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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Implementation of the Partnership for Assessment | ||||||
| 3 | of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment has | ||||||
| 4 | been an object of contention for students, parents, teachers, | ||||||
| 5 | and school districts in this State, as well as in other states; | ||||||
| 6 | and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, In 2010, 23 states were slated to participate in | ||||||
| 8 | PARCC, and now there are only 12 states participating; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, To date, a comprehensive fiscal impact to this | ||||||
| 10 | State and school districts regarding technology and | ||||||
| 11 | infrastructure needs to fully implement the PARCC assessment | ||||||
| 12 | has yet to be determined; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The State Board of Education submitted a capital | ||||||
| 14 | request of $450 million last year and $126 million this year | ||||||
| 15 | for technology infrastructure, which is a cost directly | ||||||
| 16 | associated with the PARCC assessment; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, New learning standards were adopted through the | ||||||
| 18 | Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Approval of any new standards and assessments, | ||||||
| 20 | particularly those with tremendous financial and educational | ||||||
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| 1 | repercussions, should come before the entire General Assembly; | ||||||
| 2 | and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, State law requires that school districts use an | ||||||
| 4 | assessment that gauges career and college readiness; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Unlike the previous State assessment, the PARCC | ||||||
| 6 | assessment is not inclusive of the ACT, which is a common and | ||||||
| 7 | accepted measurement of college readiness for admissions | ||||||
| 8 | purposes in institution of higher education across the country; | ||||||
| 9 | and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that not | ||||||
| 11 | complying with federal testing requirements could jeopardize | ||||||
| 12 | close to $1.1 billion in federal funds for K through 12 | ||||||
| 13 | education, which is unacceptable; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, The State Board of Education entered into a | ||||||
| 15 | contract for the PARCC assessment, which is set to expire on | ||||||
| 16 | June 30, 2018; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, State and federal law allows for other assessment | ||||||
| 18 | options outside of the PARCC assessment; therefore, be it
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| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 20 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
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| 1 | urge the Governor, in conjunction with the State Board of | ||||||
| 2 | Education, to reevaluate its contract with PARCC in the hopes | ||||||
| 3 | of making new recommendations on how this State can comply with | ||||||
| 4 | State and federal law, while maintaining a rigorous and | ||||||
| 5 | comprehensive assessment that accurately evaluates student | ||||||
| 6 | academic needs and growth; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That we urge the State Board of Education to | ||||||
| 8 | better communicate changes of this size, scope, and cost, | ||||||
| 9 | particularly those pertaining to learning standards and | ||||||
| 10 | assessments, to the General Assembly and the public before | ||||||
| 11 | entering into the rulemaking process; and be it further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 13 | delivered the Governor and the State Board of Education.
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