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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
92_HJ0076eng HJ0076 Engrossed LRB9216771NTsbA 1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 76 2 WHEREAS, The United States Congress has passed and the 3 President of the United States has signed into law the 4 federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, 5 in an attempt by the federal government to require states to 6 set high academic standards to further ensure outstanding 7 public school performance; and 8 WHEREAS, Public Law 107-110 requires State compliance and 9 alignment of State standards in regards to student testing to 10 meet the federal student-testing requirements to qualify for 11 federal education dollars; and 12 WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is or will be 13 required to submit implementation plans to ensure compliance 14 with Public Law 107-110 regarding student testing; and 15 WHEREAS, The State Board of Education is or will be 16 required to submit documentation regarding the progress made 17 to ensure compliance with Public Law 107-110's 18 student-testing requirements; and 19 WHEREAS, Illinois has exceeded these requirements, 20 including, but not limited to, the testing of science, social 21 sciences, and writing; and 22 WHEREAS, The General Assembly, working with educators, 23 community groups, and private sector interests, has passed 24 into law many similar student-testing requirements over the 25 course of the past decade, which have been and are being 26 implemented throughout the State of Illinois; and 27 WHEREAS, There is some concern about the current testing 28 process; and 29 WHEREAS, It is the intention of the General Assembly to 30 align current State student testing programs with Public Law HJ0076 Engrossed -2- LRB9216771NTsbA 1 107-110 in ways that continue the progress being made to make 2 Illinois' good public schools even better and to do so in a 3 deliberate, thoughtful, and common-sense fashion respecting 4 the appropriate State roles and responsibilities and those of 5 local school boards, administrators, teachers, school 6 employees, parents, and their respective local partners; 7 therefore, be it 8 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 9 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 10 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that current testing under the 11 Illinois Standards Achievement Test and Prairie State 12 Achievement Examination shall be continued; and be it further 13 RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education shall not 14 pursue activities designed to expand that testing without 15 legislative approval; and be it further 16 RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education must make 17 recommendations, in conjunction with the task force to be 18 established under this resolution, designed to maximize the 19 federal moneys available under Public Law 107-110; and be it 20 further 21 RESOLVED, That Illinois will comply with Public Law 22 107-110 in the 2005-06 school year when Public Law 107-110 23 increases requirements by requiring annual testing of reading 24 and mathematics in grades 3-8 and once in grades 10-12; and 25 be it further 26 RESOLVED, That Illinois will comply with Public Law 27 107-110 in the 2007-2008 school year when Public Law 107-110 28 increases requirements by requiring testing of science once 29 in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12; and be it further 30 RESOLVED, That the State Assessment System Policy and 31 Implementation Task Force be immediately established to HJ0076 Engrossed -3- LRB9216771NTsbA 1 develop, with careful consideration, the procedures needed to 2 implement an approved test or tests that meet the 3 requirements of Public Law 107-110 and to take any actions 4 necessary to ensure that the assessment system, including 5 tests, administration, reporting, and professional 6 development, is of high quality and educationally useful and 7 understandable; and be it further 8 RESOLVED, That the task force shall be comprised of 17 9 representatives as follows: one member of the Senate 10 appointed by the President of the Senate and one member of 11 the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; 12 one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the 13 Speaker of the House and one member of the House of 14 Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the 15 House; 4 teachers, with 2 appointed by the Illinois Education 16 Association and 2 appointed by the Illinois Federation of 17 Teachers; 5 persons appointed by the Illinois Statewide 18 School Management Alliance; 2 business representatives, 19 appointed jointly by the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, 20 Illinois Manufacturers' Association, Illinois Retail 21 Merchants Association, and Illinois Business Roundtable; one 22 person appointed by the Board of Higher Education; and the 23 State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; and 24 be it further 25 RESOLVED, That the task force shall select 2 members to 26 serve as co-chairs at its initial meeting, shall meet at the 27 call of the chairs, and shall have duties that include 28 conducting a series of public hearings during the summer and 29 fall of 2002 for the purpose of understanding the student 30 testing required by Public Law 107-110; and be it further 31 RESOLVED, That the task force shall submit an initial 32 report on its findings and recommendations to the General 33 Assembly on December 15, 2002, with a final report and HJ0076 Engrossed -4- LRB9216771NTsbA 1 recommendations submitted to the General Assembly on March 2 15, 2003; and that upon filing its final report the task 3 force is dissolved; and be it further 4 RESOLVED, That the timelines for implementation of Public 5 Law 107-110 and policy options to be determined by the State 6 Board of Education in meeting the requirements of Public Law 7 107-110 shall come before the General Assembly by May 31, 8 2002; and be it further 9 RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, being a 10 regulatory body ultimately accountable to the citizens of 11 Illinois through the elected members of the General Assembly, 12 shall not adopt any rules pertaining to the implementation of 13 Public Law 107-110 prior to the final report of the task 14 force; and be it further 15 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 16 delivered to the State Superintendent of Education, the 17 President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, 18 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority 19 Leader of the House of Representatives, the Governor, the 20 Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of 21 Teachers, the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois 22 Association of School Administrators, the Illinois 23 Association of School Business Officials, the Illinois 24 Association of School Boards, the Illinois State Chamber of 25 Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, the 26 Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Business 27 Roundtable, and the Board of Higher Education.