HJ0040 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0040 LRB095 11603 NHT 33519 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2005 in Illinois there were 227,010 youth ages 16 to 24 years old and 59,457 youth ages 16 to 19 years old who left high school before earning a high school diploma; and

WHEREAS, This study outlines that in Illinois, of the 227,010 youth who left school without a high school diploma, 92,424 are White, 70,842 are Hispanic, 58,390 are Black, and 5,354 are listed as other; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority of Chicago area and downstate Illinois youth who left school without a high school diploma come from lower income areas; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority of these youth who left school without a high school diploma see themselves as students who want to return to school and earn a high school diploma, and many of these students return to educational programs that are severely under-funded and that are not able to provide the comprehensive educational program and various support services that these students need to successfully re-enroll and earn a high school diploma; and

WHEREAS, A comprehensive system is needed for all students, those in school and those who want to return to school, but the school experience that will help out-of-school students succeed when they re-enroll must be different; people learn in different ways, one size does not fit all, and smaller schools offer a more personal, flexible, and accountable curriculum that successfully re-enrolls, teaches, and graduates these out-of-school students; and

WHEREAS, Illinois employers are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, and these re-enrolled students could provide the needed addition to the workforce needs of the Illinois economy and Illinois businesses; and

WHEREAS, Eighty percent of prison inmates are students who left school without a high school diploma and, as such, can pose a problem, in terms of crime and public safety, to the general public in their communities and neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, Out-of-school students without a high school diploma earn $828,000 less over their lifetimes than people who have a high school diploma and some college education and $410,000 less than high school graduates; and

WHEREAS, The annual cost to Illinois is over $2.4 billion for these students who left school without a high school diploma; and

WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $312,000 over the lifetime of a re-enrolled student who returns to school and earns a high school diploma in terms of that person paying more taxes on his or her increased earnings as well as the reduced social costs in terms of his or her utilizing welfare services, mental health services, and other dependency services and being less likely to enter prison or incur other costs related to crime; and

WHEREAS, There is significant research and program experience to draw on and use to develop successful programs to re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school before earning a high school diploma; and

WHEREAS, The Governor and the General Assembly created the Task Force on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School, which had a 2-year cycle to examine and develop an interim and final report to address this issue of students who had left school without a high school diploma; this Task Force will end on January 10, 2008; and

WHEREAS, The work of this Task Force should continue in terms of addressing the need to develop a comprehensive system for students who left school before earning a high school diploma and want to re-enroll to earn a high school diploma; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that that there is created the Council on Re-enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School in order to carry on the work of the Task Force on Re-Enrolling Students Who Dropped Out of School by continuing to examine and develop ways to address the growing issue of students who left school before earning a high school diploma; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Council is to examine policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a variety of successful approaches using best program practices to re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school before earning a high school diploma and, in doing so, improve community safety and the Illinois economy; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Council shall be composed of the following members: 8 legislators (2 of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the House Minority Leader, and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader); one representative from the Governor's Office appointed by the Governor; one representative of the State Board of Education appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; one representative of the Board of Higher Education appointed by its chairperson; one representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of Human Services; one representative of the Department of Children and Family Services appointed by the Director of Children and Family Services; one representative of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed by the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; one representative of the Illinois Community College Board appointed by the President of the Illinois Community College Board; 17 representatives from the public (8 of whom shall come from schools or programs working with students who had left school before earning a high school diploma) appointed by the Governor, with one of these public representatives serving as chairperson of the Council; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the duties of the Council shall include continuing a series of public hearings throughout the State to discuss the impact of students who have left school without a high school diploma on various regions of the State, continuing a review of data regarding students who have left school without a high school diploma that allows for a comparison of Illinois data both nationally and with other states in the region and across the country, continuing a review of various financing and funding mechanisms used by other states, counties, cities, foundations, and other financial funding sources, and producing and filing an annual report with recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the State Board of Education on ways and means to address the challenge of re-enrolling students who have left school without a high school diploma; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall be responsible for facilitating the Council; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Governor, the State Superintendent of Education, the Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education, the Secretary of Human Services, the Director of Children and Family Services, the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the President of the Illinois Community College Board.