Full Text of SR1370 102nd General Assembly
SR1370 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Literacy is not only critical for individuals' | 3 | | ability to earn income, secure housing, participate in their | 4 | | healthcare, support their children's education, pursue | 5 | | happiness, and navigate the world but also collectively | 6 | | foundational to our community and democracy; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The World Literacy Foundation found that low | 8 | | literacy is a major contributor to inequality and increases | 9 | | the likelihood of poor physical and mental health, workplace | 10 | | accidents, misuse of medication, participation in crime, and | 11 | | welfare dependency, all of which have substantial additional | 12 | | social and economic costs; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Fifty percent of Illinois' third graders met, | 14 | | exceeded, or approached learning standards in English language | 15 | | arts according to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with | 16 | | the other half of students not meeting or partially meeting | 17 | | standards; this represents a ten percentage point swing from | 18 | | the 2019 pre-pandemic rates when 60 percent of students met, | 19 | | exceeded, or approached learning standards; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Thirty-three percent of Illinois' fourth graders | 21 | | achieved proficient or advanced reading scores on the 2022 | 22 | | National Assessment of Educational Progress with another 29 |
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| 1 | | percent meeting basic reading proficiency and the remaining 38 | 2 | | percent scoring below basic reading proficiency; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Research from the Annie E. Casey Institute found | 4 | | that students who are not proficient readers in third grade | 5 | | are four times more likely not to finish high school; if those | 6 | | students are from low-income families, they are more than six | 7 | | times more likely not to finish high school; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Research consistently finds that a diverse, | 9 | | well-trained, and expanding pool of teachers, in conjunction | 10 | | with curricula responsive to the strengths and needs of | 11 | | diverse student populations, improves educational outcomes for | 12 | | all students; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, An appropriate curriculum blends the learning | 14 | | needs of students with their developmental needs and increases | 15 | | in complexity with every new stage of childhood; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Oral language development is a prerequisite for | 17 | | reading and writing that is nurtured from birth through | 18 | | talking, reading, story-telling, singing, nursery rhymes, and | 19 | | other language exposure and, as younger children develop, | 20 | | through intentional dialogue with rich vocabulary; home | 21 | | visiting programs, access to books, high-quality childcare and | 22 | | preschool, and lived experiences strengthen students' |
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| 1 | | opportunity to build oracy skills, vocabulary, and background | 2 | | knowledge, leading to higher-level cognitive thinking; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Reading builds new neural pathways in the brain | 4 | | as people, usually children, learn to connect the sounds in | 5 | | language to letters on a page to the meaning of the text; | 6 | | however, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to literacy, | 7 | | as learners will require different dosages within different | 8 | | areas of literacy instruction to meet their individual needs; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Reading and writing have a reciprocal | 11 | | relationship as each strengthens the other, and students | 12 | | benefit when their instruction is closely intertwined; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, English learners benefit from a comprehensive | 14 | | literacy approach that recognizes the value of multilingualism | 15 | | by enveloping all areas of literacy instruction with a deep | 16 | | focus on oral language development and encouraging students to | 17 | | make connections between English and their home language; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Teachers deserve the tools to be knowledgeable | 19 | | about the cultural practices and language system of the | 20 | | children they serve, including those children who speak | 21 | | language variations of English, such as African-American | 22 | | English (AAE); AAE has a linguistic structure that is a |
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| 1 | | systematic and rule-governed variation of General American | 2 | | English (GAE); and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Research shows that direct, systematic, | 4 | | cumulative, and explicit reading instruction that is focused | 5 | | on the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness, | 6 | | phonics or decoding, spelling or encoding, vocabulary | 7 | | development that includes morphology, oral language | 8 | | development, reading fluency, and reading comprehension that | 9 | | includes syntax and building background or content knowledge, | 10 | | is highly effective in teaching young children to read; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, High literacy achievement across all demographic | 12 | | groups is an essential indicator of educational equity within | 13 | | the State of Illinois; strengthening early literacy | 14 | | instruction and supports for students in Illinois will pay | 15 | | dividends in the future by empowering students, providing the | 16 | | skills they will need to graduate, find fulfilling careers, | 17 | | and be productive members of their communities and of our | 18 | | democracy; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Ensuring that every child has access to | 20 | | high-quality, research-aligned, developmentally-appropriate | 21 | | reading instruction implemented using a comprehensive approach | 22 | | is a foundational component of Illinois' public education | 23 | | system and a responsibility shared among federal, state, and |
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| 1 | | local education agencies; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) held | 3 | | a literacy summit on October 25, 2022 to bring education | 4 | | professionals and advocates across Illinois together to share | 5 | | ideas and best practices to support literacy development for | 6 | | Illinois' children while also recognizing the complexity of | 7 | | literacy development and potential pitfalls of adopting | 8 | | incomplete or simplistic policy solutions; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 10 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois | 11 | | State Board of Education to share findings from the literacy | 12 | | summit held on October 25, 2022 as progress towards promoting | 13 | | research-aligned, developmentally-appropriate literacy | 14 | | practices across grades and subject areas, developing a | 15 | | comprehensive literacy plan through continued collaboration | 16 | | with other relevant agencies and stakeholders, supporting | 17 | | alignment of early childhood programs, curriculum, educator | 18 | | training, professional development, and student supports to | 19 | | Illinois' standards, and ensuring that closing literacy | 20 | | opportunity gaps among demographic groups be prioritized; and | 21 | | be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 23 | | presented to ISBE with our appreciation for the agency's |
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| 1 | | efforts to advance literacy and with our support for the | 2 | | continuation of such efforts.
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