July 29, 2011
To the Honorable
Members of the Illinois Senate,
97th
General Assembly:
In accordance with Section 9(e) of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1744 with a specific
recommendation for change.
I commend the sponsors of this bill
on their efforts to increase the amount of quality education children in
Illinois receive by requiring the first and last days of school to be no less
than five clock hours.
However, after hearing from many
interested parties regarding this legislation, it is necessary for me to return
this bill with recommended changes. With the school year set to begin shortly,
the calendar for the 2011-2012 school year has already been set. While I am
supportive of the goal and intentions of this legislation, requiring schools to
upset the established calendar at this late date will impose hardship on
students, teachers, and parents. Accordingly, a change to the effective date of
this bill will afford school districts in the state the proper time to set
their school calendars and allow this legislation to fully benefit the children
of the state of Illinois.
Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the
Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1744, entitled “AN
ACT concerning education.”, with the following specific recommendation for
change:
on page 41, by replacing lines
23 and 24 with the following:
“Section 99.
Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2012.”.
With this change,
Senate Bill 1744 will have my approval. I respectfully request your
concurrence.
Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor