Full Text of HJR0024 100th General Assembly
HJ0024 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, High quality learning opportunities, beginning at | 3 | | birth, are an essential part of our
nation's education system; | 4 | | and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Young children facing the most significant | 6 | | challenges stand to benefit greatly from
comprehensive and | 7 | | consistent early learning experiences; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Research demonstrates that investing in early | 9 | | childhood produces outcomes that
help ensure children are | 10 | | successful in school and life, such as increased kindergarten | 11 | | readiness,
increased high school graduation rates and college | 12 | | attendance, and reduced special education rates; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is a national leader in | 14 | | supporting early care and education
programs; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Head Start and State-funded early childhood | 16 | | programs in Illinois are required to
comply with a set of | 17 | | standards related to ensuring a smooth transition of children | 18 | | out of the program
and into kindergarten; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Preschool for All programs must have a "written | 20 | | plan to ensure that those children
who are age-eligible for |
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| 1 | | kindergarten are enrolled in school upon leaving the preschool | 2 | | education
program"; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Preschool Expansion Grant | 4 | | requirements and federal Head Start
Performance Standards hold | 5 | | these programs to an even higher standard by requiring programs | 6 | | to
collaborate with Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to | 7 | | support children and families through the
transition to | 8 | | kindergarten; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, While requiring early childhood programs to | 10 | | coordinate with the school districts into
which children | 11 | | transition is a good practice, many LEAs are not familiar with | 12 | | the opportunity presented
by potential partnerships with early | 13 | | childhood providers, like the relationships fostered within | 14 | | local
early childhood community collaborations; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Illinois State law could better support those LEAs | 16 | | by providing a framework that
would help LEAs to identify best | 17 | | practices for supporting kindergarten transitions and give | 18 | | LEAs
incentives to adopt these practices; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, This framework would help the state build upon its | 20 | | successful Race to the Top-Early
Learning Challenge grant; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act |
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| 1 | | (ESSA) provides an opportune
moment to develop and put into | 2 | | motion such a framework, as the law specifically authorizes | 3 | | districts to
use resources to support joint efforts to address | 4 | | kindergarten transitions; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE | 7 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the P-20 Council in collaboration with
| 8 | | the Early Learning Council shall establish an Advisory | 9 | | Committee for the purposes of reviewing kindergarten | 10 | | transitions; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transitions Advisory | 12 | | Committee shall consist of a diverse
group of stakeholders and | 13 | | practitioners, appointed by the Chair of the P-20 Council, and | 14 | | including those from State agencies, early childhood advocacy
| 15 | | organizations, education related professional associations, | 16 | | and members of the General Assembly; and be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That the Advisory Committee shall submit a report | 18 | | to the Governor, State Board of
Education, and General Assembly | 19 | | that includes recommendations aimed at informing the creation | 20 | | of
legislation that: | 21 | | (1) Addresses the value of K-12 educators and | 22 | | administrators partnering with early childhood
programs in |
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| 1 | | their communities, including Head Start, Preschool for | 2 | | All, home visiting, and child
care; | 3 | | (2) Will not be prescriptive and will not place any | 4 | | burdensome requirements on school districts; | 5 | | (3) Encourages best practices for supporting | 6 | | kindergarten transitions, including aligned
professional | 7 | | development, data collection, data sharing, and family | 8 | | engagement, among others; | 9 | | (4) Could define the capacity needed and potential | 10 | | incentives for LEAs and early childhood
programs to | 11 | | implement these practices; | 12 | | (5) Promotes best practices related to the continuity | 13 | | of care between early childhood (including
between | 14 | | infant-toddler programs and programs for preschool-aged | 15 | | children), early childhood
special education, and special | 16 | | education in the early elementary grades; | 17 | | (6) Could define the role of early learning in required | 18 | | school improvement processes, including
the role of | 19 | | kindergarten readiness data in school needs assessments | 20 | | and the expansion of high-quality
early learning as a | 21 | | school improvement strategy; |
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| 1 | | (7) Reinforces the State's commitment to the | 2 | | importance of social and emotional learning for
children of | 3 | | all ages; and | 4 | | (8) Promotes best practices for dual language | 5 | | learners, which address the cultural and linguistic
needs | 6 | | of young children as they transition into kindergarten and | 7 | | ways in which to engage
underserved immigrant and mixed | 8 | | status families; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transition Advisory | 10 | | Committee shall first meet at the call of
the Chair of the P-20 | 11 | | Council; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transition Advisory | 13 | | Committee shall elect a Chair or Co-chairs
at its first | 14 | | meeting; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transition Advisory | 16 | | Committee shall seek input from
stakeholders and members of the | 17 | | public; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That the P-20 Council in collaboration with the | 19 | | Early Learning Council shall provide
administrative support to | 20 | | the Kindergarten Transition Advisory Committee; and be it |
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| 1 | | further | 2 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transition Advisory | 3 | | Committee shall submit its report to the
Governor and General | 4 | | Assembly by September 29, 2018; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Kindergarten Transition Advisory | 6 | | Committee is dissolved upon submission
of its report; and be it | 7 | | further; and be it further | 8 | | RESOLVED, That the P-20 Council and the Early Learning | 9 | | Council shall post a copy of this resolution and the | 10 | | Committee's report to its website.
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