IL HR0790

Urges Illinois high schools to reintroduce home economics courses with comprehensive curricula covering cooking techniques, caloric requirements, food sources, budgeting, food safety, and health effects of food choices.

Notes that home economics originated from conferences in Lake Placid, New York between 1899-1910 organized by Mary Richards and Melvil Dewey to apply science and technology to improve American home life.

References the 1908 creation of the American Home Economics Association, which successfully lobbied the federal government to fund educational programs guiding young people through modern consumer culture.

Acknowledges that while some school systems have revived home economics through specialized courses like food preparation, the field remains vulnerable to elimination because it is typically classified as an elective rather than a core requirement.

Directs copies of the resolution to be sent to the U.S. Secretary of Education, the Illinois State Board of Education Chairman, and the Illinois State Superintendent of Education.