HR0477 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0477 LRB099 12277 MST 35261 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Committee of the Illinois P-20 Council engaged with numerous and varied stakeholders during a year-long process to identify strategies and key success factors for supporting postsecondary education and career readiness; and

WHEREAS, These strategies and key success factors included a systemic approach to personalized learning plans, ensuring high school graduation signifies readiness for college and careers, ensuring opportunities for students to earn early college credit, allowing for the development of innovative approaches for students to earn and transfer high school and postsecondary credit, and providing all students with career exploration supports and work-based learning opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Student readiness for postsecondary education and careers cannot be reduced to a single metric, but must instead be understood as a multi-faceted set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that allow students to successfully meet the challenges of college and career and live healthy, productive lives; and

WHEREAS, Raising academic expectations through implementation of the revised Illinois Learning Standards and expanding career education and opportunities through the Illinois Pathways initiative are not divergent strategies, but rather mutually reinforcing ones that, when used together, provide all students with a wider range of individualized, contextualized, realistic, and enriching learning opportunities; and

WHEREAS, By transitioning away from seat time and enabling students to master skills at their own pace, competency-based learning systems allow students to progress as they demonstrate mastery of academic content and also create multiple pathways to graduation, take advantage of learning opportunities outside of school hours and walls, and help identify opportunities to target interventions to meet the specific learning needs of students; and

WHEREAS, Various Illinois community colleges and their feeder school districts have demonstrated that co-designed and co-developed programs that provide developmental education to 12th grade students who are not prepared for college-level instruction can dramatically reduce remediation rates and thereby provide significant savings to families and taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, While dual credit is an important strategy for promoting college and career readiness and Illinois student participation in dual credit courses continues to increase, the ability of Illinois high school students to access dual credit courses in core academic courses is frequently limited by a high school's lack of teachers with a master's degree in the appropriate content area; and

WHEREAS, Career pathway programs that include attainment of core academic competencies, attainment of career-oriented competencies, professional learning via internships or other similar opportunities, and attainment of industry-relevant credentials enable students to accelerate advancement toward individualized career goals and enable students to make informed postsecondary education and career decisions; and

WHEREAS, Increased communication and collaboration across governmental, educational, and business entities must be leveraged to provide students with clear, consistent expectations, more navigable college and career preparation, and better targeted supports to meet individual student needs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the State Superintendent of Education and the executive directors of the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish an advisory committee to provide recommendations that address:

(1) proposed new, competency-based high school graduation requirements based on student proficiency of identified competencies aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards;

(2) multiple methods, including, but not limited to, standardized assessments, for determining student proficiency levels on the identified competencies;

(3) mapping of student proficiency levels to achievement of identified competencies;

(4) the required role of licensed teachers in determining student proficiency levels on identified competencies, and the permissive role of non-licensed professionals; and

(5) acceptance of competency-based high school diplomas by postsecondary and financial aid institutions; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission are encouraged to deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February 1, 2016 for pilot implementation of competency-based graduation requirements, including proposed legislation for the implementation of said recommendations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That that the State Superintendent and the executive directors of the Illinois Community College Board, Board of Higher Education, and Illinois Student Assistance Commission are encouraged to establish an advisory committee to provide recommendations for the statewide scaling of programs co-developed by community colleges and their feeder high schools that provide developmental education to 12th grade students who are not prepared for college-level instruction in order to significantly reduce statewide remedial education rates; the recommendations are encouraged to address:

(1) the use of multiple measures in high school to determine student preparation for college-level instruction;

(2) the appropriate timing of determinations of college readiness during the 11th grade year to support placement into appropriate course work during 12th grade;

(3) the use of curriculum and assessments co-developed by high school and postsecondary education faculty; and

(4) the development of statewide model instructional supports, including contextualized, career pathway-related, instructional supports addressing English Language Arts and mathematics competencies; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission are encouraged to deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February 1, 2016 for the implementation of said policies and programs and proposed legislation for implementation of said recommendations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, in consultation with appropriate stakeholders, are encouraged to enter into an intergovernmental agreement by June 30, 2016 for the joint establishment of a program that will incentivize and accelerate the delivery of professional development and continuing education for high school teachers that will allow them to qualify as instructors for dual credit courses in high-need subject areas and locations within the State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this program be encouraged to include at least a common statewide application for high school teachers, commitments from teacher preparation providers to develop cohort models appropriate for high school teachers, and other supports for accelerated higher education delivery models; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the agencies participating in the Illinois Pathways Interagency Committee ("IPIC"), which was formed by intergovernmental agreement among the State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Department of Employment Security (the "IPIC Agencies"), are encouraged to establish one or more advisory committees that address:

(1) the requirements for awarding career pathway endorsements in industry sectors prioritized by IPIC on a high school diploma;

(2) opportunities for expanded access to career pathway endorsements, including programs available outside a student's resident school district;

(3) increased recognition of career pathway endorsements by Illinois public community colleges and universities for course placement, advising, and college credit; and

(4) appropriate supports from State agencies, employers, and the public-private partnerships supported by IPIC known as STEM Learning Exchanges for student attainment of career pathway endorsements; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February 1, 2016 for the implementation of a system for awarding career pathway endorsements and related policies and supports, including proposed legislation for implementation of said recommendations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to establish one or more advisory committees that address:

(1) grade-level expectations for education and career development and planning;

(2) methods for ensuring all public middle and high school students have access to web-based, individualized tools to plan for postsecondary education, careers, and financial aid, including the alignment of such processes with high school consumer education instruction;

(3) the development of a financial literacy program for students and families that aligns postsecondary education and career choices with likely financial outcomes to support economically sound decision-making;

(4) the incorporation of individualized planning for postsecondary education, careers, and financial aid into high school consumer education instruction; and

(5) methods for increasing FAFSA completion rates; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the IPIC Agencies are encouraged to deliver recommendations to the General Assembly on or before February 1, 2016 for the implementation of said policies and programs, including proposed legislation for implementation of said recommendations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the IPIC Agencies.