Bill Text: IL HR0917 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to officially recognize the importance and benefits of school diversity and to set it as a priority when making decisions regarding admissions policies and practices, creation of new schools, school rezoning, and other pertinent decisions and to commit to having a strategy in each district for overcoming impediments to school diversity.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-11-30 - Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford [HR0917 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HR0917-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, 2014 marked the 60th anniversary of the 1954 | ||||||
3 | landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board | ||||||
4 | of Education, which found that "separate educational | ||||||
5 | facilities are inherently unequal" and banned separate public | ||||||
6 | schools for black and white students; and
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
15 | urge the Illinois State Board of Education to officially | ||||||
16 | recognize the importance and benefits of school diversity and | ||||||
17 | to set it as a priority when making decisions regarding | ||||||
18 | admissions policies and practices, creation of new schools, | ||||||
19 | school rezoning, and other pertinent decisions and to commit to | ||||||
20 | having a strategy in each district for overcoming impediments | ||||||
21 | to school diversity; and be it further
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22 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
23 | delivered to the Illinois State Board of Education.
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