State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB2064

 
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 1        AN ACT to amend  the  School  Code  by  changing  Section
 2    34-1.01.

 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section 5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by  changing
 6    Section 34-1.01 as follows:

 7        (105 ILCS 5/34-1.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-1.01)
 8        Sec.   34-1.01.    Intent.    The  General  Assembly  has
 9    previously established that the primary purpose of  schooling
10    is  the  transmission  of knowledge and culture through which
11    children  learn  in  areas  necessary  to  their   continuing
12    development,  and  the   General  Assembly  has defined these
13    areas as including language  arts,  mathematics,  biological,
14    physical  and  social  sciences,  the fine arts, and physical
15    development and health. The  General  Assembly  declares  its
16    intent  to  achieve  the  primary  purpose  of  schooling  in
17    elementary  and secondary schools subject to this Article, as
18    now  or  hereafter  amended,  in  cities  of   over   500,000
19    inhabitants, through the provisions of this amendatory Act of
20    1991.
21        A.  Goals.   In  the  furtherance  of  this  intent,  the
22    General  Assembly is committed to the belief that, while such
23    urban schools should foster improvement and student growth in
24    a  number  of  areas,  first  priority  should  be  given  to
25    achieving the following goals:
26             1.  assuring that students show significant progress
27        toward meeting and exceeding State performance  standards
28        in  State  mandated learning areas, including the mastery
29        of higher  order  thinking  skills  in  these  and  other
30        learning areas;
31             2.  assuring  that  students attend school regularly
 
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 1        and graduate from high school  at  rates  that  equal  or
 2        surpass national norms;
 3             3.  assuring  that  students are adequately prepared
 4        for further education and aiding  students  in  making  a
 5        successful transition to further education;
 6             4.  assuring  that  students are adequately prepared
 7        for successful entry into employment and aiding  students
 8        in making a successful transition to employment;
 9             5.  assuring  that  students  are,  to  the  maximum
10        extent   possible,   provided   with  a  common  learning
11        experience that is of  high  academic  quality  and  that
12        reflects  high  expectations for all students' capacities
13        to learn;
14             6.  assuring that students are  better  prepared  to
15        compete  in  the  international  market  place  by having
16        foreign language proficiency and  stronger  international
17        studies;
18             7.  assuring   that   students   are  encouraged  in
19        exploring  potential  interests   in   fields   such   as
20        journalism, drama, art and music;
21             8.  assuring  that  individual  teachers are granted
22        the  professional  authority  to  make  decisions   about
23        instruction and the method of teaching;
24             9.  assuring that students are provided the means to
25        express  themselves  creatively  and  to  respond  to the
26        artistic expression of others through  the  visual  arts,
27        music, drama and dance; and
28             10.  assuring  that  students  are provided adequate
29        athletic  programs  that  encourage  pride  and  positive
30        identification with the attendance center and that reduce
31        the number of dropouts and teenage delinquents.
32        B.  Achieving goals. To achieve these priority goals, the
33    General Assembly intends to make the individual local  school
34    the essential unit for educational governance and improvement
 
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 1    and   to   establish   a  process  for  placing  the  primary
 2    responsibility  for  school  governance  and  improvement  in
 3    furtherance of such goals in the hands of parents,  community
 4    residents,  teachers,  and the school principal at the school
 5    level.
 6        Further, to achieve these  priority  goals,  the  General
 7    Assembly  intends  to  lodge  with the board of education key
 8    powers in limited areas related to district-wide  policy,  so
 9    that  the board of education supports school-level governance
10    and  improvement  and  carries  out  functions  that  can  be
11    performed more efficiently through centralized action.
12        The General Assembly does not intend to  alter  or  amend
13    the  provisions of the desegregation obligations of the board
14    of education, including but not limited to the Consent Decree
15    or the Desegregation Plan in United States v.  Chicago  Board
16    of Education, 80 C 5124, U.S. District Court for the Northern
17    District of Illinois. Accordingly, the implementation of this
18    amendatory  Act  of 1991, to the extent practicable, shall be
19    consistent with and, in all cases, shall be  subject  to  the
20    desegregation obligations pursuant to such Consent Decree and
21    Desegregation Plan.
22    (Source: P.A. 87-455; 88-686, eff. 1-24-95.)

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