HR0917 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0917 LRB099 15912 GRL 40228 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, 2014 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1954 landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which found that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and banned separate public schools for black and white students; and

WHEREAS, Despite this landmark ruling, many schools and districts throughout the United States have been alleged to still be "separate" due, in part, to racially and economically isolated housing patterns in many areas; and

WHEREAS, According to a 2013 Economic Policy Institute report entitled "For Public Schools, Segregation Then, Segregation Since", "[t]oday, African American students are more isolated than they were 40 years ago, while most education policymakers and reformers have abandoned integration as a cause"; and

WHEREAS, A considerable body of research indicates that racial and economic diversity in schools is one of the few education reforms that is proven to improve the educational achievement and life opportunities of minority and low-income children systemically; and

WHEREAS, The best way to ensure that public educational resources are equitably distributed among all children is to allow all children access to the same resources in the same schools; and

WHEREAS, Diverse schools promote better educational outcomes and provide benefits for all students; research has confirmed that African-American and Hispanic students perform better on tests in schools that are diverse, while school diversity has no negative impact on the test scores of white students; in addition, studies have found that prolonged contact with racially diverse students may have significant effects on students' complex thinking, and a more diverse classroom environment encourages critical thinking in all students, as well as improves high school graduation and college matriculation rates for minority students at those schools; and

WHEREAS, Beyond educational benefits, diverse schools provide other societal advantages, including improving cross-racial understanding and reducing racial prejudice; diverse schools also improve the potential for reducing residential lack of diversity; and

WHEREAS, Diverse schools are linked to a host of positive learning outcomes for white students as well, including the promotion of critical thinking and problem-solving skills and higher academic achievement; attending diverse schools is also linked to social and psychological advantages for white students, including more friendships across racial lines and higher levels of cultural competence, a critical advantage in the modern workplace and today's global economy; and

WHEREAS, Diverse schools are essential to prepare all children to live and work together in a nation in which African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other non-whites will collectively comprise the majority of the United States population by 2042; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois State Board of Education to officially recognize the importance and benefits of school diversity and to set it as a priority when making decisions regarding admissions policies and practices, creation of new schools, school rezoning, and other pertinent decisions and to commit to having a strategy in each district for overcoming impediments to school diversity; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the Illinois State Board of Education.