HR0361 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0361 LRB098 12122 MST 45985 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois State Constitution provides that the fundamental goal of the people of this State is the educational development of all persons and that the State shall provide for an efficient system of high quality public educational institutions and services; and

WHEREAS, It is the intent and policy of the State of Illinois as previously established by the General Assembly to make the individual school in a school district the essential unit for educational governance; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Public School (CPS) system estimates that it will have a budget deficit exceeding $1 billion for its fiscal year 2014 budget; and

WHEREAS, CPS indicates that it needs to close, co-locate, and turnaround underutilized and underperforming schools in an effort to attempt to close the estimated fiscal year 2014 budget deficit; and

WHEREAS, After providing a preliminary list of 129 schools, and participating in a series of public meetings regarding the schools on the preliminary list, CPS, on March 21, 2013, announced proposed actions involving 114 schools; and

WHEREAS, A major factor contributing to the underutilization of CPS schools is the expansion of school capacity; currently CPS has only about 1% fewer students than it did in 1991 but has almost 100 more school facilities; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 50,000 CPS students will be impacted by overall school actions; and

WHEREAS, The CPS school closing plan will impact 6,479 students with disabilities, each of whom has an Individualized Educational Plan; and

WHEREAS, School closings often have profound ramifications for the educational experience of students and the surrounding community, as numerous studies have shown that when a school is closed or negative actions take place, student academic outcomes are negatively impacted, safety concerns are increased as children have to travel farther and through sometimes dangerous territory, and parental and community confidence in the school system is shaken; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Chicago Public School system to actively engage parents, local school councils, educators, and communities affected by the proposed school actions prior to taking final action on any schools; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Chicago Public Schools system is urged to provide information to families affected by the proposed school actions and to the Illinois General Assembly on cost savings from planned school closings, extra security and safety programs for students, as well as equipment upgrades for "welcoming" schools prior to final action on the school closings issue by the Chicago Board of Education; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the City of Chicago School District 299.