HJ0036 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0036 LRB099 10701 MST 30976 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois has required its public schools to provide bilingual education services to English Learners (EL) since 1972; today, more than 600 school districts serve more than 205,000 language-minority children with bilingual programs, with the goal of transitioning all English Learners into mainstream classrooms in 3 years or less; although most EL students are native speakers of Spanish, EL enrollees are native speakers of 139 different languages; and

WHEREAS, Illinois bilingual educators have been remarkably innovative, professional, and successful; despite many serious obstacles to success, two-thirds of bilingual students attain English proficiency; only 2.7% of language-minority students drop out before completing transitional bilingual programs; students who gain English proficiency meet or exceed the Illinois Standards Achievement Test performance of native English speakers in reading and mathematics for grades 6, 7, and 8; about 7,400 teachers hold some type of EL certification; and

WHEREAS, The State Board of Education adopted new learning standards in 2010 and is implementing an aligned assessment this year; it is important to know how these changes are impacting ELs, as well as the issues being discussed in Congress regarding the rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and

WHEREAS, Most Illinois counties now have EL enrollees; and

WHEREAS, Illinois adopted the State Seal of Biliteracy, to be awarded beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, promoting the importance of the development of proficiency in 2 or more languages; ELs arrive at schools with linguistic assets in their home languages, which, if developed, can be a basis for biliteracy; while State law requires services for ELs, including developing English proficiency, it does not require the maintenance and development of the home language; unsupported, proficiency in the home language can be lost over time; subsequently, like other students, ELs often take a foreign language in high school; we must study how to better develop home languages and promote biliteracy in conjunction with services for ELs; and

WHEREAS, Computers are now in widespread use in public schools, but primarily in mainstream classrooms; the potential of modern technology has yet to be harnessed in bilingual and EL classrooms and must be studied on how best to be incorporated into EL programs; and

WHEREAS, Teachers, schools, and districts have developed highly effective instructional strategies that may not be widely known; it is time to comprehensively identify those best practices so that all programs may use them; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Bilingual Advisory Task Force, consisting of the following members: (1) 2 individuals appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom shall be a member of the House of Representatives, and the other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (2) 2 individuals appointed by the Senate President, one of whom shall be a member of the Senate, and the other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (3) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House; (4) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; (5) the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Illinois, or his or her designee; (6) 3 educators who hold a professional educator license endorsed for bilingual education or English as a second language from 3 different school districts in the northern, central, and southern region of the State appointed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate; (7) 3 educators who hold a professional educator licensed endorsed for bilingual education or English as a second language from 3 different school districts in the northern, central, and southern region of the State appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House; (8) one administrator of a school district with an English Learner student population of at least 20% appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; (9) the Executive Director of a statewide association representing principals, or his or her designee, who is the principal of a school in a school district with an English Learner student population of at least 20%; (10) the President of an association representing principals in a city with a population of more than 500,000, or his or her designee, who is the principal of a school in a school district with an English Learner student population of at least 20%; (11) one school district administrator of bilingual education programs that meet the requirements under 23 Ill. Admin. Code 228.35(d) appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; and (12) the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Co-Chairs of the Bilingual Advisory Task Force may add additional non-voting members to the Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall evaluate whether the framework for existing bilingual education, including Transitional Bilingual Education programs and the Transitional Program of Instruction, is appropriate for learning today; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall evaluate the use of learning technologies in bilingual education to ensure that the same techniques, types of software, and hardware are used to educate English Learners as are provided today for mainstream classrooms; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall examine the competencies, experience, and coursework necessary to teach in a setting in which English Learners are involved; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make recommendations that will ensure that all bilingual programs focus on the parallel goals of achieving academic parity for English Learners while, at the same time, accelerating English proficiency so that bilingual students are prepared to perform well in the mainstream classroom; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make recommendations regarding whether the existing requirement and supporting regulations for bilingual education lead to deployment of all necessary educational, technological, and human resources to support the academic success of bilingual students; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall seek input from stakeholders and members of the public on issues and possible improvements to bilingual education in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide administrative support for the Bilingual Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Task Force submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 15, 2015; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the General Assembly, the Governor, the Chairperson of the State Board of Education, and the State Superintendent of Education; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide a copy of this resolution to school districts in the State.