SR1370 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1370 LRB102 30000 LAW 42189 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Literacy is not only critical for individuals' ability to earn income, secure housing, participate in their healthcare, support their children's education, pursue happiness, and navigate the world but also collectively foundational to our community and democracy; and

WHEREAS, The World Literacy Foundation found that low literacy is a major contributor to inequality and increases the likelihood of poor physical and mental health, workplace accidents, misuse of medication, participation in crime, and welfare dependency, all of which have substantial additional social and economic costs; and

WHEREAS, Fifty percent of Illinois' third graders met, exceeded, or approached learning standards in English language arts according to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with the other half of students not meeting or partially meeting standards; this represents a ten percentage point swing from the 2019 pre-pandemic rates when 60 percent of students met, exceeded, or approached learning standards; and

WHEREAS, Thirty-three percent of Illinois' fourth graders achieved proficient or advanced reading scores on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress with another 29 percent meeting basic reading proficiency and the remaining 38 percent scoring below basic reading proficiency; and

WHEREAS, Research from the Annie E. Casey Institute found that students who are not proficient readers in third grade are four times more likely not to finish high school; if those students are from low-income families, they are more than six times more likely not to finish high school; and

WHEREAS, Research consistently finds that a diverse, well-trained, and expanding pool of teachers, in conjunction with curricula responsive to the strengths and needs of diverse student populations, improves educational outcomes for all students; and

WHEREAS, An appropriate curriculum blends the learning needs of students with their developmental needs and increases in complexity with every new stage of childhood; and

WHEREAS, Oral language development is a prerequisite for reading and writing that is nurtured from birth through talking, reading, story-telling, singing, nursery rhymes, and other language exposure and, as younger children develop, through intentional dialogue with rich vocabulary; home visiting programs, access to books, high-quality childcare and preschool, and lived experiences strengthen students' opportunity to build oracy skills, vocabulary, and background knowledge, leading to higher-level cognitive thinking; and

WHEREAS, Reading builds new neural pathways in the brain as people, usually children, learn to connect the sounds in language to letters on a page to the meaning of the text; however, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to literacy, as learners will require different dosages within different areas of literacy instruction to meet their individual needs; and

WHEREAS, Reading and writing have a reciprocal relationship as each strengthens the other, and students benefit when their instruction is closely intertwined; and

WHEREAS, English learners benefit from a comprehensive literacy approach that recognizes the value of multilingualism by enveloping all areas of literacy instruction with a deep focus on oral language development and encouraging students to make connections between English and their home language; and

WHEREAS, Teachers deserve the tools to be knowledgeable about the cultural practices and language system of the children they serve, including those children who speak language variations of English, such as African-American English (AAE); AAE has a linguistic structure that is a systematic and rule-governed variation of General American English (GAE); and

WHEREAS, Research shows that direct, systematic, cumulative, and explicit reading instruction that is focused on the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics or decoding, spelling or encoding, vocabulary development that includes morphology, oral language development, reading fluency, and reading comprehension that includes syntax and building background or content knowledge, is highly effective in teaching young children to read; and

WHEREAS, High literacy achievement across all demographic groups is an essential indicator of educational equity within the State of Illinois; strengthening early literacy instruction and supports for students in Illinois will pay dividends in the future by empowering students, providing the skills they will need to graduate, find fulfilling careers, and be productive members of their communities and of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, Ensuring that every child has access to high-quality, research-aligned, developmentally-appropriate reading instruction implemented using a comprehensive approach is a foundational component of Illinois' public education system and a responsibility shared among federal, state, and local education agencies; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) held a literacy summit on October 25, 2022 to bring education professionals and advocates across Illinois together to share ideas and best practices to support literacy development for Illinois' children while also recognizing the complexity of literacy development and potential pitfalls of adopting incomplete or simplistic policy solutions; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois State Board of Education to share findings from the literacy summit held on October 25, 2022 as progress towards promoting research-aligned, developmentally-appropriate literacy practices across grades and subject areas, developing a comprehensive literacy plan through continued collaboration with other relevant agencies and stakeholders, supporting alignment of early childhood programs, curriculum, educator training, professional development, and student supports to Illinois' standards, and ensuring that closing literacy opportunity gaps among demographic groups be prioritized; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to ISBE with our appreciation for the agency's efforts to advance literacy and with our support for the continuation of such efforts.