HR 1967

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution urging the United States Congress to
3	reevaluate the requirements of the No Child Left Behind
4	Act and to fund the authorized levels required by the act.
5
6	WHEREAS, Florida led the nation in school reform when, in
7	1990, the Legislature passed what was popularly known as
8	"Blueprint 2000," a system of school reform and accountability,
9	and
10	WHEREAS, Blueprint 2000 called for the establishment of
11	goals for K-12 education, high standards of achievement,
12	development of a curriculum based on the standards, and an
13	assessment system to ensure student learning progress and school
14	accountability, and
15	WHEREAS, Florida has witnessed tremendous educational gains
16	among its students as a result of the efforts of its students,
17	teachers, parents, schools, and communities as an outcome of the
18	implementation of the school reform and accountability system
19	and,
20	WHEREAS, in 2001 the Congress of the United States enacted
21	and President Bush later signed into law the "No Child Left
22	Behind Act," an act designed to ensure accountability of
23	America's schools for the academic success of our students,
24	especially those from minority groups, those with disabilities,
25	and those with limited English proficiency, and
26	WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act represents one of the
27	most sweeping federal intrusions into state and local control of
28	education and disregards the time-honored American principle of
29	balanced federalism and respect for state and local
30	prerogatives, especially in education, and
31	WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act mandates that all
32	schools attain adequate yearly progress toward the goal of 100
33	percent student proficiency in reading, math, language arts, and
34	science by the 2013-2014 school year, and
35	WHEREAS, most of the schools deemed as performing well
36	under Florida's system were determined to be deficient under the
37	No Child Left Behind Act, and
38	WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act has been determined
39	to be a tremendous unfunded mandate during a time of economic
40	challenges in the state and funding cutbacks in public education
41	budgets, NOW, THEREFORE,
42
43	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
44	Florida:
45
46	That the House of Representatives, on behalf of the people
47	of the State of Florida and its system of public elementary and
48	secondary school education, respectfully requests the President
49	and Congress of the United States to hold harmless those states
50	which, as a result of their own educational accountability
51	systems, meet or exceed the requirements of the No Child Left
52	Behind Act.
53	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that federal funding be provided in
54	amounts consistent with the levels authorized in the No Child
55	Left Behind Act for education programs and expanded information
56	systems needed to accurately reflect student, school, and
57	school-district performance and professional development
58	training necessary for teachers.
59	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that appropriate methods of
60	assessment be authorized for students who are not proficient in
61	English and students with disabilities.
62	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that an alternative methodology be
63	allowed for determining adequate yearly progress targets and
64	progress of students who are not proficient in English and
65	students with disabilities.
66	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that flexibility be allowed in
67	calculating adequate yearly progress for students belonging to
68	multiple groups and subgroups.
69	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that current law, including any
70	revisions thereof, recognizes that under our federal system of
71	government education is primarily a state and local
72	responsibility.
73	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State send
74	copies of this resolution to the Honorable George W. Bush,
75	President of the United States, the President of the United
76	States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
77	Representatives, the members of the Florida Congressional
78	Delegation, the United States House of Representatives Committee
79	on Education and the Workforce, and the United States Senate
80	Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.