FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE LITESA WALLACE
For Immediate Release:
August 17, 2016
For More Information:
State Rep. Litesa Wallace
815-987-7433
Wallace Bill to Examine Education Standards, Enhance Opportunities for
Disadvantaged Students Now Law
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford, advanced
legislation that creates an educational advisory council to examine
strategies and solutions to improve academic achievement for
disadvantaged students. The legislation is now Public Act 99-0721.
"This council will focus specifically on learners who face challenges
that can negatively affect their academic success," Wallace said. "All
students, regardless of the challenges they face, should have the
opportunity to achieve and reach their goals. This council will focus on
ensuring that our state progresses toward meeting the needs of at-rick
students and helping them reach better educational outcomes."
Wallace's House Bill 6136 creates an Advisory Council on At-Risk
Students, which will annually review educational progress for
disadvantaged students and submit a report to the General Assembly, the
governor and the state superintendent of education. This council, made
up of an experienced group of teachers, advocates, legislators and
parents, will provide recommendations for legislative and procedural
changes to improve academic standards. The group's focus will be on
students who receive attention from the Department of Human Services,
including those who receive benefits under Medicaid, the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Children's Health Insurance
Program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Academic outcomes for foster children will also be reviewed.
"The best way to begin to serving the needs of at-risk students is by
convening a diverse group of educators, policymakers, advocates and
community members that reflects the students we are trying to reach,"
Wallace said. "There are no quick fixes or easy solutions when it comes
to student achievement, but this is an important step toward addressing
this challenge as a group and I appreciate the overwhelming Bipartisan
support for this legislation."
For more information, please contact Wallace's full-time constituent
service office at 815-987-7433, or email Litesa@StateRepWallace.com.