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1		HOUSE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The Illinois constitution states "a fundamental
3		goal of the People of the State is the educational development
4		of all persons to the limits of their capacities"; and
5		WHEREAS, The education system in this State produces
6		inequitable outcomes along lines of race and ethnicity with 9%
7		of Black students, 15% of Latinx students, 23% of American
8		Indian or Alaska Native students, 35% of Native Hawaiian or
9		Pacific Islander students, and 31% of multiracial students
10		reaching proficiency in math compared to 38% of white students
11		and 61% of Asian students; and
12		WHEREAS, More than 20 years of research indicates that
13		teacher diversity has positive impacts on student outcomes,
14		including academic achievement, graduation rates, attendance,
15		instances of exclusionary discipline, and college aspirations;
16		and
17		WHEREAS, Research demonstrates the positive impact of
18		alignment between teacher and student racial and ethnic
19		diversity; and
20		WHEREAS, In Illinois, teachers of color make up less than
21		18% of the workforce while students of color make up 54% of the

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1		student body; and
2		WHEREAS, Representation of Black, Latinx, Asian, American
3		Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,
4		and multiracial teachers does not match the respective
5		proportion of Illinois students who are Black, Latinx, Asian,
6		American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific
7		Islander, and multiracial; and
8		WHEREAS, Longstanding systemic racism and ongoing barriers
9		lead to reductions in diversity throughout the teacher
10		pipeline starting with unequal high school graduation rates
11		and rates of enrollment in postsecondary institutions,
12		including racial disparities in educator preparation
13		enrollment and retention in the teaching profession; and
14		WHEREAS, One of the most significant challenges in the
15		teacher pipeline is the gap in diversity between Illinois
16		colleges and Illinois educator preparation programs; and
17		WHEREAS, More debt can discourage those in pursuit of a
18		career in the teaching profession; and
19		WHEREAS, Teachers of color are more likely to borrow money
20		to pay for teacher preparation; and

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1		WHEREAS, The Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship was
2		created to encourage academically talented Illinois minority
3		students to enroll in educator preparation and pursue teaching
4		careers so that students of color in Illinois are more likely
5		to be taught by teachers of color; and
6		WHEREAS, Recipients of the Minority Teachers of Illinois
7		Scholarship are required to teach in schools at which no less
8		than 30% of the enrolled students are minority students in the
9		year during which the recipient begins teaching at the school
10		or, if the recipient received a scholarship as a qualified
11		bilingual minority applicant, in a program in transitional
12		bilingual education pursuant to Article 14C of the School Code
13		or in a school in which 20 or more English learner students in
14		the same language classification are enrolled; and
15		WHEREAS, More than 8,000 awards have been distributed to
16		aspiring teachers of color through the Minority Teachers of
17		Illinois scholarship; and
18		WHEREAS, The pool of candidates enrolling in educator
19		preparation programs has indeed grown more diverse over time
20		but is still not as diverse as Illinois colleges; and
21		WHEREAS, The teacher workforce has gradually grown more
22		diverse over the last decade but still lags student diversity

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1		significantly; therefore, be it
2		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
3		HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4		we affirm the importance and targeted value of the Minority
5		Teachers of Illinois scholarship in increasing diversity in
6		the teacher workforce; and be it further
7		RESOLVED, That we celebrate the support that the Minority
8		Teachers of Illinois scholarship has offered to aspiring
9		teachers to date and the scholarship's role in growing the
10		diversity of teacher preparation in Illinois; and be it
11		further
12		RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Student Assistance
13		Commission to continue to administer the Minority Teachers of
14		Illinois scholarship in order to support aspiring teachers of
15		color to enter the teaching profession; and be it further