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92_HJ0076
LRB9216771NTsbA
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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, The General Assembly, working with educators,
20 community groups, and private sector interests, has passed
21 into law many similar student-testing requirements over the
22 course of the past decade, which have been and are being
23 implemented throughout the State of Illinois; and
24 WHEREAS, It is the intention of the General Assembly to
25 align current State student testing programs with Public Law
26 107-110 in ways that continue the progress being made to make
27 Illinois' good public schools even better and to do so in a
28 deliberate, thoughtful, and common-sense fashion respecting
29 the appropriate State roles and responsibilities and those of
30 local school boards, administrators, teachers, school
31 employees, parents, and their respective local partners;
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1 therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
4 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that all Illinois Standards
5 Achievement Test and Prairie State Achievement Examination
6 subject-area testing that exceeds Public Law 107-110's
7 requirements be eliminated beginning with the 2002-03 school
8 year; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That Illinois will comply with Public Law
10 107-110 by implementing, beginning with the 2002-03 school
11 year, testing of students in the subject areas of reading and
12 mathematics once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12; and be it
13 further
14 RESOLVED, That Illinois will comply with Public Law
15 107-110 in the 2005-06 school year when Public Law 107-110
16 increases requirements by requiring annual testing of reading
17 and mathematics in grades 3-8 and once in grades 10-12; and
18 be it further
19 RESOLVED, That Illinois will comply with Public Law
20 107-110 in the 2007-2008 school year when Public Law 107-110
21 increases requirements by requiring testing of science once
22 in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That the State Assessment System Policy and
24 Implementation Task Force be immediately established to
25 develop the procedures needed to implement an approved,
26 nationally recognized, referenced test that meets the
27 requirements of Public Law 107-110 and to take any actions
28 necessary to ensure that the assessment system, including
29 tests, administration, reporting, and professional
30 development, is of high quality and educationally useful and
31 understandable; and be it further
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1 RESOLVED, That the task force shall be comprised of 25
2 representatives as follows: one member of the Senate
3 appointed by the President of the Senate and one member of
4 the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
5 one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the
6 Speaker of the House and one member of the House of
7 Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the
8 House; 8 teachers, with 4 appointed by Illinois Education
9 Association and 4 appointed by the Illinois Federation of
10 Teachers; 6 persons appointed by the Illinois Statewide
11 School Management Alliance; 4 business representatives, with
12 one each appointed by the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce,
13 Illinois Manufacturers' Association, Illinois Retail
14 Merchants Association, and Illinois Business Roundtable; the
15 State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; the
16 Deputy Governor of Workforce and Education; and one professor
17 appointed by the Board of Higher Education and employed in an
18 assessment research position; and be it further
19 RESOLVED, That the task force shall select 2 members to
20 serve as co-chairs at its initial meeting, shall meet at the
21 call of the chairs, and shall have duties that include
22 conducting a series of public hearings during the summer and
23 fall of 2002 for the purpose of understanding the student
24 testing required by Public Law 107-110; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the task force shall submit an initial
26 report on its findings and recommendations to the General
27 Assembly on December 15, 2002, with a final report and
28 recommendations submitted to the General Assembly on March
29 15, 2003; and that upon filing its final report the task
30 force is dissolved; and be it further
31 RESOLVED, That the timelines for implementation of Public
32 Law 107-110 and policy options to be determined by the State
33 Board of Education in meeting the requirements of Public Law
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1 107-110 shall come before the General Assembly by May 14,
2 2002; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education, being a
4 regulatory body ultimately accountable to the citizens of
5 Illinois through the elected members of the General Assembly,
6 shall not adopt any rules pertaining to the implementation of
7 Public Law 107-110 prior to the final report of the task
8 force; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10 delivered to the State Superintendent of Education, the
11 President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate,
12 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority
13 Leader of the House of Representatives, the Governor, the
14 Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of
15 Teachers, the Illinois Principals Association, the Illinois
16 Association of School Administrators, the Illinois
17 Association of School Business Officials, the Illinois
18 Association of School Boards, the Illinois State Chamber of
19 Commerce, the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, the
20 Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Business
21 Roundtable, and the Board of Higher Education.
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