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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Public Act 100-0465, the Evidence-Based Funding
3for Student Success Act, created the Professional Review Panel
4(PRP), a body that is responsible for continually evaluating
5the State's K-12 public school funding formula, the
6Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) Formula, to ensure that it is
7capturing the costs of providing a high-quality education to
8all students and to ensure that the formula is working as
9intended to make progress toward adequately and equitably
10funding all schools; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Professional Review Panel is tasked with
12studying and reviewing topics related to the implementation
13and effect of Evidence-Based Funding, as assigned by a joint
14resolution or Public Act of the General Assembly or a motion
15passed by the State Board of Education; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The importance of continuous improvement within
17education cannot be overstated, and a commitment to
18continually working to increasing equity, even within an
19already equitable funding system, is critical to close
20opportunity and outcome gaps for Illinois students; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Public Act 101-0654 charged the Professional
22Review Panel with conducting research and presenting findings

 

 

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1to ensure that (i) the Adequacy Target calculation under
2subsection (b) accurately reflects the needs of students
3living in poverty or attending schools located in areas of
4high poverty, (ii) racial equity within the Evidence-Based
5Funding formula is explicitly explored and advanced, and (iii)
6the funding goals of the formula distribution system
7established under this Section are sufficient to provide
8adequate funding for every student and to fully fund every
9school in this State; and
 
10    WHEREAS, To consider these issues, the PRP formed an
11ad-hoc committee that was comprised of diverse stakeholders,
12including educators, school and district leaders, education
13advocates, and members of the State Board of Education, and
14that met biweekly from April through December of 2021; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The PRP Ad-Hoc Committee dedicated considerable
16time, capacity, and expertise to conducting a robust review of
17evidence and facilitating rich discussion of the issues under
18its charge; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The findings included in the committee's final
20report include potential opportunities for addressing trauma,
21accounting for the needs of students living in concentrated
22poverty, and increasing racial equity within the education
23funding formula, all of which require further detailed

 

 

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1analysis and financial modeling and merit additional future
2discussion; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The findings of the report call for additional
4study and presentation of findings related to the appropriate
5levels for re-enrolling and graduating high-risk high school
6students who have been previously out of school by December
731, 2022; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The findings of the report suggest that the task
9of exploring the potential to increase efficiency and to find
10cost savings within the school system to expedite the journey
11to a fully funded system would require further review by a
12committee of diverse stakeholders convened by the Illinois
13State Board of Education; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The availability of publicly accessible,
15high-quality information about how districts allocate and
16utilize funding received through the EBF formula is critical
17for understanding how districts are working to support
18historically underserved student groups and to increase equity
19within their districts, including closing resource gaps by
20student race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and
21English-learner status; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education is in the

 

 

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1process of revising EBF spending plans that districts are
2required to submit to the agency on an annual basis and
3increasing the transparency of this information by
4transitioning to the inclusion of these plans in the public
5budget process by FY23; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Professional Review Panel has diligently and
7with dedication executed their task and delivered a thorough
8and thoughtful report and findings; and
 
9    WHEREAS, ISBE has made a concerted effort to increase the
10value and public transparency of the information reported
11through districts' EBF spending plans; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
13ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
14REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that in keeping with the
15spirit of the charge outlined in Public Act 101-0654, we
16direct the Professional Review Panel and Illinois State Board
17of Education to conduct the rigorous analysis and financial
18modeling required to evaluate the potential value, impact, and
19financial implications of implementing the findings in the PRP
20Ad-Hoc Committee's report related to adjusting the
21Evidence-Based Funding formula's calculations in order to more
22accurately reflect the costs of supporting students exposed to
23trauma and living in concentrated poverty (Charge B) as well

 

 

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1as to close racial equity gaps in opportunity and outcomes
2(Charges C and H); this includes modeling options, including
3but not limited to those presented in the report for
4differentiating existing cost factors within and adding new
5cost factors to the formula's calculation of districts'
6Adequacy Targets in order to understand the implications for
7equity as well as the anticipated fiscal impact of said
8adjustments; this analysis is to be completed and shared by
9November 30, 2022; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That we call on the Professional Review Panel to
11complete the study and development of findings related to
12re-enrolling students who have dropped out of school by the
13extended deadline included within the PRP Ad-Hoc Committee
14report of December, 31 2022; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Board of
16Education to complete their revision of the district spending
17plans template and requirements and annually make all
18districts' spending plans publicly available on the Illinois
19State Board of Education's website starting with Fiscal Year
202023 by January 2023; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
22delivered to the State Superintendent of Education, the Chair
23of the Illinois State Board of Education, and members of the

 

 

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1Professional Review Panel.