Full Text of HR0088 101st General Assembly
HR0088 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a significant population | 3 | | for whom English is their second language; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, A proportion of their children have been or will | 5 | | be identified as eligible for special education services; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Parents of children with disabilities have a right | 7 | | and an obligation to actively participate in Individualized | 8 | | Education Program (IEP) meetings; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Parents who are not proficient in English are | 10 | | effectively foreclosed from meaningful participation at IEP | 11 | | meetings due to their inability to fully comprehend vital | 12 | | information provided to them only in English; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has established | 14 | | qualifications and standards of competency for interpreters | 15 | | for the deaf and hard of hearing; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has not established | 17 | | comparable qualifications and standards of competency for | 18 | | language interpreters for, in this instance, parents with | 19 | | limited English proficiency; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Language interpretation services for parents of | 2 | | limited English proficiency at IEP meetings vary widely | 3 | | throughout the State; when services are provided by individuals | 4 | | with unknown levels of proficiency in two languages, without | 5 | | interpreter training, without knowledge of special education | 6 | | terminology, or without an understanding of ethical and | 7 | | cultural considerations, the opportunity to arrange the best | 8 | | possible support for a child with special needs will be | 9 | | limited; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the State of Illinois that | 11 | | all parents, including parents of children with disabilities, | 12 | | and, in this instance, parents of limited English proficiency | 13 | | with children receiving special education services, be | 14 | | afforded the same opportunities to comprehend and effectively | 15 | | participate in IEP meetings on the same footing as similar | 16 | | parents who are English speaking and parents who are deaf or | 17 | | hard of hearing who are provided required, competent | 18 | | interpretation services for the deaf and hard of hearing; | 19 | | therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 21 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 | | we urge the General Assembly to enact legislation to amend The | 23 | | School Code of Illinois, requiring the Illinois State Board of | 24 | | Education to establish criteria, standards, and competencies |
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| 1 | | required of bilingual language interpreters for parents of | 2 | | limited English proficiency who are participating in IEP | 3 | | meetings.
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