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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Approximately half of Illinois high school
3graduates enrolling as full-time freshmen in Illinois public
4community colleges require remedial education; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois employers report that recent high school
6and postsecondary institutional graduates often lack the
7critical skills necessary to succeed in high-demand and
8growing occupational areas, and that they are unable to find
9qualified workers to meet their industry's needs; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Student readiness for postsecondary education and
11careers cannot be reduced to a single metric but must instead
12be understood as a multifaceted set of knowledge, skills, and
13abilities that allow students to successfully meet the
14challenges of postsecondary education and career in order to
15live healthy, productive lives; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Enabling high school students to engage in career
17and postsecondary education development activities and
18incentivizing achievement in career-oriented education,
19particularly in high-demand industry sectors, promotes
20postsecondary and career readiness and facilitates
21better-informed postsecondary education decisions; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Aligning support from State agencies, school
2districts, postsecondary education providers, employers, and
3other public and private organizations will lead to the
4development and implementation of a robust and coordinated
5postsecondary education and career readiness system in
6Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Illinois Postsecondary and Workforce
8Readiness Act establishes a voluntary system for school
9districts to award college and career pathway endorsements on
10high school diplomas; the endorsement demonstrates students'
11readiness for college and careers, completion of instruction
12and professional learning experiences in a selected career
13interest area, and incentivizes career exploration and
14development, particularly in high-demand career fields; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Illinois Postsecondary and Workforce
16Readiness Act takes a student-centered and competency-based
17approach to create four strategies to help students prepare
18for postsecondary and career opportunities, which include
19offering a Postsecondary and Career Expectations framework
20(PaCE), piloting competency-based high school graduation
21requirements, supporting students to avoid remediation in
22college through targeted math instruction during their senior
23year, and creating a new system for school districts to award
24college and career pathways endorsements on high school

 

 

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1diplomas; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The Postsecondary and Career Expectations
3framework outlines what students should know and actions they
4should take from middle school through 12th grade to select
5the right postsecondary option, prepare for careers, and
6access financial aid opportunities; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Illinois enacted the Postsecondary and Workforce
8Readiness Act to deploy a number of strategies to prepare more
9students for meaningful career opportunities by supporting
10postsecondary and career planning, promoting and incentivizing
11competency-based learning programs, reducing remedial
12education rates, increasing alignment between K-12 and
13postsecondary education systems, and implementing college and
14career pathway systems; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
16ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage high
17schools across the State to participate in the Postsecondary
18and Workforce Readiness Program to help address key barriers
19to the successful transition of Illinois high school students
20into college and careers.