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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois has required its public schools to
3provide bilingual education services to English Learners (EL)
4since 1972; today, more than 600 school districts serve more
5than 205,000 language-minority children with bilingual
6programs, with the goal of transitioning all English Learners
7into mainstream classrooms in 3 years or less; although most EL
8students are native speakers of Spanish, EL enrollees are
9native speakers of 139 different languages; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Illinois bilingual educators have been remarkably
11innovative, professional, and successful; despite many serious
12obstacles to success, two-thirds of bilingual students attain
13English proficiency; only 2.7% of language-minority students
14drop out before completing transitional bilingual programs;
15students who gain English proficiency meet or exceed the
16Illinois Standards Achievement Test performance of native
17English speakers in reading and mathematics for grades 6, 7,
18and 8; about 7,400 teachers hold some type of EL certification;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, The State Board of Education adopted new learning
21standards in 2010 and is implementing an aligned assessment
22this year; it is important to know how these changes are
23impacting ELs, as well as the issues being discussed in

 

 

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1Congress regarding the rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary
2Education Act; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Most Illinois counties now have EL enrollees; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Illinois adopted the State Seal of Biliteracy, to
5be awarded beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, promoting
6the importance of the development of proficiency in 2 or more
7languages; ELs arrive at schools with linguistic assets in
8their home languages, which, if developed, can be a basis for
9biliteracy; while State law requires services for ELs,
10including developing English proficiency, it does not require
11the maintenance and development of the home language;
12unsupported, proficiency in the home language can be lost over
13time; subsequently, like other students, ELs often take a
14foreign language in high school; we must study how to better
15develop home languages and promote biliteracy in conjunction
16with services for ELs; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Computers are now in widespread use in public
18schools, but primarily in mainstream classrooms; the potential
19of modern technology has yet to be harnessed in bilingual and
20EL classrooms and must be studied on how best to be
21incorporated into EL programs; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Teachers, schools, and districts have developed

 

 

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1highly effective instructional strategies that may not be
2widely known; it is time to comprehensively identify those best
3practices so that all programs may use them; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
6SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Bilingual
7Advisory Task Force, consisting of the following members: (1) 2
8individuals appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom
9shall be a member of the House of Representatives, and the
10other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (2) 2 individuals appointed
11by the Senate President, one of whom shall be a member of the
12Senate, and the other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (3) one
13member of the House of Representatives appointed by the
14Minority Leader of the House; (4) one member of the Senate
15appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; (5) the
16Lieutenant Governor of the State of Illinois, or his or her
17designee; (6) 3 educators who hold a professional educator
18license endorsed for bilingual education or English as a second
19language from 3 different school districts in the northern,
20central, and southern region of the State appointed by the
21Speaker of the House and President of the Senate; (7) 3
22educators who hold a professional educator licensed endorsed
23for bilingual education or English as a second language from 3
24different school districts in the northern, central, and
25southern region of the State appointed by the Minority Leader

 

 

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1of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House; (8) one
2administrator of a school district with an English Learner
3student population of at least 20% appointed by the State
4Superintendent of Education; (9) the Executive Director of a
5statewide association representing principals, or his or her
6designee, who is the principal of a school in a school district
7with an English Learner student population of at least 20%;
8(10) the President of an association representing principals in
9a city with a population of more than 500,000, or his or her
10designee, who is the principal of a school in a school district
11with an English Learner student population of at least 20%;
12(11) one school district administrator of bilingual education
13programs that meet the requirements under 23 Ill. Admin. Code
14228.35(d) appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
15and (12) the State Superintendent of Education or his or her
16designee; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That the Co-Chairs of the Bilingual Advisory Task
18Force may add additional non-voting members to the Task Force;
19and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
21evaluate whether the framework for existing bilingual
22education, including Transitional Bilingual Education programs
23and the Transitional Program of Instruction, is appropriate for
24learning today; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
2evaluate the use of learning technologies in bilingual
3education to ensure that the same techniques, types of
4software, and hardware are used to educate English Learners as
5are provided today for mainstream classrooms; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
7examine the competencies, experience, and coursework necessary
8to teach in a setting in which English Learners are involved;
9and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make
11recommendations that will ensure that all bilingual programs
12focus on the parallel goals of achieving academic parity for
13English Learners while, at the same time, accelerating English
14proficiency so that bilingual students are prepared to perform
15well in the mainstream classroom; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make
17recommendations regarding whether the existing requirement and
18supporting regulations for bilingual education lead to
19deployment of all necessary educational, technological, and
20human resources to support the academic success of bilingual
21students; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall seek
2input from stakeholders and members of the public on issues and
3possible improvements to bilingual education in Illinois; and
4be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide
6administrative support for the Bilingual Task Force; and be it
7further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Task Force submit its findings
9and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by
10December 15, 2015; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12delivered to the General Assembly, the Governor, the
13Chairperson of the State Board of Education, and the State
14Superintendent of Education; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide a
16copy of this resolution to school districts in the State.