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| | HR0816 | | LRB099 14273 HEP 38652 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, Pope Francis, in his address to Congress, called |
| 3 | | upon the American people to come together in aiding those |
| 4 | | "trapped in a cycle of poverty"; in his address, Pope Francis |
| 5 | | asserted that "[t]he Golden Rule . . . reminds us of our |
| 6 | | responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage |
| 7 | | of its development"; and
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| 8 | | WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of this State to ensure |
| 9 | | that every child has access to the high quality education he or |
| 10 | | she deserves, whether in the childcare context, early childhood |
| 11 | | education classrooms, elementary school, middle school, high |
| 12 | | school, or college; and
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| 13 | | WHEREAS, House Resolution 56 of the 96th General Assembly |
| 14 | | urged the State Board of Education to establish a comprehensive |
| 15 | | plan to close the student achievement gap by the 2010-2011 |
| 16 | | school year; and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, Time and time again, schools in low-income |
| 18 | | communities are strapped for resources and are labeled |
| 19 | | underperforming; and
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| 20 | | WHEREAS, The ongoing inequality of education resources is a |
| 21 | | potential human rights violation that needs to be investigated |
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| 1 | | immediately; and
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, Low-income neighborhoods have a clear |
| 3 | | disadvantage in our State's education system and this body |
| 4 | | seeks to be responsive to the needs of these communities; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, A closer look at systemic income-related |
| 6 | | discrimination in our schools is needed to develop a clear |
| 7 | | understanding of the challenges we face and what we can do to |
| 8 | | overcome them; therefore, be it
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| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
| 10 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 11 | | the Task Force on Equality in Education be created to conduct |
| 12 | | an investigation on education services provided to low-income |
| 13 | | families; and be it further
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| 14 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall consist of the |
| 15 | | following members: 3 task force members appointed by the |
| 16 | | Speaker of the House;
3 task force members appointed by the |
| 17 | | Minority Leader of the House; one task force member from the |
| 18 | | Department of Human Rights, appointed by the Governor; one task |
| 19 | | force member from the State Board of Education, appointed by |
| 20 | | the Governor;
and one task force member who is a member of the |
| 21 | | Illinois Federation of Teachers, appointed by the governing |
| 22 | | board of that entity; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the task force be appointed and hold its |
| 2 | | first meeting by March 1, 2016; and be it further
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| 3 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall take voluntary |
| 4 | | assistance and testimony from individuals and professional |
| 5 | | organizations and institutions; and be it further
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| 6 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the task force shall serve |
| 7 | | without compensation; and be it further
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| 8 | | RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Rights shall provide |
| 9 | | staffing and administrative support services to the task force |
| 10 | | upon request; and be it further
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| 11 | | RESOLVED, That the task force shall submit its final report |
| 12 | | to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than December |
| 13 | | 31, 2016.
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