093_SR0094
LRB093 11364 NHT 13593 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The school children of the State of Illinois
3 represent the future of this State; and
4 WHEREAS, The single greatest influence on the future
5 success of Illinois is the quality of education received by
6 the State's children; and
7 WHEREAS, A stated goal of the State Board of Education is
8 to provide advocacy and leadership for adequate and equitable
9 funding of Illinois public schools; and
10 WHEREAS, Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
11 2001, schools must show that all children are learning by the
12 year 2014 and all children must meet State learning standards
13 and achieve at high levels; and
14 WHEREAS, If the State does not comply with the mandates
15 imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, then the
16 State may lose federal education funding; and
17 WHEREAS, The amount of per pupil spending in Illinois
18 varies greatly and ranges from less than $4,000 to more than
19 $15,000; and
20 WHEREAS, Property tax rates levied for educational
21 purposes in Illinois vary greatly, from less than 1.00% to
22 over 8.00% for schools; and
23 WHEREAS, Average school teacher salaries range from less
24 than $24,000 to more than $83,000; and
25 WHEREAS, Almost 80% of school districts are currently or
26 will in the near future be unable to balance their annual
27 budget to support necessary programs and will be forced to
28 deficit spend; and
29 WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 34th among all states in the
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1 Union in total State and local tax burden as a percentage of
2 personal income; and
3 WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 48th among all states in the
4 Union in the share of school funding provided by the State;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Illinois ranks 49th among all states in the
7 Union in the difference in revenue per student between the
8 State's highest and lowest poverty districts; and
9 WHEREAS, Section 1 of Article X of the Illinois
10 Constitution states, "The State shall provide for an
11 efficient system of high quality public educational
12 institutions and services."; and
13 WHEREAS, Section 1 of Article X of the Illinois
14 Constitution further states, "The State has the primary
15 responsibility for financing the system of public
16 education."; and
17 WHEREAS, Only about 39% of funding in fiscal year 2002
18 for public schools came from the State; and
19 WHEREAS, The State and federal governments have created
20 education standards and benchmarks for adequate academic
21 progress; and
22 WHEREAS, The decision by the First District Appellate
23 Court of Illinois in the last significant court case in
24 Illinois regarding education funding, Committee for
25 Educational Rights v. Edgar, 267 Ill. App. 3d 18 (1994), held
26 that (i) Article X of the Illinois Constitution did not
27 require equal educational benefits and opportunities among
28 school districts and (ii) it was not a violation of the equal
29 protection clause that students in poorer districts did not
30 receive identical educational services to those in wealthier
31 districts; and
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1 WHEREAS, According to this court decision, "the complaint
2 [did] not allege that the education offered in the
3 plaintiffs' school districts [fell] below [the State Board of
4 Education's] minimum standards, or that the plaintiffs [were]
5 being denied a minimally adequate education"; and
6 WHEREAS, The Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board
7 was created by the General Assembly in 1997 and charged with
8 the task of making recommendations to the General Assembly
9 for foundation and supplemental general State aid funding
10 levels; and
11 WHEREAS, The Illinois Education Funding Advisory Board
12 has recommended that the foundation level be set at $5,665 to
13 "assure adequate funding"; therefore, be it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
15 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we respectfully
16 request that the Attorney General of the State of Illinois
17 provide an opinion interpreting Section 1 of Article X of the
18 Illinois Constitution; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That the Attorney General include, as part of
20 this opinion, a determination as to whether Section 1 of
21 Article X of the Illinois Constitution requires the State to
22 develop a system of public school funding that provides every
23 public school student with access to a minimally adequate
24 education; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the Attorney General include, as part of
26 this opinion, a determination as to whether or not the
27 current system of public school funding provides every public
28 school student access to a minimally adequate education; and
29 be it further
30 RESOLVED, That we respectfully request that the Attorney
31 General submit this opinion to the members of the Senate on
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1 or before May 30, 2003; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3 delivered to the Attorney General of the State of Illinois.