Full Text of SJR0087 94th General Assembly
SJ0087enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 87
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| WHEREAS, United States Secretary of Education Margaret | 3 |
| Spellings has announced guidelines, referred to as a New Path | 4 |
| for the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, based on a | 5 |
| set of "common sense" principles to guide states in meeting the | 6 |
| Act's goals; and
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| WHEREAS, This New Path maintains the primary elements of | 8 |
| the Act, such as the annual testing and reporting of student | 9 |
| subgroup data, but also emphasizes increasing individual | 10 |
| student achievement, narrowing the achievement gap, and | 11 |
| encouraging sound overall state education policies that ensure | 12 |
| that progress is being made; and
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| WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education has | 14 |
| recognized that schools serving certain designated subgroups, | 15 |
| such as children who are limited-English speakers and children | 16 |
| who have disabilities, require flexibility in determining | 17 |
| adequate yearly progress; and
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| WHEREAS, This type of flexibility is also needed for | 19 |
| schools that serve other vulnerable population groups, such as | 20 |
| high school drop-outs who return to school and who, for reasons | 21 |
| including but not limited to their low academic achievement | 22 |
| levels, are often confronted with multiple barriers that impede | 23 |
| their academic progress; and
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| WHEREAS, Some states have requested permission to | 25 |
| implement growth-based accountability models, also called | 26 |
| "value-added models," which give schools credit for student | 27 |
| improvement over time by tracking individual student | 28 |
| achievement from year to year, and which show promise as fair, | 29 |
| reliable, flexible, and innovative methods for measuring | 30 |
| school and student improvement; and
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| WHEREAS, The United States Department of Education has | 2 |
| responded to the states' requests by agreeing to a rigorous | 3 |
| evaluation of growth-based accountability models and their | 4 |
| ability to help meet the laudable goals of the federal No Child | 5 |
| Left Behind Act of 2001; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 7 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 8 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the United States Department of | 9 |
| Education to use more flexible criteria in determining adequate | 10 |
| yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act; and | 11 |
| be it further
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| RESOLVED, That there is hereby created a No Child Left | 13 |
| Behind Growth-Model Task Force to examine the models proposed | 14 |
| by other states and to explore the potential for a growth model | 15 |
| to give a clearer, fairer picture of individual student | 16 |
| progress, such as the progress of those students in alternative | 17 |
| schools; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of (i) the | 19 |
| Governor or his designee, (ii) the State Superintendent of | 20 |
| Education or his designee, (iii) one member appointed by a | 21 |
| statewide association representing principals, (iv) one member | 22 |
| representing a charter school serving at-risk high school | 23 |
| drop-outs who have returned to school, (v) one member appointed | 24 |
| by an organization representing regional superintendents of | 25 |
| schools, (vi) one member appointed by a statewide organization | 26 |
| representing school administrators, (vii) one member appointed | 27 |
| by a statewide organization that represents both parents and | 28 |
| teachers, (viii) one member appointed by a statewide | 29 |
| organization representing administrators of special education, | 30 |
| (ix) one member who is a representative from a statewide | 31 |
| alternative education association, and (x) an additional | 32 |
| member appointed by the State Superintendent of Education based | 33 |
| on the individual's knowledge of NCLB regulations or growth |
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| model research and design, or both; and that the State Board of | 2 |
| Education shall provide such staff assistance to the Task Force | 3 |
| as is reasonably required for the proper performance of its | 4 |
| responsibilities; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall hold, at minimum, four | 6 |
| meetings, with at least one meeting held in Chicago and one | 7 |
| meeting held in Springfield, and it shall report its findings | 8 |
| to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2007; and be it | 9 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force is abolished upon completing | 11 |
| its report; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 |
| delivered to the U.S. Secretary of Education, the State Board | 14 |
| of Education, the Speaker of the United States House of | 15 |
| Representatives, the President pro tempore of the United States | 16 |
| Senate, and to each Member of the Illinois Congressional | 17 |
| delegation.
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