Full Text of HR0351 100th General Assembly
HR0351 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, May 17, 2017 will be the 63rd anniversary of the | 3 | | 1954 landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. | 4 | | Board of Education, which found that "separate educational | 5 | | facilities are inherently unequal" and banned separate public | 6 | | schools for black and white students; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Despite this landmark ruling, many schools and | 8 | | districts throughout the United States have been alleged to | 9 | | still be "separate" due, in part, to racially and economically | 10 | | isolated housing patterns in many areas; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, According to a 2013 Economic Policy Institute | 12 | | report entitled "For Public Schools, Segregation Then, | 13 | | Segregation Since", "[t]oday, African American students are | 14 | | more isolated than they were 40 years ago, while most education | 15 | | policymakers and reformers have abandoned integration as a | 16 | | cause"; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, A considerable body of research indicates that | 18 | | racial and economic diversity in schools is one of the few | 19 | | education reforms that is proven to improve the educational | 20 | | achievement and life opportunities of minority and low-income | 21 | | children systemically; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The best way to ensure that public educational | 2 | | resources are equitably distributed among all children is to | 3 | | allow all children access to the same resources in the same | 4 | | schools; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Diverse schools promote better educational | 6 | | outcomes and provide benefits for all students; research has | 7 | | confirmed that African-American and Hispanic students perform | 8 | | better on tests in schools that are diverse, while school | 9 | | diversity has no negative impact on the test scores of white | 10 | | students; in addition, studies have found that prolonged | 11 | | contact with racially diverse students may have significant | 12 | | effects on students' complex thinking, and a more diverse | 13 | | classroom environment encourages critical thinking in all | 14 | | students, as well as improves high school graduation and | 15 | | college matriculation rates for minority students at those | 16 | | schools; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Beyond educational benefits, diverse schools | 18 | | provide other societal advantages, including improving | 19 | | cross-racial understanding and reducing racial prejudice; | 20 | | diverse schools also improve the potential for reducing | 21 | | residential lack of diversity; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Diverse schools are linked to a host of positive | 23 | | learning outcomes for white students as well, including the |
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| 1 | | promotion of critical thinking and problem-solving skills and | 2 | | higher academic achievement; attending diverse schools is also | 3 | | linked to social and psychological advantages for white | 4 | | students, including more friendships across racial lines and | 5 | | higher levels of cultural competence, a critical advantage in | 6 | | the modern workplace and today's global economy; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Diverse schools are essential to prepare all | 8 | | children to live and work together in a nation in which | 9 | | African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific | 10 | | Islanders, and other non-whites will collectively comprise the | 11 | | majority of the United States population by 2042; therefore, be | 12 | | it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 15 | | urge the Mayor of the City of Chicago to officially recognize | 16 | | that these practices are hurting the City and the future of our | 17 | | children and to recognize the importance and benefits of school | 18 | | diversity and to set it as a priority when making decisions | 19 | | regarding funding, transportation, admissions policies and | 20 | | practices, creation of new schools, school rezoning, and other | 21 | | pertinent decisions, and to commit to having a strategy in each | 22 | | district for overcoming impediments to school diversity; and be | 23 | | it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the Mayor of the City of Chicago.
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