HR0109 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0109 LRB102 10446 ECR 15774 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on society, including shutting down in-person learning at schools across the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, On March 15, 2020, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-05, which required all schools to close between March 17 and March 31; and

WHEREAS, On March 27, 2020, Executive Order 2020-15 was issued, which allowed for the establishment of remote learning days so that school districts could continue to educate students via remote means; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 2020-33 was issued by Governor Pritzker on April 30, 2020, which suspended in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year; and

WHEREAS, On June 4, 2020, Executive Order 2020-40 marked the first time that students could return to school with limited in-person instruction for summer school courses; and

WHEREAS, On July, 24, 2020, Executive Order 2020-47 was issued, which allowed all public and nonpublic schools in Illinois serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students to open for in-person educational purposes following the completion of the regular 2019-20 school term as long as they followed public health guidelines; and

WHEREAS, While this was a welcome change in educational guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been nearly a year since students were learning in the classroom, and many school districts have continued to offer only remote learning; and

WHEREAS, Preliminary data has shown that remote learning does not offer the same educational outcomes that in-person learning does; and

WHEREAS, A report from McKinsey & Company suggested that, on average, students began the fall 2020 school year three months behind in mathematics and a month behind in reading; and

WHEREAS, It is extremely important that students return to the classroom so they do not fall further behind; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge school districts to make a plan to open for in-person instruction immediately; and be it further

RESOLVED, That parents should have the ability to make the best decision for their family so it is essential that a school's reopening plan allow parents the opportunity to decide to send their children to in-person learning or continue with remote learning; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, State Superintendent Carmen Ayala, Executive Director of the Illinois Association of School Boards Thomas Bertrand, and Executive Director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators Dr. Brent Clark.