HM 0877

1
House Memorial
2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3Congress to reevaluate the requirements of the No Child
4Left Behind Act and to fund the levels authorized in the
5act.
6
7     WHEREAS, Florida led the nation in school reform when, in
81990, the Legislature passed what was popularly known as
9"Blueprint 2000," a system of school reform and accountability,
10and
11     WHEREAS, Blueprint 2000 called for the establishment of
12goals for K-12 education, high standards of achievement,
13development of a curriculum based on the standards, and an
14assessment system to ensure student learning progress and school
15accountability, and
16     WHEREAS, Florida has witnessed tremendous educational gains
17among its students as a result of the efforts of its students,
18teachers, parents, schools, and communities as an outcome of the
19implementation of the school reform and accountability system,
20and
21     WHEREAS, in 2001, the Congress of the United States enacted
22and President Bush later signed into law the "No Child Left
23Behind Act," an act designed to ensure accountability of
24America's schools for the academic success of our students,
25especially those from minority groups, those with disabilities,
26and those with limited English proficiency, and
27     WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act represents one of the
28most sweeping federal intrusions into state and local control of
29education and disregards the time-honored American principle of
30balanced federalism and respect for state and local
31prerogatives, especially in education, and
32     WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act mandates that all
33schools attain adequate yearly progress toward the goal of 100
34percent student proficiency in reading, math, language arts, and
35science by the 2013-2014 school year, and
36     WHEREAS, most of the schools deemed as performing well
37under Florida's system were determined to be deficient under the
38No Child Left Behind Act, and
39     WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act has been determined
40to be a tremendous unfunded mandate during a time of economic
41challenges in the state and funding cutbacks in public education
42budgets, NOW, THEREFORE,
43
44Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46     That the Congress of the United States is requested to hold
47harmless those states that, as a result of their own educational
48accountability systems, meet or exceed the requirements of the
49No Child Left Behind Act.
50     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
51States is requested to provide federal funding in amounts
52consistent with the levels authorized in the No Child Left
53Behind Act for education programs and expanded information
54systems needed to accurately reflect student, school, and school
55district performance and professional development training
56necessary for teachers.
57     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
58States is requested to authorize appropriate methods of
59assessment for students who are not proficient in English and
60students with disabilities.
61     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
62States is requested to allow an alternative methodology for
63determining adequate yearly progress targets and progress of
64students who are not proficient in English and students with
65disabilities.
66     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
67States is requested to allow flexibility in calculating adequate
68yearly progress for students belonging to multiple groups and
69subgroups.
70     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Congress of the United
71States is requested to recognize, through law and revisions
72thereto, that our federal system of government education is
73primarily a state and local responsibility.
74     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
75dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
76President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
77United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
78the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.


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