Full Text of HJR0087 94th General Assembly
HJ0087 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HJ0087 |
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, According to a recent study by the Center for | 3 |
| Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, | 4 |
| Massachusetts, there are 174,168 Illinois youth ages 16 to 24 | 5 |
| years old and 98,908 youth ages 16 to 21 years old who have not | 6 |
| graduated from high school and are out of school; and
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| WHEREAS, This study outlines that in Illinois, of the | 8 |
| 174,168 youth who are out of school without a high school | 9 |
| diploma, 50,877 are White, 74,645 are Hispanic, 42,294 are | 10 |
| Black, and 6,352 are listed as other; and
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| WHEREAS, The vast majority of Chicago area and downstate | 12 |
| Illinois youth who are out of school without a high school | 13 |
| diploma come from lower income areas; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, The vast majority of these youth who are out of | 15 |
| school without a high school diploma see themselves as students | 16 |
| who want to return to school and earn a high school diploma, | 17 |
| but there are currently not enough options and opportunities | 18 |
| for many of these re-enrolled students; and
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| WHEREAS, A comprehensive system is needed for all students - | 20 |
| those in school and those who want to return to school, but | 21 |
| the school experience that will help "out of school students" | 22 |
| succeed when they re-enroll must be different; people learn in | 23 |
| different ways, and smaller schools offer a more personal, | 24 |
| flexible, and accountable curriculum that successfully | 25 |
| re-enrolls, teaches, and graduates these out of school | 26 |
| students; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois employers are experiencing a shortage of | 28 |
| skilled workers, and these "re-enrolled students" could | 29 |
| provide the needed addition to the workforce needs of the | 30 |
| Illinois economy and Illinois businesses; and
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| WHEREAS, Eighty percent of prison inmates are students who | 2 |
| left school without a high school diploma and, as such, can | 3 |
| pose a problem in terms of crime and public safety to the | 4 |
| general public in their communities and neighborhoods; and
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| WHEREAS, Out-of-school students without a high school | 6 |
| diploma earn $516,000 less over their lifetimes than people who | 7 |
| have a high school diploma and some college education; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $312,000 over | 9 |
| the lifetime of a "re-enrolled student" who returns to school | 10 |
| and earns a high school diploma in terms of that person paying | 11 |
| more taxes on his or her increased earnings as well as the | 12 |
| reduced social costs in terms of his or her utilizing welfare | 13 |
| services, mental health services, and other dependency | 14 |
| services, and being less likely to enter prison or incur other | 15 |
| costs related to crime; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, There is significant research and program | 17 |
| experience to draw on and use to develop successful programs to | 18 |
| re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school before | 19 |
| earning a high school diploma; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
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| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 22 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the "Task Force | 23 |
| on Re-enrolling Students Who Dropped Out Of School" in order to | 24 |
| examine and develop ways to address the growing issue of | 25 |
| students who left school before earning a high school diploma; | 26 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine | 28 |
| policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a | 29 |
| variety of successful approaches using best program practices | 30 |
| to re-enroll, teach, and graduate students who left school |
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| before earning a high school diploma and, in doing so, improve | 2 |
| community safety and the Illinois economy; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the | 4 |
| following members: 8 legislators (2 of whom shall be appointed | 5 |
| by the President of the Senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by | 6 |
| the Speaker of the House, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the | 7 |
| House Minority Leader, and 2 of whom shall be appointed by the | 8 |
| Senate Minority Leader); 1 representative of the State Board of | 9 |
| Education appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; 1 | 10 |
| representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by | 11 |
| the Secretary of Human Services; 1 representative of the | 12 |
| Department of Children and Family Services appointed by the | 13 |
| Director of Children and Family Services; 1 representative of | 14 |
| the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed | 15 |
| by the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; 1 | 16 |
| representative of the Illinois Community College Board | 17 |
| appointed by the President of the Illinois Community College | 18 |
| Board; 8 representatives from the public (4 of which should | 19 |
| come from schools/programs working with students who had left | 20 |
| school before earning a high school diploma and 4 other | 21 |
| appointees) appointed by the Governor, with one of these public | 22 |
| representatives serving as chairperson of the Task Force; and | 23 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include | 25 |
| conducting a series of public hearings throughout the State to | 26 |
| discuss the impact of students who have left school without a | 27 |
| high school diploma on various regions of the State, completing | 28 |
| a review of data regarding students who have left school | 29 |
| without a high school diploma that allows for a comparison of | 30 |
| Illinois data both nationally and with other states in the | 31 |
| region and across the country, completing a review of various | 32 |
| financing and funding mechanisms used by other states, | 33 |
| counties, cities, foundations, and other financial funding | 34 |
| sources and producing a final report with recommendations to |
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| the Governor and the General Assembly on ways and means to | 2 |
| address the challenge of re-enrolling students who have left | 3 |
| school without a high school diploma; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue an interim report | 5 |
| of its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no | 6 |
| later than January 10, 2007; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a final report by | 8 |
| January 10, 2008, and upon filing this report, the Task Force | 9 |
| is dissolved.
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