Full Text of HJR0095 102nd General Assembly
HJ0095 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HJ0095 | | LRB102 28153 RJT 40860 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, School districts receive funding from the State | 3 | | as determined by Section 18-8.15 of the School Code; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Under paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of Section | 5 | | 18-8.15 of the School Code, school districts may apply funds | 6 | | received to any fund in which the school district is | 7 | | authorized to make expenditures by law; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, State funding under Section 18-8.15 of the School | 9 | | Code may not be allocated proportionally or as needed to | 10 | | schools within City of Chicago School District 299; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Some schools in City of Chicago School District | 12 | | 299 are facing staffing issues due to a lack of full-time | 13 | | teachers; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Some schools in City of Chicago School District | 15 | | 299 have reported elevated levels of lead in the school's | 16 | | water; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, 50 schools in City of Chicago School District 299 | 18 | | were closed in 2013, with the long-term effects of those | 19 | | closures still uncertain; and |
| | | HJ0095 | - 2 - | LRB102 28153 RJT 40860 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Some schools in City of Chicago School District | 2 | | 299 have failed health inspections in previous years, | 3 | | including the finding of rats and rodent droppings; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In 2019, it was estimated that one in three | 5 | | schools in City of Chicago School District 299 had year-long | 6 | | teacher vacancies; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, In 2020, City of Chicago School District 299 | 8 | | lacked resources to provide for modern e-learning to all | 9 | | students at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, many students | 11 | | in City of Chicago School District 299 did not have access to | 12 | | the Internet to access e-learning resources; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Attendance for e-learning at some high schools in | 14 | | City of Chicago School District 299 fell below 50%; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In January 2022, students walked out of class in | 16 | | response to the forced reopening of in-person education; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In March 2022, City of Chicago School District | 18 | | 299 reported an unspent amount of approximately 69% of federal | 19 | | funds from the American Rescue Plan, funds that were budgeted | 20 | | for expenditure for the year; and |
| | | HJ0095 | - 3 - | LRB102 28153 RJT 40860 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, City of Chicago School District 299 has continued | 2 | | to receive additional pandemic-related federal and State | 3 | | funding for the 2022-2023 school year, yet struggles to fill | 4 | | new interventionist positions at each of its schools; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In March 2022, City of Chicago School District | 6 | | 299 reported that total school enrollment has been declining, | 7 | | which under student-based budgeting has led to the loss of | 8 | | funding for schools with declining enrollment; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The 2020 United States Census indicates that | 10 | | around 450,000 school-age students live in the City of | 11 | | Chicago; however, only 330,411 students were enrolled at the | 12 | | start of the 2021-2022 school year; therefore, be it | 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 15 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Auditor General is directed | 16 | | in accordance with subsection (b) of Section 3 of Article VIII | 17 | | of the Illinois Constitution to make an additional report | 18 | | covering how City of Chicago School District 299 allocates | 19 | | funds to schools provided to City of Chicago School District | 20 | | 299 by the State Board of Education under Section 18-8.15 of | 21 | | the School Code and through other appropriations of funds to | 22 | | determine whether some schools have been receiving more |
| | | HJ0095 | - 4 - | LRB102 28153 RJT 40860 r |
|
| 1 | | resources than others; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That the additional report shall also cover the | 3 | | dropout rate per year of students, the number of students | 4 | | during the COVID-19 pandemic who are no longer enrolled in | 5 | | City of Chicago School District 299, how the school closures | 6 | | in 2013 affected funding and students, any additional plans to | 7 | | aid schools that are failing to provide an adequate education | 8 | | to their students, and any current plans to re-enroll students | 9 | | and assist students who have been impacted by the loss of | 10 | | in-person instruction during the pandemic; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That the additional report is not a formal | 12 | | examination of City of Chicago School District 299's | 13 | | accounting records, financial situation, or compliance with | 14 | | some other set of standards; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That we urge City of Chicago School District 299 | 16 | | to cooperate with the Auditor General in the creation of the | 17 | | Auditor General's additional report.
|
|