Bill Text: IL SR1051 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the General Assembly to increase investments in early childhood programs not only to expand access to high-quality services for children and families but also to enable Illinois to pay its early childhood workforce the wages needed to attract and retain qualified professionals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1051 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SR1051-Introduced.html

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SR1051 LRB101 20481 ECR 70248 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Research shows that early childhood teacher
effectiveness is a predictor for positive developmental and
academic outcomes for children; and
WHEREAS, Continuity in early relationships with teachers
and caregivers results in safe, stable, and trusting
environments that allow young children the opportunity to
explore and learn; and
WHEREAS, The work of early childhood educators is
sophisticated and central to the healthy learning and
development of young children and takes place in a range of
settings, including schools, community-based centers, and
homes; and
WHEREAS, Early childhood educators include home visitors
and Early Intervention professionals as well as educators in
schools, child care centers, and family child care homes; and
WHEREAS, Research shows that having children see their own
identities reflected in their teachers can improve students'
perceptions of and actual performance in school, and that it is
critical for early childhood programs to have educators that
reflect the families and communities they serve; and

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WHEREAS, Nearly half of all lead early childhood educators
hold a bachelor's degree or higher, nearly three-quarters have
secured an associate's degree or higher, many hold
state-recognized credentials, all must fulfill scheduled
training requirements, and many have years of experience in the
field; and
WHEREAS, The early childhood workforce is almost
exclusively female and more racially diverse than the K-12
workforce; and
WHEREAS, The current early childhood education system
functions because early childhood professionals, particularly
those working in community-based settings and those working
with infants and toddlers, often forgo a living wage aligned to
the sophistication of their work and level of education; and
WHEREAS, The early childhood workforce, particularly in
community and home based settings, earns wages in the second
percentile of annual earnings; many early childhood workers
lack access to workplace benefits and must rely on public
benefits to meet the needs of their own families; and
WHEREAS, These low wages have contributed to significant
shortages in qualified staff in early childhood programs and

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will be a barrier to further expansion of services; and
WHEREAS, Adequate compensation is the foundation of a
quality early childhood workforce; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the General
Assembly to increase its investments in Early Childhood
Education, the Child Care Assistance Program, Early
Intervention, Healthy Families, and Parents Too Soon not only
to expand access to high-quality services for children and
families but also to enable Illinois to pay its early childhood
workforce the wages needed to attract and retain qualified
professionals; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Board of
Education and the Department of Human Services to implement
policies and strategies to ensure that any new funding is
directed toward improving the compensation levels of early
childhood professionals to reflect more closely other
professions with similar qualifications and educational
levels.