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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness
3Committee of the Illinois P-20 Council engaged with numerous
4and varied stakeholders during a year-long process to identify
5strategies and key success factors for supporting
6postsecondary education and career readiness; and
 
7    WHEREAS, These strategies and key success factors included
8a systemic approach to personalized learning plans, ensuring
9high school graduation signifies readiness for college and
10careers, ensuring opportunities for students to earn early
11college credit, allowing for the development of innovative
12approaches for students to earn and transfer high school and
13postsecondary credit, and providing all students with career
14exploration supports and work-based learning opportunities;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Student readiness for postsecondary education and
17careers cannot be reduced to a single metric, but must instead
18be understood as a multi-faceted set of knowledge, skills, and
19abilities that allow students to successfully meet the
20challenges of college and career and live healthy, productive
21lives; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Raising academic expectations through

 

 

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1implementation of the revised Illinois Learning Standards and
2expanding career education and opportunities through the
3Illinois Pathways initiative are not divergent strategies, but
4rather mutually reinforcing ones that, when used together,
5provide all students with a wider range of individualized,
6contextualized, realistic, and enriching learning
7opportunities; and
 
8    WHEREAS, By transitioning away from seat time and enabling
9students to master skills at their own pace, competency-based
10learning systems allow students to progress as they demonstrate
11mastery of academic content and also create multiple pathways
12to graduation, take advantage of learning opportunities
13outside of school hours and walls, and help identify
14opportunities to target interventions to meet the specific
15learning needs of students; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Various Illinois community colleges and their
17feeder school districts have demonstrated that co-designed and
18co-developed programs that provide developmental education to
1912th grade students who are not prepared for college-level
20instruction can dramatically reduce remediation rates and
21thereby provide significant savings to families and taxpayers;
22and
 
23    WHEREAS, While dual credit is an important strategy for

 

 

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1promoting college and career readiness and Illinois student
2participation in dual credit courses continues to increase, the
3ability of Illinois high school students to access dual credit
4courses in core academic courses is frequently limited by a
5high school's lack of teachers with a master's degree in the
6appropriate content area; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Career pathway programs that include attainment
8of core academic competencies, attainment of career-oriented
9competencies, professional learning via internships or other
10similar opportunities, and attainment of industry-relevant
11credentials enable students to accelerate advancement toward
12individualized career goals and enable students to make
13informed postsecondary education and career decisions; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Increased communication and collaboration across
15governmental, educational, and business entities must be
16leveraged to provide students with clear, consistent
17expectations, more navigable college and career preparation,
18and better targeted supports to meet individual student needs;
19therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22encourage the State Superintendent of Education and the
23executive directors of the Illinois Community College Board,

 

 

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1the Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Student
2Assistance Commission to establish an advisory committee to
3provide recommendations that address:
4        (1) proposed new, competency-based high school
5    graduation requirements based on student proficiency of
6    identified competencies aligned to the Illinois Learning
7    Standards;
8        (2) multiple methods, including, but not limited to,
9    standardized assessments, for determining student
10    proficiency levels on the identified competencies;
11        (3) mapping of student proficiency levels to
12    achievement of identified competencies;
13        (4) the required role of licensed teachers in
14    determining student proficiency levels on identified
15    competencies, and the permissive role of non-licensed
16    professionals; and
17        (5) acceptance of competency-based high school
18    diplomas by postsecondary and financial aid institutions;
19    and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois
21Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the
22Illinois Student Assistance Commission are encouraged to
23deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before
24February 1, 2016 for pilot implementation of competency-based
25graduation requirements, including proposed legislation for

 

 

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1the implementation of said recommendations; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That that the State Superintendent and the
3executive directors of the Illinois Community College Board,
4Board of Higher Education, and Illinois Student Assistance
5Commission are encouraged to establish an advisory committee to
6provide recommendations for the statewide scaling of programs
7co-developed by community colleges and their feeder high
8schools that provide developmental education to 12th grade
9students who are not prepared for college-level instruction in
10order to significantly reduce statewide remedial education
11rates; the recommendations are encouraged to address:
12        (1) the use of multiple measures in high school to
13    determine student preparation for college-level
14    instruction;     
15        (2) the appropriate timing of determinations of
16    college readiness during the 11th grade year to support
17    placement into appropriate course work during 12th
18    grade;     
19        (3) the use of curriculum and assessments co-developed
20    by high school and postsecondary education faculty; and
21        (4) the development of statewide model instructional
22    supports, including contextualized, career
23    pathway-related, instructional supports addressing English
24    Language Arts and mathematics competencies; and be it
25    further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois
2Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the
3Illinois Student Assistance Commission are encouraged to
4deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before
5February 1, 2016 for the implementation of said policies and
6programs and proposed legislation for implementation of said
7recommendations; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois
9Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the
10Illinois Student Assistance Commission, in consultation with
11appropriate stakeholders, are encouraged to enter into an
12intergovernmental agreement by June 30, 2016 for the joint
13establishment of a program that will incentivize and accelerate
14the delivery of professional development and continuing
15education for high school teachers that will allow them to
16qualify as instructors for dual credit courses in high-need
17subject areas and locations within the State; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That this program be encouraged to include at
19least a common statewide application for high school teachers,
20commitments from teacher preparation providers to develop
21cohort models appropriate for high school teachers, and other
22supports for accelerated higher education delivery models; and
23be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the agencies participating in the Illinois
2Pathways Interagency Committee ("IPIC"), which was formed by
3intergovernmental agreement among the State Board of
4Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of
5Higher Education, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission,
6the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the
7Department of Employment Security (the "IPIC Agencies"), are
8encouraged to establish one or more advisory committees that
9address:
10        (1) the requirements for awarding career pathway
11    endorsements in industry sectors prioritized by IPIC on a
12    high school diploma;
13        (2) opportunities for expanded access to career
14    pathway endorsements, including programs available outside
15    a student's resident school district;
16        (3) increased recognition of career pathway
17    endorsements by Illinois public community colleges and
18    universities for course placement, advising, and college
19    credit; and
20        (4) appropriate supports from State agencies,
21    employers, and the public-private partnerships supported
22    by IPIC known as STEM Learning Exchanges for student
23    attainment of career pathway endorsements; and be it
24    further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to deliver
2recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February
31, 2016 for the implementation of a system for awarding career
4pathway endorsements and related policies and supports,
5including proposed legislation for implementation of said
6recommendations; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to
8establish one or more advisory committees that address:
9        (1) grade-level expectations for education and career
10    development and planning;
11        (2) methods for ensuring all public middle and high
12    school students have access to web-based, individualized
13    tools to plan for postsecondary education, careers, and
14    financial aid, including the alignment of such processes
15    with high school consumer education instruction;
16        (3) the development of a financial literacy program for
17    students and families that aligns postsecondary education
18    and career choices with likely financial outcomes to
19    support economically sound decision-making;
20        (4) the incorporation of individualized planning for
21    postsecondary education, careers, and financial aid into
22    high school consumer education instruction; and     
23        (5) methods for increasing FAFSA completion rates; and
24    be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to deliver
2recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February
31, 2016 for the implementation of said policies and programs,
4including proposed legislation for implementation of said
5recommendations; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7delivered to the IPIC Agencies.