further
 
9     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10 delivered to the Governor, the State Superintendent of
11 Education, the Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education,
12 the Secretary of Human Services, the Director of Children and
13 Family Services, the Director of Commerce and Economic
14 Opportunity, and the President of the Illinois Community
15 College Board.