Full Text of SJR0066 94th General Assembly
SJ0066 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| 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.
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