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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 41

 
2     WHEREAS, The overarching goal of the federal No Child Left
3 Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is to enhance student achievement and
4 academic success and to make schools and school districts
5 accountable for their students' academic achievements; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Individual states are responsible for
7 interpreting NCLB mandates in their own laws; and
 
8     WHEREAS, NCLB requires individual states to design and
9 implement testing systems, set academic standards, hold
10 schools and school districts accountable for meeting those
11 standards, define what constitutes a "highly qualified"
12 teacher and establish their own plans for ensuring that there
13 is a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom, and
14 determine the allocation of millions of federal education funds
15 to improve student achievement; and
 
16     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is currently in the
17 process of presenting changes in the Illinois Accountability
18 Workbook to the U.S. Department of Education for approval to
19 provide more flexibility to schools and school districts under
20 NCLB and to ensure reliable and valid information for local
21 decision-making; and
 
22     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is proposing several
23 aspects of change regarding subgroup size to ensure that the
24 State's accountability system is more reliable and valid, which
25 include considering an increased school and school district
26 subgroup size and the use of a confidence interval; and
 
27     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is also proposing to
28 change how districts are identified as not making adequate
29 yearly progress (AYP) so that no district will be determined to
30 not meet AYP unless one or more of its underlying grade spans

 

 

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1 have not made AYP; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education should include other
3 areas for maximum flexibility, such as redefining a full
4 academic year for the purposes of calculating AYP so that
5 students are enrolled in a school district for the longest
6 possible period of time prior to the administration of State
7 assessments, using the same subgroup of students in the
8 determination of AYP, and taking advantage of the recent
9 federal policy designed to help states better assist students
10 with disabilities; and
 
11     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education should work with the
12 U.S. Secretary of Education towards her goal of assisting
13 states to ensure they have the flexibility needed to raise
14 student achievement with additional alternatives and
15 flexibility to implement NCLB; therefore, be it
 
16     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
18 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we support the State Board of
19 Education and the intent of its proposed modifications to the
20 Illinois Accountability Workbook; and be it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Department of Education to
22 approve these modifications; and be it further
 
23     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
24 presented to the State Board of Education and the U.S.
25 Department of Education.