HR0832 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0832 LRB104 21600 LAW 37058 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has proposed, and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has agreed to implement, a "Day of Civic Action" to be held on May 1, 2026, an event that repurposes the school day for rallies, field trips to political gatherings, civic engagement lessons, and related activities instead of core academic instruction; and

WHEREAS, CPS students continue to suffer from a chronic failure to reach proficiency in the fundamental "three R's" of education, also known as reading, writing, and arithmetic, despite decades of increased funding and repeated promises of reform; and

WHEREAS, Recent state assessment data from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and SAT show that only approximately 41% of CPS elementary students are proficient in English Language Arts, or reading and writing, and just 26% are proficient in mathematics; and

WHEREAS, These persistently low proficiency rates demonstrate that CPS is failing to deliver basic educational outcomes for hundreds of thousands of Chicago children, many of whom will enter adulthood without the foundational skills necessary for success in college, career, or civic life; and

WHEREAS, At the same time a school day is being converted into a political event, CTU and CPS continue to demand billions of dollars in new state funding, equating into hundreds of millions in the current fiscal year alone and nearly one billion dollars more to reach the "adequacy" benchmark, funding that must come from the limited resources of the Evidence-Based Funding formula and therefore necessarily reduces the amount available for students in every other school district across Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Diverting scarce state education dollars away from suburban, downstate, and other non-Chicago districts to underwrite political activism in Chicago unfairly burdens taxpayers and school districts throughout the State who already receive far less per pupil in funding and whose schools are not plagued by the same chronic underperformance; and

WHEREAS, Illinois families and taxpayers rightly expect public schools to prioritize reading, writing, and arithmetic over a partisan "Day of Civic Action" that pulls students and teachers away from classroom learning; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly condemn the Chicago Teachers Union's proposed "Day of Civic Action", which is to be held on May 1, 2026, as an irresponsible misuse of the school day that places a public sector union's political priorities ahead of the educational needs of Chicago's children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools to abandon this politicized event and instead dedicate every available school day to raising proficiency in the "three R's" of reading, writing, and arithmetic so that every child in Chicago receives the basic education they deserve; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the Governor, the General Assembly, and officials of the Illinois State Board of Education to reject any further billions in new state funding for Chicago Public Schools until the district demonstrates measurable, sustained improvement in the three R's and stops diverting instructional time for political activism; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Chicago Teachers Union, the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education, the Governor, and the State Superintendent of Education as a formal expression of disapproval of this action and a reaffirmation of our commitment to educational excellence for every student in every corner of our state.