HR0543 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0543 LRB098 13055 MST 47568 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives recognizes that the State Board of Education's decision to implement, both, the Common Core Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career's were not authorized by the Illinois State Legislature; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, Illinois became one of 48 states to opt in for the Common Core Standards by accepting federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and through the Race to the Top Initiative of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Over the next few years, the Common Core Standards, which are largely untested in the United States, will substantively change the educational standards for students in Illinois, thus affecting every teacher and student in the State; and

WHEREAS, There are many unknown and significant costs associated with the Common Core Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career's; and

WHEREAS, The only substantive cost analysis of the implementation of the Common Core Standards was conducted by the Pioneer Institute, a non-partisan, privately funded research organization, which estimates the financial impact for Illinois to be close to $773 million over 7 years; and

WHEREAS, There are many school districts who lack the technology, infrastructure, and funding to create an environment for the online standards testing required by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career's or the new textbooks that will be needed to teach to the Common Core Standards; and

WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has not secured funding for schools that will need curricular, technological, and infrastructure upgrades; and

WHEREAS, The most recent data shows that close to 67% of school districts are operating with a deficit, the prospect of a pension cost-shift, and other expensive unfunded mandates by the State; and

WHEREAS, It is inconceivable to require districts to incur costs to upgrade schools in their respective districts because the State Board of Education unilaterally made the decision to move to the Common Core Standards, without counsel from local school districts, without a strong Statewide informational campaign about the Common Core Standards, and without performing a cost analysis for local school districts and the State; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge State Superintendent Koch and the State Board of Education to delay the implementation of the Common Core Standards until a Board authorized and conducted study shows the costs associated with the Common Core Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career's; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and General Assembly create a viable plan to provide funding to school districts that need improvements and modernizations to comply with the new Common Core Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career's; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the State Board of Education and all members of the Illinois General Assembly.