Full Text of HJR0136 95th General Assembly
HJ0136 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HJ0136 |
|
LRB095 21570 NHT 51556 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, A charter school is a public school opened and | 3 |
| operated by community organizations, universities, | 4 |
| foundations, and school teachers with its own unique mission | 5 |
| and focus, set by its board in accordance with the Charter | 6 |
| Schools Law, which provides schools with autonomy in exchange | 7 |
| for greater accountability; and
| 8 |
| WHEREAS, In 1996, the General Assembly enacted the Charter | 9 |
| Schools Law to "promote new options within the public school | 10 |
| system" and "provide pupils, educators, community members, and | 11 |
| parents with the stimulus to strive for educational | 12 |
| excellence"; and
| 13 |
| WHEREAS, There are now almost 20,000 students attending | 14 |
| this State's charter schools; and
| 15 |
| WHEREAS, Charter schools are a part of public education | 16 |
| reform in this State; charters are not the single solution for | 17 |
| all education needs, but they can offer flexible and innovative | 18 |
| educational techniques and programs to talented professional | 19 |
| educators and community members who otherwise lack an avenue | 20 |
| through which to provide education within the public school | 21 |
| system; therefore, be it
|
|
|
|
HJ0136 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 21570 NHT 51556 r |
|
| 1 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 3 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that, in order to investigate the | 4 |
| effectiveness of charter schools and gather information, there | 5 |
| is convened a task force of the General Assembly that consists | 6 |
| of 5 House members from the majority party appointed by the | 7 |
| Speaker of the House, 4 House members from the minority party | 8 |
| appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, 5 Senate members | 9 |
| from the majority party appointed by the President of the | 10 |
| Senate, and 4 Senate members from the minority party appointed | 11 |
| by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and be it further
| 12 |
| RESOLVED, That this task force shall do the following: | 13 |
| (1) identify the statutory and public policy limitations | 14 |
| that have affected charter school operations; | 15 |
| (2) determine if changes to the charter school sector are | 16 |
| needed to alleviate demand for charter schools throughout this | 17 |
| State; | 18 |
| (3) identify the effectiveness of charter schools under | 19 |
| current law and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; | 20 |
| and | 21 |
| (4) assess current State Board of Education policies and | 22 |
| practices to determine if they are maximizing the effectiveness | 23 |
| of charter schools in increasing teaching and learning | 24 |
| resources for students and teachers and improving performance | 25 |
| in school districts across this State; and be it further
|
|
|
|
HJ0136 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 21570 NHT 51556 r |
|
| 1 |
| RESOLVED, That the task force shall file a report with the | 2 |
| General Assembly concerning its findings on or before October | 3 |
| 15, 2008; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That the task force shall encourage the | 5 |
| participation of as well as entertain questions from | 6 |
| representatives of the following entities and any other | 7 |
| interested parties: the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, | 8 |
| the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Chicago Teachers | 9 |
| Union, Service Employees International Union, the Illinois | 10 |
| Education Association, the Civic Committee of the Commercial | 11 |
| Club of Chicago, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the | 12 |
| Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Planning | 13 |
| Council, the State Board of Education, and the Alternative | 14 |
| Schools Network.
|
|