Bill Text: IL HR0865 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Encourages every school district in the State of Illinois and the heads of each school in this State, in collaboration with local law enforcement, to begin exploring and implementing the necessary modern response training programs and innovative procedures that are designed to help prevent the loss of life in the event of an on-campus emergency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 40-1)
Status: (Passed) 2018-05-17 - Removed Co-Sponsor Rep. Mark Batinick [HR0865 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0865-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, It is a truly harrowing time in our society today; | ||||||
3 | it
is a period, unfortunately, marked by unconscionable | ||||||
4 | violence
that has pervaded into many of our communities and | ||||||
5 | affected the
lives of our most vulnerable: our children; the | ||||||
6 | unthinkable
tragedy that took place on February 14, 2018 in | ||||||
7 | Parkland,
Florida is just the latest episode in a heart-rending | ||||||
8 | narrative
that is becoming an entirely unacceptable new normal; | ||||||
9 | and
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10 | WHEREAS, The violence has become a quotidian phenomenon and | ||||||
11 | one
that is all too familiar; this violence that has taken | ||||||
12 | place in
recent years, months, and yet again reappeared last | ||||||
13 | week in
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, cannot continue | ||||||
14 | to be left
unchallenged; schoolchildren have become both | ||||||
15 | exposed to these
stories in the news and victims to these | ||||||
16 | senseless acts that
have claimed the lives of so many innocent | ||||||
17 | youths and scarred
the lives of many more; and
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18 | WHEREAS, It is a regretful reality to comprehend, but it is | ||||||
19 | one
that we have to face and one that necessarily forces us to | ||||||
20 | do
what we can to improve school security; while there is no | ||||||
21 | one
panacea to the wide-array of issues that have led to these
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22 | atrocities, and various debates can be had between people of
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23 | different ideologies, beliefs, and political affiliations on |
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1 | the
merits of each proposed solution, it is in the best | ||||||
2 | interest of
our children that we work together to ensure that | ||||||
3 | everything is
done to better prepare our schools to respond | ||||||
4 | effectively in the
event that such calamity were to occur in | ||||||
5 | Illinois; and
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6 | WHEREAS, It is with this sentiment in mind that the | ||||||
7 | Illinois
General Assembly should encourage school districts | ||||||
8 | and
individual schools to explore and evaluate active shooter
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9 | response training programs that will help reduce the loss of
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10 | life; numerous schools here in Illinois and across the country
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11 | have already taken appropriate steps or are in the process of
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12 | developing such training strategies; and
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13 | WHEREAS, One such training program that has proven | ||||||
14 | successful
and has been implemented by some Illinois school | ||||||
15 | districts is
the Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate (ALICE) | ||||||
16 | program; the
ALICE training program has been developed through | ||||||
17 | the ALICE
Training Institute and was created by a law | ||||||
18 | enforcement officer who set out to improve the limited, | ||||||
19 | traditional protocol
employed by most schools, i.e., (i) alert | ||||||
20 | the school of the
situation, (ii) have teachers get all | ||||||
21 | students in a classroom
and lock the door and shut the lights, | ||||||
22 | and (iii) sit patiently
in the corner of the room waiting for | ||||||
23 | law enforcement officers
to arrive; the ALICE training program, | ||||||
24 | however, departs from
this model and instead focuses on |
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1 | option-based, proactive
survival strategies that provide | ||||||
2 | individuals trapped in an
active shooter situation with diverse | ||||||
3 | tools necessary to help
save lives; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The system devised by the ALICE Training Institute
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5 | focuses on being alert, knowing how to properly assess the
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6 | situation, taking precautions when in lockdown, devising
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7 | communication strategies that help effectively inform others | ||||||
8 | of
where the assailant is located in the building, using | ||||||
9 | dynamic
techniques that help mitigate the danger posed by the | ||||||
10 | shooter,
and, finally, explaining the best ways and times to | ||||||
11 | evacuate the
danger areas; the ALICE training model is | ||||||
12 | supported by law
enforcement and first responders nationwide as | ||||||
13 | it helps bolster
the protections and safety of the innocent | ||||||
14 | throughout the
ordeal, and especially during the time that it | ||||||
15 | takes for law
enforcement to respond to the call and take | ||||||
16 | control of the
situation - a period where every minute and | ||||||
17 | second matters and
astute action of victims can help maximize | ||||||
18 | the safety of others; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The ALICE Training Institute has offered its | ||||||
20 | services
in all 50 states, trained over one million individuals | ||||||
21 | (in both
the public and private sectors), and is currently used | ||||||
22 | in over
4,200 K-12 schools and nearly 1,000 higher education
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23 | institutions; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Training programs like ALICE deserve to be | ||||||
2 | evaluated
and incorporated into our schools with urgent haste | ||||||
3 | as we
continue to adapt to the new threats of violence that | ||||||
4 | everyday
appear closer to home; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Collaboration between school and local law | ||||||
6 | enforcement
officials in the implementation of updated active | ||||||
7 | shooter
response training is vital to the protection of both | ||||||
8 | students
and staff in Illinois schools; and
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9 | WHEREAS, The interest in our children's future is of | ||||||
10 | paramount
importance and, therefore, the Illinois General | ||||||
11 | Assembly should
stand at the ready to explore all of the best | ||||||
12 | practices
necessary to ensure the safety of our children and | ||||||
13 | look to
promote the implementation of programs like ALICE that | ||||||
14 | not only
improve safety but help foster a more open | ||||||
15 | communication line
between parents, teachers, and school | ||||||
16 | administrators; and
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17 | WHEREAS, In a time where polarization exists and seems to
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18 | dominate the political sphere, this is an issue that neither
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19 | invites nor seeks to create controversy; the well-being and
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20 | protection of our children demands that we take quick action on
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21 | this matter in hopes of preventing this unspeakable violence
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22 | from claiming any more innocent lives; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
3 | strongly encourage every school district in the State of | ||||||
4 | Illinois and the heads of each school in this State, in | ||||||
5 | collaboration with local law enforcement, to begin exploring | ||||||
6 | and implementing the necessary modern response training | ||||||
7 | programs and innovative procedures that are designed to help | ||||||
8 | prevent the loss of life in the event of an on-campus | ||||||
9 | emergency; and be it further
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10 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
11 | delivered
to the Secretary of the Illinois State Board of | ||||||
12 | Education, the
Office of the Governor of Illinois, and the | ||||||
13 | Illinois General
Assembly so that any action necessary of the | ||||||
14 | State may be
extended to school districts across Illinois so | ||||||
15 | that we may better protect the lives of teachers, | ||||||
16 | administrators, and students.
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