SR0993 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0993 LRB098 20527 NHT 56611 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, English Learners (ELs) constituted nearly 10% of all students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 statewide in Fiscal Year 2013; and

WHEREAS, The number of ELs has grown by 33% since 2005, with an average annual growth of 4.7%; and

WHEREAS, Three hundred and ten school districts were receiving State funding to support bilingual education services for more than 200,000 students in Fiscal Year 2012; and

WHEREAS, The number of school districts that enrolled at least one English Learner student in their classroom has grown more than 50% from 2007 to 2014; and

WHEREAS, The number of counties with school districts serving at least one English Learner student in their classroom has increased from 63 in 2005 to 85 in 2012, a 21% increase; and

WHEREAS, The funding for English Learner education has been reduced by 6.9% from 2010 to 2013, but the English Learner population has grown by 7% in the same period of time; and

WHEREAS, The decline in State resources has limited school districts' ability to provide meaningful professional development opportunities for their teachers, administrators, and principals; and

WHEREAS, The reduction in funding has restricted the ability of school districts to offer supplemental language instruction before or after school; and

WHEREAS, The achievement gap between the English Learner student population and their peers is evident in reading and mathematics on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) from third to eighth grade; and

WHEREAS, This State recently raised the proficiency level that ELs must attain in order to transition to a general education curriculum; and

WHEREAS, Improving teaching and learning of English Learner students is fundamental to our goal of closing achievement gaps; and

WHEREAS, Data from the State Board of Education shows that children who have attained English proficiency after benefitting from State-funded bilingual education services go on to outperform non-English Learner students in reading and mathematics on the ISAT in grades 6 through 8; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the General Assembly to fully fund the State Board of Education's request for bilingual education at $75,652,000 to support bilingual students in this State.