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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize that
3the State Board of Education's decision to implement both the
4Common Core State Standards and the Partnership for Assessment
5of Readiness for College and Careers were not authorized by the
6General Assembly; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 2010, Illinois became one of 48 states to opt
8into the Common Core State Standards Initiative by accepting
9federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
10of 2009 and through the Race to the Top initiative of the
11federal government; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Over the next few years, the Common Core State
13Standards, which are largely untested in the United States,
14will substantively change the educational standards for
15students in Illinois, thus affecting every teacher and student
16in the State; and
 
17    WHEREAS, There are many unknown and significant costs
18associated with the Common Core State Standards and the
19Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
20Careers; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The only substantive cost analysis of the

 

 

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1implementation of the Common Core State Standards was conducted
2by the Pioneer Institute, a non-partisan, privately funded
3research organization, which estimates the financial impact
4for Illinois to be close to $773 million over 7 years; and
 
5    WHEREAS, There are many school districts who lack the
6technology, infrastructure, and funding to create an
7environment for the online-standards testing required by the
8Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
9or the new textbooks that will be needed to teach to the Common
10Core State Standards; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has not secured
12funding for schools that will need curricular, technological,
13and infrastructure upgrades; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The most recent data shows that close to 67% of
15school districts are operating with a deficit, the prospect of
16a pension cost-shift, and other expensive unfunded mandates by
17the State; and
 
18    WHEREAS, It is inconceivable to require districts to incur
19costs to upgrade schools in their respective districts because
20the State Board of Education unilaterally made the decision to
21move to the Common Core State Standards, without counsel from
22school districts, without a strong statewide informational

 

 

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1campaign about the Common Core State Standards, and without
2performing a cost analysis for school districts and the State;
3therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the State
6Superintendent of Education and the State Board of Education to
7delay the implementation of the Common Core State Standards
8until a Board-authorized and conducted study shows the costs
9associated with the Common Core State Standards and the
10Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
11Careers; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and General
13Assembly create a viable plan to provide funding to school
14districts that need improvements and modernizations to comply
15with the new Common Core State Standards and the Partnership
16for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers; and be it
17further
 
18    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19delivered to the State Superintendent of Education and the
20State Board of Education.