|
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the Center for | ||||||
| 3 | Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, there are | ||||||
| 4 | 174,168 Illinois youth ages 16 to 24 years old and 98,908 youth | ||||||
| 5 | ages 16 to 21 years old who are high school dropouts; and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, This study outlines that in Illinois, of the | ||||||
| 7 | 174,168 youth who are high school dropouts, 50,877 are White, | ||||||
| 8 | 74,645 are Hispanic, 42,294 are Black, and 6,352 are listed as | ||||||
| 9 | other; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, The vast majority of Chicago area and downstate | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois high school dropouts come from lower income areas; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Illinois employers are experiencing a shortage of | ||||||
| 13 | skilled workers, and high school dropouts could provide the | ||||||
| 14 | needed addition to the workforce needs of the Illinois economy | ||||||
| 15 | and Illinois businesses; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Eighty percent of prison inmates are high school | ||||||
| 17 | dropouts and, as such, can pose a problem in terms of crime and | ||||||
| 18 | public safety to the general public in their communities and | ||||||
| 19 | neighborhoods; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, High school dropouts earn $516,000 less over their | ||||||
| 21 | lifetimes than people who have a high school diploma and some | ||||||
| 22 | college education; and | ||||||
| 23 | WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $340,000 over | ||||||
| 24 | the lifetime of a high school dropout who returns to school and | ||||||
| 25 | earns a high school diploma in terms of that person paying more | ||||||
| 26 | taxes on his or her increased earnings, as well as the reduced | ||||||
| 27 | social costs in terms of his or her utilizing welfare services, | ||||||
| 28 | mental health services, and other dependency services and being | ||||||
| 29 | less likely to enter prison or incur other related costs to | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | crime; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, There is significant research and program | ||||||
| 3 | experience to draw on and use to develop successful programs to | ||||||
| 4 | re-enroll, teach, and graduate dropouts from high schools; | ||||||
| 5 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 7 | NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 8 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Task Force | ||||||
| 9 | on Dropouts to examine and develop ways to address the issue of | ||||||
| 10 | youth who have dropped out of school; and be it further
| ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine | ||||||
| 12 | policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a | ||||||
| 13 | variety of successful approaches using best program practices | ||||||
| 14 | to re-enroll, teach, and graduate high school dropouts and, in | ||||||
| 15 | doing so, improve community safety and the Illinois economy; | ||||||
| 16 | and be it further | ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the | ||||||
| 18 | following members: 4 legislators, one of whom shall be | ||||||
| 19 | appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom shall be | ||||||
| 20 | appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom shall be | ||||||
| 21 | appointed by the House Minority Leader, and one of whom shall | ||||||
| 22 | be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; one representative | ||||||
| 23 | of the State Board of Education appointed by the State | ||||||
| 24 | Superintendent of Education; one representative of the | ||||||
| 25 | Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of | ||||||
| 26 | Human Services; one representative of the Department of | ||||||
| 27 | Children and Family Services appointed by the Director of | ||||||
| 28 | Children and Family Services; one representative of the | ||||||
| 29 | Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed by | ||||||
| 30 | the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; one | ||||||
| 31 | representative of the Illinois Community College Board | ||||||
| 32 | appointed by the Chairperson of the Illinois Community College | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Board; 2 representatives from the public appointed by the | ||||||
| 2 | Governor, with one of these public representatives serving as | ||||||
| 3 | chairperson of the Task Force; and 2 additional representatives | ||||||
| 4 | from the public, one of whom shall be appointed by State | ||||||
| 5 | Democratic Party leadership and one of whom shall be appointed | ||||||
| 6 | by State Republican Party leadership; and be it further | ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include | ||||||
| 8 | conducting a series of public hearings throughout the State to | ||||||
| 9 | discuss the impact of high school dropouts on various regions | ||||||
| 10 | of the State, completing a review of dropout data that allows | ||||||
| 11 | for a comparison of Illinois rates both nationally and with | ||||||
| 12 | other states in the region, and producing a final report with | ||||||
| 13 | recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on | ||||||
| 14 | ways and means to address the challenge of re-enrolling | ||||||
| 15 | students who have dropped out of school; and be it further | ||||||
| 16 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings to | ||||||
| 17 | the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 10, | ||||||
| 18 | 2006; and be it further | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, That upon filing this report, the Task Force is | ||||||
| 20 | dissolved.
| ||||||