Civics Legislation Awaits Governor's Signature

By
by Shawn Healy, Civic Learning Scholar 

Civics legislation—HB 4025—requiring that Illinois students take a civics course to graduate from high school, was delivered to Governor Rauner on Thursday, June 25. The Governor has 60 days from the day he received the bill to sign it into law.

On May 30, the Illinois Senate approved HB 4025 with strong bi-partisan support. The bill previously passed the House, and now goes to Governor Rauner for signature. Representative Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) and Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) championed the legislation in their respective chambers.

Illinois is one of only eleven states that does not have a civic education graduation requirement. As a result, “Many students graduate without even basic knowledge of current events and how to become active members of their communities,” said Rep. Conroy.

The proposed legislation will help fill this civic empowerment gap, and bring civics back to all our schools.

"Good government is a result of public officials and residents working together to make informed decisions,” said Sen. Cullerton. “We need to ensure our young people know how government works to make sure government is working for them."

To help with implementation of the civics course, the McCormick Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, and other leading business and civic organizations from around the state, have pledged at least $1 million annually for three years to address professional development needs for teacher training throughout Illinois.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Visiting Helps Combat Effects of Toxic Stress in Young Children

By
Guest blog by Diana Rauner, President, Ounce of Prevention Fund & Gaylord Gieseke, Vice President, Voices for Illinois Children  The number of children at risk for the short and long-term effects of toxic childhood stress is growing dramatically. This was the dismal news highlighted in a policy statement released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics and in a recent op-ed from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Both cite new research that demonstrates that the cumulative effects of growing up in environments replete with violence, parental depression, chaos and other uncertainties can literally alter the healthy, normal development of a young child’s brain. These stressors can impede a child’s capacity to “power down” from the fight or flight reflex, which reduces his ability to manage his temper and emotions or show empathy to others. It can also lead to later drug and alcohol use, obesity, heart disease and even early death. But it doesn’t have to be th...
Read more

Preschool Attendance Matters

By
Image
by Stacy Ehrlich and Julia Gwynne  Nationally, there has been a great effort to increase funding for early education programs to increase enrollment of at-risk children into high-quality programs, such as Head Start. However, recent research highlights that once children are enrolled in preschool, they must also regularly attend to reap the benefits. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, in collaboration with Chicago Public Schools, found that preschool students who are chronically absent – meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days – have lower levels of math, letter recognition, and social-emotional skills by the time they enter kindergarten than children who attend regularly. In the 2011-12 school year, 45 percent of 3-year-olds and more than one-third of 4-year-olds were missing this much school – equivalent to three weeks. Moreover, for a portion of these students, preschool is the beginning of a pattern t...
Read more

Tracing America's Painful Past Can Offer Lessons for the Future

By
Image
On Saturday night, staff from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will be attending the DuSable Museum of African American History’s “Night of 100 Stars,” a benefit highlighting the amazing achievements of notable individuals, including artist and musician Chancelor “Chance the Rapper” Bennett, former World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin, and Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. and former president of the Chicago History Museum. Lonnie Bunch also had a piece in today’s New York Times about a recent incident at the National Museum in whcih someone placed a noose near one of the museum’s exhibits. This follows instances of nooses being left elsewhere on the National Mall in recent weeks, and in other places around the country as signs of racial hate and intimidation. Bunch offers a powerful view into the continuing story of racism and bigotry in this country, as well as our uneven progre...
Read more