Full Text of SJR0054 95th General Assembly
SJ0054eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 54 | 2 |
| (As Amended by Senate Amendments No. 1 & 2)
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| WHEREAS, The provision of a free, appropriate public | 4 |
| education for a student with a visual impairment can occur only | 5 |
| with the proper concentrated services, equipment, | 6 |
| appropriately certified staff, and access to education; and
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| WHEREAS, Children and youth who are visually impaired face | 8 |
| unique and significant barriers related to their instruction | 9 |
| that profoundly affect most aspects of the educational process, | 10 |
| including the impact of ever changing technology and the world | 11 |
| it encompasses; and
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| WHEREAS, Blindness and visual impairments are often | 13 |
| considered secondary disabilities, thus the specialized | 14 |
| educational needs of the blind and visually impaired are rarely | 15 |
| fully addressed; and
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| WHEREAS, Children and youth with visual impairments are | 17 |
| guaranteed an education in the least restrictive setting, | 18 |
| determined on an individual basis, meaning that they are | 19 |
| entitled to be integrated as fully as possible into the regular | 20 |
| classroom, as appropriate; and
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| WHEREAS, Full access to education depends upon an |
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| educational environment that utilizes the appropriate | 2 |
| materials and properly and fully trained staff and provides for | 3 |
| direct communication between staff, students, parents, and | 4 |
| peers; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | 6 |
| should become the go-to facility for best teaching practices | 7 |
| regarding programs for children with visual impairments and the | 8 |
| statewide center for training, technical assistance, outreach, | 9 |
| and specialized curriculum development; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | 11 |
| should include on-going training and technical assistance for | 12 |
| itinerant, mainstream, and private school educators; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired | 14 |
| should include specific programming on visual impairments for | 15 |
| teaching and rehabilitation professionals from both the State | 16 |
| Board of Education and the Department of Human Services; and
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| WHEREAS, While unemployment in the nation continues to | 18 |
| drop, the unemployment rate for people with visual impairments | 19 |
| is over 70%; and
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| WHEREAS, There should be greater access to transitional | 21 |
| services for students who are blind or visually impaired |
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| entering vocational rehabilitation services and employment; | 2 |
| and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Successful transitional programs may result in | 4 |
| better services and jobs, knowledgeable self-advocates, and | 5 |
| achievement of competitive outcomes; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 7 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 8 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Joint Task Force | 9 |
| on Blind and Visually Impaired Educational Options, consisting | 10 |
| of the following members, appointed as follows: | 11 |
| (1) the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of | 12 |
| the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, | 13 |
| and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives | 14 |
| shall each appoint one member; | 15 |
| (2) the Governor shall appoint a parent representative | 16 |
| from the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired and 3 | 17 |
| regional parent representatives, one each from northern, | 18 |
| central, and southern Illinois; | 19 |
| (3) the following entities shall each appoint one | 20 |
| member: the State Board of Education, the Department of | 21 |
| Human Services, the Illinois School for the Visually | 22 |
| Impaired, the Illinois Association of Regional | 23 |
| Superintendents of Schools, the LightHouse for the Blind | 24 |
| and Visually Impaired, the Illinois School for the Visually |
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| Impaired Alumni Association, the National Federation of | 2 |
| the Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Council of the Blind, | 3 |
| Early Intervention, the Illinois Association for Education | 4 |
| and Rehabilitation, the Illinois Vision Leadership | 5 |
| Council, the Philip J. Rock Center, the Helen Keller | 6 |
| National Center, the Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors, | 7 |
| Illinois Parents of the Visually Impaired, the Blind | 8 |
| Services Planning Council, the Illinois School for the | 9 |
| Visually Impaired's Advisory Board, the Visual | 10 |
| Disabilities education program at Northern Illinois | 11 |
| University, and the Specialist in Low Vision and Blindness | 12 |
| education program at Illinois State University; and be it | 13 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the State representative and State senator | 15 |
| who represent the districts that are home to the Illinois | 16 |
| School for the Visually Impaired shall serve as co-chairpersons | 17 |
| of the Task Force; and be it further | 18 |
| RESOLVED, That all members of the Task Force shall serve | 19 |
| without compensation; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the duty of the Task Force is to undertake a | 21 |
| comprehensive and thorough review of the education of and | 22 |
| services available to the blind and visually impaired children | 23 |
| of this State with the intent of making recommendations that |
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| would recognize the need for delivering full educational | 2 |
| services to a blind or visually impaired student, ensure that | 3 |
| schools have the most updated and adequate equipment to provide | 4 |
| services to blind and visually impaired students, and recognize | 5 |
| the need for teachers trained in the unique needs of blind and | 6 |
| visually impaired students; recommending research-based | 7 |
| methods and procedures to develop curricula for blind and | 8 |
| visually impaired students; and providing a comprehensive | 9 |
| review of the needs and operation of all educational entities | 10 |
| providing services to students who are blind or visually | 11 |
| impaired, including the Illinois School for the Visually | 12 |
| Impaired; and be it further | 13 |
| RESOLVED, That the Task Force should look towards states | 14 |
| that have successful, independent, and adequate educational | 15 |
| models for students with visual impairments, such as the | 16 |
| Washington State School for the Blind; and be it further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and the | 18 |
| Department of Human Services shall together administer and | 19 |
| prepare all reports deemed necessary in conjunction with the | 20 |
| Task Force's activities; and be it further | 21 |
| RESOLVED, That the Task Force may request assistance from | 22 |
| any entity necessary or useful for the performance of the Task | 23 |
| Force's duties; and be it further |
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its | 2 |
| recommendations to the General Assembly on or before December | 3 |
| 31, 2008; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 5 |
| delivered to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the | 6 |
| Department of Human Services, the Illinois School for the | 7 |
| Visually Impaired, the Illinois Association of Regional | 8 |
| Superintendents of Schools, the LightHouse for the Blind and | 9 |
| Visually Impaired, the Illinois School for the Visually | 10 |
| Impaired Alumni Association, the National Federation of the | 11 |
| Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Council of the Blind, Early | 12 |
| Intervention, the Illinois Association for Education and | 13 |
| Rehabilitation, the Illinois Vision Leadership Council, the | 14 |
| Philip J. Rock Center, the Helen Keller National Center, the | 15 |
| Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors, Illinois Parents of the | 16 |
| Visually Impaired, the Blind Services Planning Council, the | 17 |
| Illinois School for the Visually Impaired's Advisory Board, the | 18 |
| Visual Disabilities education program at Northern Illinois | 19 |
| University, and the Specialist in Low Vision and Blindness | 20 |
| education program at Illinois State University.
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