SR0107 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0107 LRB102 16120 LAW 21496 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Approximately half of Illinois high school graduates enrolling as full-time freshmen in Illinois public community colleges require remedial education; and

WHEREAS, Illinois employers report that recent high school and postsecondary institutional graduates often lack the critical skills necessary to succeed in high-demand and growing occupational areas, and that they are unable to find qualified workers to meet their industry's needs; and

WHEREAS, Student readiness for postsecondary education and careers cannot be reduced to a single metric but must instead be understood as a multifaceted set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that allow students to successfully meet the challenges of postsecondary education and career in order to live healthy, productive lives; and

WHEREAS, Enabling high school students to engage in career and postsecondary education development activities and incentivizing achievement in career-oriented education, particularly in high-demand industry sectors, promotes postsecondary and career readiness and facilitates better-informed postsecondary education decisions; and

WHEREAS, Aligning support from State agencies, school districts, postsecondary education providers, employers, and other public and private organizations will lead to the development and implementation of a robust and coordinated postsecondary education and career readiness system in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act establishes a voluntary system for school districts to award college and career pathway endorsements on high school diplomas; the endorsement demonstrates students' readiness for college and careers, completion of instruction and professional learning experiences in a selected career interest area, and incentivizes career exploration and development, particularly in high-demand career fields; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act takes a student-centered and competency-based approach to create four strategies to help students prepare for postsecondary and career opportunities, which include offering a Postsecondary and Career Expectations framework (PaCE), piloting competency-based high school graduation requirements, supporting students to avoid remediation in college through targeted math instruction during their senior year, and creating a new system for school districts to award college and career pathways endorsements on high school diplomas; and

WHEREAS, The Postsecondary and Career Expectations framework outlines what students should know and actions they should take from middle school through 12th grade to select the right postsecondary option, prepare for careers, and access financial aid opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Illinois enacted the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act to deploy a number of strategies to prepare more students for meaningful career opportunities by supporting postsecondary and career planning, promoting and incentivizing competency-based learning programs, reducing remedial education rates, increasing alignment between K-12 and postsecondary education systems, and implementing college and career pathway systems; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage high schools across the State to participate in the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Program to help address key barriers to the successful transition of Illinois high school students into college and careers.