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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 36

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois has required its public schools to
3provide bilingual education services to English Learners (EL)
4since 1972; today, more than 600 school districts serve more
5than 205,000 language-minority children with bilingual
6programs, with the goal of transitioning all English Learners
7into mainstream classrooms in 3 years or less; although most EL
8students are native speakers of Spanish, EL enrollees are
9native speakers of 139 different languages; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Illinois bilingual educators have been remarkably
11innovative, professional, and successful; despite many serious
12obstacles to success, two-thirds of bilingual students attain
13English proficiency; only 2.7% of language-minority students
14drop out before completing transitional bilingual programs;
15students who gain English proficiency meet or exceed the
16Illinois Standards Achievement Test performance of native
17English speakers in reading and mathematics for grades 6, 7,
18and 8; about 7,400 teachers hold some type of EL certification;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, The State Board of Education adopted new learning
21standards in 2010 and is implementing an aligned assessment
22this year; it is important to know how these changes are
23impacting ELs, as well as the issues being discussed in

 

 

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1Congress regarding the rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary
2Education Act; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Most Illinois counties now have EL enrollees; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Illinois adopted the State Seal of Biliteracy, to
5be awarded beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, promoting
6the importance of the development of proficiency in 2 or more
7languages; ELs arrive at schools with linguistic assets in
8their home languages, which, if developed, can be a basis for
9biliteracy; while State law requires services for ELs,
10including developing English proficiency, it does not require
11the maintenance and development of the home language;
12unsupported, proficiency in the home language can be lost over
13time; subsequently, like other students, ELs often take a
14foreign language in high school; we must study how to better
15develop home languages and promote biliteracy in conjunction
16with services for ELs; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Computers are now in widespread use in public
18schools, but primarily in mainstream classrooms; the potential
19of modern technology has yet to be harnessed in bilingual and
20EL classrooms and must be studied on how best to be
21incorporated into EL programs; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Teachers, schools, and districts have developed

 

 

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1highly effective instructional strategies that may not be
2widely known; it is time to comprehensively identify those best
3practices so that all programs may use them; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
6SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Bilingual
7Advisory Task Force, consisting of the following members: (1) 2
8individuals appointed by the Speaker of the House, one of whom
9shall be a member of the House of Representatives, and the
10other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (2) 2 individuals appointed
11by the Senate President, one of whom shall be a member of the
12Senate, and the other whom shall serve as Co-Chair; (3) one
13member of the House of Representatives appointed by the
14Minority Leader of the House; (4) one member of the Senate
15appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; (5) 3 educators
16who hold a professional educator license endorsed for bilingual
17education or English as a second language from 3 different
18school districts in the northern, central, and southern region
19of the State appointed by the State Superintendent of
20Education; (6) 3 educators who hold a professional educator
21license endorsed for bilingual education or English as a second
22language from 3 different school districts in the northern,
23central, and southern region of the State appointed by the
24State Superintendent of Education; (7) one administrator of a
25school district with an English Learner student population of

 

 

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1at least 20% appointed by the State Superintendent of
2Education; (8) the Executive Director of a statewide
3association representing principals, or his or her designee,
4who is the principal of a school in a school district with an
5English Learner student population of at least 20% appointed by
6the State Superintendent of Education; (9) the President of an
7association representing principals in a city with a population
8of more than 500,000, or his or her designee, who is the
9principal of a school in a school district with an English
10Learner student population of at least 20% appointed by the
11State Superintendent of Education; (10) one school district
12administrator of bilingual education programs that meet the
13requirements under 23 Ill. Admin. Code 228.35(d) appointed by
14the State Superintendent of Education; (11) the State
15Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; and (12)
16the Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board
17or his or her designee; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
19first meet at the call of the State Superintendent of Education
20and following meetings shall meet at the call of the Co-Chairs;
21and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, A quorum of the Bilingual Advisory Task Force
23shall consist of a majority of the members of the Bilingual
24Advisory Task Force; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the Co-Chairs of the Bilingual Advisory Task
2Force may add additional non-voting members to the Task Force;
3and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
5evaluate whether the framework for existing bilingual
6education, including Transitional Bilingual Education programs
7and the Transitional Program of Instruction, is appropriate for
8learning today; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
10evaluate the use of learning technologies in bilingual
11education to ensure that the same techniques, types of
12software, and hardware are used to educate English Learners as
13are provided today for mainstream classrooms; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall
15examine the competencies, experience, and coursework necessary
16to teach in a setting in which English Learners are involved;
17and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make
19recommendations that will ensure that all bilingual programs
20focus on the parallel goals of achieving academic parity for
21English Learners while, at the same time, accelerating English

 

 

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1proficiency so that bilingual students are prepared to perform
2well in the mainstream classroom; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall make
4recommendations regarding whether the existing requirement and
5supporting regulations for bilingual education lead to
6deployment of all necessary educational, technological, and
7human resources to support the academic success of bilingual
8students; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Advisory Task Force shall seek
10input from stakeholders and members of the public on issues and
11possible improvements to bilingual education in Illinois; and
12be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide
14administrative support for the Bilingual Task Force; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That the Bilingual Task Force submit its findings
17and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by
18December 15, 2015; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20delivered to the General Assembly, the Governor, the
21Chairperson of the State Board of Education, and the State

 

 

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1Superintendent of Education; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall provide a
3copy of this resolution to school districts in the State.