RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, in 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was enacted on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by President George W. Bush; and

WHEREAS, the Act applies to all states that accept federal Title I education funds; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii receives federal Title I funds and is subject to the requirements of the Act; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the Act is for all public schools to make adequate yearly progress toward the goal of one hundred per cent student proficiency in math, reading, language arts, and science by 2013-2014; and

WHEREAS, these expectations are unreasonable for students with limited English proficiency and students with disabilities, making it impossible for Hawaii schools to comply with the law; and

WHEREAS, when students have been identified as not being proficient, the Act requires schools to help them to become proficient, which may involve tutoring, mentoring, summer school, or other programs that provide for more instructional time and require additional funding that is not provided by the Act; and

WHEREAS, the Act does not allow states with successful accountability systems to use their state system to comply with the spirit of the Act; and

WHEREAS, states should be allowed to use a value added or student growth approach in their state accountability plan; and

WHEREAS, the Act coerces participation by placing punitive

financial consequences on states refusing to participate; and

WHEREAS, the Act is an unfunded mandate that causes states and school districts to spend more money than what Congress appropriates to implement the Act; and

WHEREAS, in 2004 the National Conference of State Legislatures created a bipartisan task force to study the Act, and the task force suggested specific changes to make the Act more workable, more responsive to variations among the states, and more effective in improving elementary education; and

WHEREAS, the task force's recommendations include the following:

WHEREAS, although the Act aims to provide flexibility for states to improve academic achievement and to close the achievement gap, the task force found that little flexibility has been granted to states to implement the Act; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is respectfully requested to amend the No Child Left Behind Act according to the recommendations of the February 2005 Final Report of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Task Force on No Child Left Behind; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to allow states to continue to work toward the goal of closing the achievement gap without the coercion of losing federal funds; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to appropriate federal funding in amounts consistent with the levels authorized in the Act for education programs and expanded information systems needed to accurately reflect student, school, and school district performance and to pay the costs of making students proficient; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to authorize appropriate methods of assessments for students who are not yet proficient in English and for students with certain disabilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is urged to allow an alternative methodology for determining adequate yearly progress targets and progress of students with disabilities or who are not proficient in English; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to amend the No Child Left Behind Act's current provisions relating to adequate yearly progress to apply sanctions only when the same groups or subgroups within a grade level fail to meet adequate yearly progress targets in the same subject area for two consecutive years; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to amend the Act to allow flexibility in:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress is requested to modify the No Child Left Behind Act's provisions relating to school choice by limiting the option only to those students whose performance consistently is below the proficiency level; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the current law and any revisions thereof recognize that under our federal system of government, education is primarily a state and local responsibility; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Urging amendments to No Child Left Behind Act of 2001