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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 54 | ||||||
2 | (As Amended by Senate Amendments No. 1 & 2)
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3 | WHEREAS, The provision of a free, appropriate public | ||||||
4 | education for a student with a visual impairment can occur only | ||||||
5 | with the proper concentrated services, equipment, | ||||||
6 | appropriately certified staff, and access to education; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Children and youth who are visually impaired face | ||||||
8 | unique and significant barriers related to their instruction | ||||||
9 | that profoundly affect most aspects of the educational process, | ||||||
10 | including the impact of ever changing technology and the world | ||||||
11 | it encompasses; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Blindness and visual impairments are often | ||||||
13 | considered secondary disabilities, thus the specialized | ||||||
14 | educational needs of the blind and visually impaired are rarely | ||||||
15 | fully addressed; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Children and youth with visual impairments are | ||||||
17 | guaranteed an education in the least restrictive setting, | ||||||
18 | determined on an individual basis, meaning that they are | ||||||
19 | entitled to be integrated as fully as possible into the regular | ||||||
20 | classroom, as appropriate; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Full access to education depends upon an |
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1 | educational environment that utilizes the appropriate | ||||||
2 | materials and properly and fully trained staff and provides for | ||||||
3 | direct communication between staff, students, parents, and | ||||||
4 | peers; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | ||||||
6 | should become the go-to facility for best teaching practices | ||||||
7 | regarding programs for children with visual impairments and the | ||||||
8 | statewide center for training, technical assistance, outreach, | ||||||
9 | and specialized curriculum development; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | ||||||
11 | should include on-going training and technical assistance for | ||||||
12 | itinerant, mainstream, and private school educators; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | ||||||
14 | should include specific programming on visual impairments for | ||||||
15 | teaching and rehabilitation professionals from both the State | ||||||
16 | Board of Education and the Department of Human Services; and
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17 | WHEREAS, While unemployment in the nation continues to | ||||||
18 | drop, the unemployment rate for people with visual impairments | ||||||
19 | is over 70%; and
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20 | WHEREAS, There should be greater access to transitional | ||||||
21 | services for students who are blind or visually impaired |
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1 | entering vocational rehabilitation services and employment; | ||||||
2 | and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Successful transitional programs may result in | ||||||
4 | better services and jobs, knowledgeable self-advocates, and | ||||||
5 | achievement of competitive outcomes; therefore, be it
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6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | ||||||
7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
8 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Joint Task Force | ||||||
9 | on Blind and Visually Impaired Educational Options, consisting | ||||||
10 | of the following members, appointed as follows: | ||||||
11 | (1) the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of | ||||||
12 | the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, | ||||||
13 | and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives | ||||||
14 | shall each appoint one member; | ||||||
15 | (2) the Governor shall appoint a parent representative | ||||||
16 | from the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired and 3 | ||||||
17 | regional parent representatives, one each from northern, | ||||||
18 | central, and southern Illinois; | ||||||
19 | (3) the following entities shall each appoint one | ||||||
20 | member: the State Board of Education, the Department of | ||||||
21 | Human Services, the Illinois School for the Visually | ||||||
22 | Impaired, the Illinois Association of Regional | ||||||
23 | Superintendents of Schools, the LightHouse for the Blind | ||||||
24 | and Visually Impaired, the Illinois School for the Visually |
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1 | Impaired Alumni Association, the National Federation of | ||||||
2 | the Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Council of the Blind, | ||||||
3 | Early Intervention, the Illinois Association for Education | ||||||
4 | and Rehabilitation, the Illinois Vision Leadership | ||||||
5 | Council, the Philip J. Rock Center, the Helen Keller | ||||||
6 | National Center, the Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors, | ||||||
7 | Illinois Parents of the Visually Impaired, the Blind | ||||||
8 | Services Planning Council, the Illinois School for the | ||||||
9 | Visually Impaired's Advisory Board, the Visual | ||||||
10 | Disabilities education program at Northern Illinois | ||||||
11 | University, and the Specialist in Low Vision and Blindness | ||||||
12 | education program at Illinois State University; and be it | ||||||
13 | further
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14 | RESOLVED, That the State representative and State senator | ||||||
15 | who represent the districts that are home to the Illinois | ||||||
16 | School for the Visually Impaired shall serve as co-chairpersons | ||||||
17 | of the Task Force; and be it further | ||||||
18 | RESOLVED, That all members of the Task Force shall serve | ||||||
19 | without compensation; and be it further
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20 | RESOLVED, That the duty of the Task Force is to undertake a | ||||||
21 | comprehensive and thorough review of the education of and | ||||||
22 | services available to the blind and visually impaired children | ||||||
23 | of this State with the intent of making recommendations that |
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1 | would recognize the need for delivering full educational | ||||||
2 | services to a blind or visually impaired student, ensure that | ||||||
3 | schools have the most updated and adequate equipment to provide | ||||||
4 | services to blind and visually impaired students, and recognize | ||||||
5 | the need for teachers trained in the unique needs of blind and | ||||||
6 | visually impaired students; recommending research-based | ||||||
7 | methods and procedures to develop curricula for blind and | ||||||
8 | visually impaired students; and providing a comprehensive | ||||||
9 | review of the needs and operation of all educational entities | ||||||
10 | providing services to students who are blind or visually | ||||||
11 | impaired, including the Illinois School for the Visually | ||||||
12 | Impaired; and be it further | ||||||
13 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force should look towards states | ||||||
14 | that have successful, independent, and adequate educational | ||||||
15 | models for students with visual impairments, such as the | ||||||
16 | Washington State School for the Blind; and be it further | ||||||
17 | RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and the | ||||||
18 | Department of Human Services shall together administer and | ||||||
19 | prepare all reports deemed necessary in conjunction with the | ||||||
20 | Task Force's activities; and be it further | ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force may request assistance from | ||||||
22 | any entity necessary or useful for the performance of the Task | ||||||
23 | Force's duties; and be it further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its | ||||||
2 | recommendations to the General Assembly on or before December | ||||||
3 | 31, 2008; and be it further | ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
5 | delivered to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the | ||||||
6 | Department of Human Services, the Illinois School for the | ||||||
7 | Visually Impaired, the Illinois Association of Regional | ||||||
8 | Superintendents of Schools, the LightHouse for the Blind and | ||||||
9 | Visually Impaired, the Illinois School for the Visually | ||||||
10 | Impaired Alumni Association, the National Federation of the | ||||||
11 | Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Council of the Blind, Early | ||||||
12 | Intervention, the Illinois Association for Education and | ||||||
13 | Rehabilitation, the Illinois Vision Leadership Council, the | ||||||
14 | Philip J. Rock Center, the Helen Keller National Center, the | ||||||
15 | Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors, Illinois Parents of the | ||||||
16 | Visually Impaired, the Blind Services Planning Council, the | ||||||
17 | Illinois School for the Visually Impaired's Advisory Board, the | ||||||
18 | Visual Disabilities education program at Northern Illinois | ||||||
19 | University, and the Specialist in Low Vision and Blindness | ||||||
20 | education program at Illinois State University.
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