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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives recognize that every student is unique and that | ||||||
4 | all children learn at a different pace when compared to their | ||||||
5 | peers; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The commonality between all students is the need | ||||||
7 | to be amongst their peers; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Inclusive education brings all students together | ||||||
9 | in one classroom and community, regardless of their strengths | ||||||
10 | or weaknesses in any area, and seeks to maximize the potential | ||||||
11 | of all students; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Students with disabilities can be integrated | ||||||
13 | socially with their peers; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Students can create long-lasting friendships that | ||||||
15 | would not be otherwise possible; these friendships can give | ||||||
16 | them the skills to navigate social relationships later in life; | ||||||
17 | and
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18 | WHEREAS, In a well-designed inclusion classroom, the | ||||||
19 | teacher uses inclusion strategies to help students succeed | ||||||
20 | academically; therefore, students encounter higher |
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1 | expectations, both from their peers and their teachers, as well | ||||||
2 | as the positive academic role models of their classmates | ||||||
3 | without disabilities; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Students with disabilities educated in an | ||||||
5 | inclusive classroom have been found to score higher on literacy | ||||||
6 | measures than students educated in segregated settings; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Research has shown that the majority of students | ||||||
8 | without disabilities have scored higher on State standardized | ||||||
9 | tests over a period of 4 years; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Research also indicates that inclusive education | ||||||
11 | promotes and enhances all students' social growth within | ||||||
12 | inclusive classrooms and does not negatively affect typical | ||||||
13 | students' academic growth; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, In an inclusion setting, students with and without | ||||||
15 | disabilities learn how to work with each other, regardless of | ||||||
16 | individual skills and abilities, which helps improve academic | ||||||
17 | performance and the ability to succeed later in life; and
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18 | WHEREAS, All parents want their children to be accepted by | ||||||
19 | their peers and have friends; inclusive settings can make this | ||||||
20 | vision a reality for many children with disabilities; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The family of the disabled student can be | ||||||
2 | positively affected by classroom inclusion through newly | ||||||
3 | potential friendship and relationship opportunities; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, When children attend classes that reflect the | ||||||
5 | similarities and differences of people in the real world, they | ||||||
6 | learn to appreciate diversity; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Respect and understanding grow when children of | ||||||
8 | differing abilities and cultures communicate and learn | ||||||
9 | together, which may be the first step in creating a more | ||||||
10 | diverse workforce and world; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
12 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
13 | we encourage the Illinois State Board of Education and each | ||||||
14 | school district in this State to consider the potential | ||||||
15 | benefits of inclusive education for students with and without | ||||||
16 | disabilities in Illinois; and be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
18 | delivered to the Illinois State Board of Education and the | ||||||
19 | Regional Offices of Education.
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