HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

146

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting members of hawaii's congressional delegation to work to obtain additional funds necessary to meet the mandates of the federal "no child left behind act of 2001".

 

 

WHEREAS, the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" is a federal law that imposes certain requirements on state education agencies. As applied to Hawaii, by the end of school year 2013-2014, the Department of Education must ensure that all students meet or exceed a "proficient" level of academic achievement on required state assessments (i.e., reading, mathematics, and science) and other academic measures (i.e., graduation rate for high schools and retention rate for elementary and middle schools); and

WHEREAS, all schools, including charter schools, must make "adequate yearly progress" toward achieving the one hundred per cent goal established by the Act. In addition, the Act is concerned about certain "subgroups" of students: economically disadvantaged students; students from major racial and ethnic groups; students with disabilities; and students with limited English proficiency. Each of these subgroups must make "adequate yearly progress" on all required state assessments and other academic measures; and

WHEREAS, if a Title I (federally funded compensatory education program for low-income and at-risk students) school fails to make "adequate yearly progress", then certain consequences will follow. If the failure is:

(1) For two consecutive years, then the Department of Education must: give parents the option of transferring their children to another school at the beginning of the third year, including a charter school, that has not been identified as needing improvement;

(2) For three consecutive years, then the Department must: give parents who remain at a school that has been identified as needing improvement the option of obtaining supplemental educational services for their children (e.g., tutoring and other enrichment services that are in addition to instruction provided during the school day) at the beginning of the fourth year;

(3) For four consecutive years, then the Department must: (A) replace some school staff; (B) implement a new curriculum; (C) decrease the school's management authority; (D) appoint an outside adviser; (E) extend the school day or year; or (F) restructure the internal organization of the school; and

(4) For five consecutive years, then the Department must implement one of the following alternative governance arrangements in accordance with the school's restructuring plan: (A) reopen the school as a charter school; (B) replace all or most of the school's staff; or (C) turn management of the school over to a private company;

and

WHEREAS, the belief among many education experts is that it is not reasonable to reach these goals or to make the "adequate yearly progress" required by the Act given the high level of student needs and the low level of federal funding. More specifically, many experts believe that the law over-estimates the ability of schools to overcome the effects of neglect and poverty and is overly-optimistic in its assumption that all students will come to school ready and eager to learn; and

WHEREAS, many education experts also believe that the federal regulations for assessing the quality of schools are dangerously arbitrary and inflexible and will result in many schools being labeled as failures, even when they may be improving by most measures. These experts also believe that many schools will be labeled as low-performing for what amounts to statistical--rather than educational--reasons; and

WHEREAS, the federal government provided the State with $33,900,000 in fiscal year 2002-2003 in order to carry out the purposes of the Act, and recent discussions indicate that the federal government will provide Hawaii with $35,000,000 in fiscal year 2003-2004 and $37,300,000 in fiscal year 2004-2005 in order to continue carrying out the purposes of the Act; and

WHEREAS, an analysis of the fiscal impact of the Act conducted by the Department of Education indicates that the Department will need an additional $176,300,000 in fiscal year 2003-2004 and $260,000,000 in fiscal year 2004-2005 in order to carry out the purposes of the Act. Federal funding for the Act is far below the amount that was agreed to during negotiations with Congress, and this shortfall will hinder the State's ability to continue carrying out the goal of the Act; and

WHEREAS, the State lauds the goal and intent of the Act, as it applies to the creation of a rigorous and valid accountability system and initiatives for improving educational opportunities and outcomes for all students. Hawaii, however, cannot condone what amounts to yet another inadequately funded state mandate--the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504, Subpart D of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act being among the other notable, inadequately funded state mandates; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that members of Hawaii's congressional delegation are requested to work to obtain additional funds necessary to meet the mandates of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001