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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The general intent and spirit of the federal No
3 Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), known as
4 NCLB, are worthy of praise; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Many of NCLB's requirements on schools have been
6 implemented in a manner that may result in federal sanctions
7 being placed on improving schools; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Improvement status and associated sanctions under
9 NCLB should be differentiated based on the magnitude of the
10 school's failure to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP)
11 requirements; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Schools should be allowed to choose the order of
13 initiating either school choice or supplemental services so
14 that services can be developed or secured in response to
15 student need; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Adequate annual funding for the necessary
17 remediation of students who are not meeting performance
18 standards is a necessity if states are to meet the goals of
19 NCLB; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Appropriate flexibility for schools, particularly
21 in states with diverse populations such as Illinois, will allow
22 NCLB to be implemented in a way that best meets the broad needs
23 of a state's pupils; and
 
24     WHEREAS, States should be allowed to adopt value-added
25 models based on the growth of individual students from grade to
26 grade, ensuring that students achieve proficiency over time,
27 and Illinois is examining the possibility of developing such a
28 model; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, One hundred percent of students reaching state
2 standards, while commendable and desirable, is generally
3 recognized as not being a realistically achievable goal, and
4 additional research should be conducted regarding a more
5 reasonable benchmark; and
 
6     WHEREAS, A recent and commendable announcement from the
7 U.S. Department of Education, which allowed modified
8 assessments for students with persistent academic
9 disabilities, has shown that common sense and flexibility can
10 be maintained without detracting from NCLB's goal of
11 accountability; and
 
12     WHEREAS, While still striving to reach the laudable goal of
13 having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, the U.S.
14 Department of Education has begun to take appropriate steps to
15 adjust certain regulations to accommodate the needs of rural
16 school districts and districts attempting to fill positions in
17 special education and hard-to-staff subjects and schools;
18 therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
21 CONCURRING HEREIN, that we call on the Illinois congressional
22 delegation to take action to review and amend NCLB and to
23 encourage the U.S. Department of Education to implement
24 regulations that (i) will permit appropriate consideration of
25 students with special educational needs with respect to
26 determinations of adequate yearly progress, including without
27 limitation limited English-proficient students and special
28 education students, (ii) will be sensitive to the needs for
29 teachers in schools in hard-to-staff, rural, or isolated school
30 districts and in special education, (iii) will reduce
31 bureaucratic restrictions that stand in the way of the goals of
32 NCLB, and (iv) will allow flexibility to the states in meeting
33 the goals of the NCLB; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That we urge the President and the Congress of
2 the United States to fully fund the requirements of NCLB for
3 the life of the Act; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5 delivered to the President of the United States, to the U.S.
6 Secretary of Education, and to each member of the Illinois
7 congressional delegation.