Bill Text: IL HR0244 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Enrolled
Bill Title: Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to study the impact of beginning a school term during various points throughout August.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-30 - Resolution Adopted as Amended [HR0244 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0244-Enrolled.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION 244
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2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois School Code provides that each school
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3 | board is required to annually prepare a calendar for each
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4 | school term that specifies both the opening and closing dates
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5 | of the term; and
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6 | WHEREAS, A school district's calendar must provide for a
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7 | minimum of at least 185 days that generally includes five
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8 | emergency days and four teacher institute days in order to
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9 | ensure 176 days of actual pupil attendance; and
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10 | WHEREAS, While the School Code does not govern when a
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11 | school term should begin or end, schools are increasingly
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12 | starting their school year in mid-August; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Traditionally, especially prior to the mid-1990s,
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14 | schools would begin their school term after Labor Day,
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15 | according to a 2015 CNN article, "Back to school: Why August is
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16 | the new September"; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Some states, including Michigan and Maryland,
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18 | have implemented prohibitions on school terms beginning before
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19 | Labor Day in an effort to boost their tourism industries; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan recently signed an | ||||||
21 | executive order prohibiting schools from commencing their
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1 | school term prior to Labor Day unless the school district has
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2 | received a waiver; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Research shows that the date upon which a school
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4 | term begins does not necessarily impact a student's academic
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5 | success; therefore, be it
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6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
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7 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
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8 | we urge the Illinois State Board of Education to study the
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9 | impact of beginning a school term during various points
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10 | throughout August as compared to after Labor Day; and be it
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11 | further
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12 | RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education submit a report
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13 | to the General Assembly by December 31, 2019 including the
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14 | following information: | ||||||
15 | (1) A summary of current school term start dates in
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16 | school districts throughout Illinois; and | ||||||
17 | (2) Laws in other states that govern when a school term
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18 | may commence; and
be it further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | delivered to the State Superintendent of Education.
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