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CHICAGO, Apr 16, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A survey of 50 Illinois school districts shows many are failing to provide the most basic tool of learning, a current textbook in good condition.
Some students are using duct tape and rubber bands to hold together text books that are so out of date they don't deal with the fall of Soviet communism, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
A three-month investigation conducted by the newspaper found that nearly 80 per cent of Illinois school districts are using textbooks that are at least 8 years old -- while more than 20 percent of the districts reported using books at least 15 years old.
Some districts even lacked a sufficient supply of books to give one to each student.
At Lincoln Park High School in Chicago the first assignment for students in the school's most prestigious program is to duct-tape the broken spines of biology and history books.
Lawmakers in the state capital of Springfield have not increased state funding for textbooks despite rising book prices, the newspaper said.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
