HJ0074 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0074 LRB096 14762 MJR 29615 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois and the federal government have the authority to legislate costly and complex changes to elementary and secondary education; and

WHEREAS, The State and federal government frequently advance mandates that are either not funded or under-funded and without specific evidence of the need for such mandate; and

WHEREAS, These unfunded or under-funded mandates are policies that require school district action but do not provide adequate monetary or instructional resources to implement, seriously undermining the ability of school districts to focus their limited resources on appropriate educational activities; and

WHEREAS, Compliance with new mandates places the financial responsibility of implementing State mandates onto the local taxpayers, which has resulted in a shift of percentage funding from the State, from 37.8% in 2000 to 34.6% in 2008; and

WHEREAS, In the past 17 years, 105 unfunded or under-funded education bills have become law; and

WHEREAS, Specifically, in 2009 alone, the General Assembly passed 74 education bills to the Governor, 19 of which, or, nearly 26% were new unfunded or under-funded mandates on school districts; and

WHEREAS, The most costly under-funded mandates on school districts are special education services, which in 1975 the federal government pledged to incrementally fund up to 40% of the states' excess cost of the mandated programs, but never upheld its commitment; and

WHEREAS, The 2008 Illinois State Board of Education School Districts' Special Education and Expenditures and Receipts Report showed that local school districts have to fill a $900 million gap in annual special education funding that is beyond their special education tax levy because of inadequate State and federal funding to meet the special education mandate; and

WHEREAS, Either legislating unfunded or under-funded mandates must end or more effort should be made to follow the dictates of the Illinois State Mandates Act to make the necessary appropriations for the incurred costs attributable to all state mandates that are directed to school districts; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that a Blue Ribbon Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education Mandates be established within the State Board of Education to review state mandates on school districts to determine whether the mandates (1) are necessary for the health and safety of students in compliance with federal laws, (2) are essential to the academic integrity of Illinois public school systems, (3) exceed federal requirements, or (4) superfluous to the core academic programs of Illinois school districts; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Committee shall include members from organizations representing the interests of school administrators, school board members, teacher unions, regional superintendents, vocational education, the business community, and State Board of Education personnel, and others as deemed necessary by the Committee; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Committee shall make recommendations to the General Assembly on the elimination of unnecessary and costly mandates in the School Code and the Administrative Code by March 31, 2010.