HJ0041HAM001 LRB094 12003 NHT 46790 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 41

2     AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Joint Resolution 41 by
3 replacing everything after the heading with the following:
 
4     "WHEREAS, The overarching goal of the federal No Child Left
5 Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is to enhance student achievement and
6 academic success and to make schools and school districts
7 accountable for their students' academic achievements; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Individual states are responsible for
9 interpreting NCLB mandates in their own laws; and
 
10     WHEREAS, NCLB requires individual states to design and
11 implement testing systems, set academic standards, hold
12 schools and school districts accountable for meeting those
13 standards, define what constitutes a "highly qualified"
14 teacher and establish their own plans for ensuring that there
15 is a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom, and
16 determine the allocation of millions of federal education funds
17 to improve student achievement; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is currently in the
19 process of presenting changes in the Illinois Accountability
20 Workbook to the U.S. Department of Education for approval to
21 provide more flexibility to schools and school districts under
22 NCLB and to ensure reliable and valid information for local

 

 

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1 decision-making; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is proposing several
3 aspects of change regarding subgroup size to ensure that the
4 State's accountability system is more reliable and valid, which
5 include considering an increased school and school district
6 subgroup size and the use of a confidence interval; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is also proposing to
8 change how districts are identified as not making adequate
9 yearly progress (AYP) so that no district will be determined to
10 not meet AYP unless one or more of its underlying grade spans
11 have not made AYP; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education should include other
13 areas for maximum flexibility, such as redefining a full
14 academic year for the purposes of calculating AYP so that
15 students are enrolled in a school district for the longest
16 possible period of time prior to the administration of State
17 assessments, using the same subgroup of students in the
18 determination of AYP, and taking advantage of the recent
19 federal policy designed to help states better assist students
20 with disabilities; and
 
21     WHEREAS, The State Board of Education should work with the
22 U.S. Secretary of Education towards her goal of assisting
23 states to ensure they have the flexibility needed to raise
24 student achievement with additional alternatives and
25 flexibility to implement NCLB; therefore, be it
 
26     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
27 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
28 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we support the State Board of
29 Education and the intent of its proposed modifications to the

 

 

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1 Illinois Accountability Workbook; and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. Department of Education to
3 approve these modifications; and be it further
 
4 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented
5 to the State Board of Education and the U.S. Department of
6 Education.".