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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, City of Chicago School District 299 is one of the
3only school districts in this State with an appointed, not an
4elected, school board; and
 
5    WHEREAS, For 15 years, City of Chicago School District 299
6has implemented a staggering number of reforms, including
7probation, student retention, school closings, charters,
8turnarounds, and the wholesale firing of 1,300 educators in the
9summer of 2011; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Many of these reforms are controversial and
11require a robust democratic discussion and decision-making
12process; and
 
13    WHEREAS, For the past 15 years, citizens have had little to
14no voice in school policy; and
 
15    WHEREAS, All children must be able to walk across the
16street to receive a world class education; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
19SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Chicago Educational
20Governance Task Force is created for the purpose of

 

 

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1recommending the best structure and procedure for the
2governance of City of Chicago School District 299 in order to
3protect the welfare of the students of the City of Chicago; and
4be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That The Task Force shall be composed of the
6following members:
7        (1) two members each appointed by the Speaker of the
8    House of Representatives and the Minority Leader of the
9    House of Representatives, at least one of whom must either
10    be a member of the Elementary & Secondary Education
11    Committee or a member whose representative district
12    includes a portion of City of Chicago School District 299;
13        (2) two members each appointed by the President of the
14    Senate and the Minority Leader of the Senate, at least one
15    of whom must either be a member of the Education Committee
16    or a member whose legislative district includes a portion
17    of City of Chicago School District 299;
18        (3) two representatives of Chicago school community
19    organizations with past involvement in school governance
20    issues, appointed by the Speaker of the House of
21    Representatives;
22        (4) two representatives of Chicago school community
23    organizations with past involvement in school governance
24    issues, appointed by the President of the Senate;
25        (5) the Chief Executive Officer of City of Chicago

 

 

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1    School District 299 or her or his designee;
2        (6) the President of the Chicago Board of Education or
3    her or his designee;
4        (7) the President of the Chicago Teachers Union or his
5    or her designee;
6        (8) the president of the association representing
7    principals in the schools of the district or his or her
8    designee; and
9        (9) the student representative from the Chicago Board
10    of Education or his or her designee; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives
12shall appoint one of the appointed House members as a
13co-chairperson of the Chicago Educational Governance Task
14Force, and the President of the Senate shall appoint one of the
15appointed Senate members as a co-chairperson of the Chicago
16Educational Governance Task Force; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That members appointed by the legislative
18leaders shall be appointed for the duration of the Chicago
19Educational Governance Task Force; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That in the event of a vacancy, the appointment
21to fill the vacancy shall be made by the legislative leader of
22the same chamber and party as the leader who made the original
23appointment; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall serve on
2a pro bono basis; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall aid in
4the gathering of pertinent information on the impact of various
5school governance structures, including without limitation an
6elected representative school board and mayoral control, as
7well as gathering and analyzing data about the district's
8current governance structure; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its
10recommendation as to which governance structure is best
11designed to serve the students of the City of Chicago to the
12General Assembly on or before May 30, 2012; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14delivered to the Chief Executive Officer of City of Chicago
15School District 299, the Chicago Board of Education, and the
16President of the Chicago Teachers Union.