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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Administrators nationwide are facing teacher | ||||||
| 3 | shortages; in a Frontline Education study that polled | ||||||
| 4 | approximately 1,200 school and district leaders in the | ||||||
| 5 | country, it was revealed that two out of every three | ||||||
| 6 | respondents reported a teacher shortage, and 75% of city | ||||||
| 7 | school districts are dealing with a shortage; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Illinois is a prime example of this teacher | ||||||
| 9 | shortage with over 4,000 teaching positions in Illinois left | ||||||
| 10 | unfilled as of October 2023; a survey report released by the | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents revealed that | ||||||
| 12 | over 90% of schools in the State reported having issues with | ||||||
| 13 | teacher shortages in the 2023 to 2024 school year; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, ISBE is designated as a sponsor of an Exchange | ||||||
| 15 | Visitor Program by the United States Department of State; | ||||||
| 16 | through this designation, ISBE can sponsor teachers from other | ||||||
| 17 | countries to teach in Illinois through the Exchange Visitor | ||||||
| 18 | Program for Teachers; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, The visiting teachers in this program are | ||||||
| 20 | required to have at least two years of teaching experience, | ||||||
| 21 | and they must make an initial one to three-year commitment to | ||||||
| 22 | teach in Illinois; if the school agrees to rehire them, they | ||||||
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| 1 | can teach up to five years with a J-1 visa if they obtain a | ||||||
| 2 | program extension approval from the U.S. Department of State; | ||||||
| 3 | and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Through this program, ISBE has developed | ||||||
| 5 | partnerships with foreign entities to assist in the | ||||||
| 6 | recruitment of international teachers; these partnerships have | ||||||
| 7 | been developed as a means of promoting multi-cultural and | ||||||
| 8 | educational understanding, of creating a foundation for | ||||||
| 9 | educating and connecting Illinois students, schools, | ||||||
| 10 | communities, and educators with other countries, and for | ||||||
| 11 | building support for bilingual education; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Despite the benefits of this program, ISBE is | ||||||
| 13 | currently only working with Spain, Mexico, Morocco, and Poland | ||||||
| 14 | to find teachers for the visiting international teachers' | ||||||
| 15 | program; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Other states that participate in the Exchange | ||||||
| 17 | Visitor Program for Teachers have partnered with countries | ||||||
| 18 | beyond those currently in partnership with Illinois, and those | ||||||
| 19 | additional partnerships include Taiwan, Germany, and France; | ||||||
| 20 | and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, As demonstrated by these partnerships between | ||||||
| 22 | other states and countries, there is a wider pool of | ||||||
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| 1 | international teachers than the one that Illinois is currently | ||||||
| 2 | utilizing; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, To fill the teaching vacancies in the State, it | ||||||
| 4 | is imperative for Illinois to expand the number of countries | ||||||
| 5 | with which Illinois collaborates in the Exchange Visitor | ||||||
| 6 | Program for Teachers; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 8 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 9 | we urge the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to | ||||||
| 10 | partner with more countries for the Visiting International | ||||||
| 11 | Teachers Program to find teachers to fill vacant teaching | ||||||
| 12 | positions in the public schools in Illinois. | ||||||