SR0638 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0638 LRB098 13934 MST 48477 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize that the State Board of Education's decision to implement both the Common Core State Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers were not authorized by the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, Illinois became one of 48 states to opt into the Common Core State Standards Initiative by accepting federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and through the Race to the Top initiative of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Over the next few years, the Common Core State 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 State Standards and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers; and

WHEREAS, The only substantive cost analysis of the implementation of the Common Core State 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 Careers or the new textbooks that will be needed to teach to the Common Core State 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 State Standards, without counsel from school districts, without a strong statewide informational campaign about the Common Core State Standards, and without performing a cost analysis for school districts and the State; therefore, be it

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

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the State Superintendent of Education and the State Board of Education.