THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

120

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO APPLY TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR A WAIVER OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT.

 

 


     WHEREAS, in 2001, the United States Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (No Child Left Behind); and

 

     WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind established standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals will improve individual student outcomes; and

 

     WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a statewide standardized test annually to all students at select grade levels in order to continue to receive federal funding; and

 

     WHEREAS, achievement levels of students in Hawaii's public schools have increased, in some cases dramatically, since the inception of standardized testing under No Child Left Behind; and

 

     WHEREAS, the percentage of students testing proficient in reading increased from forty-one percent to sixty-six percent and the percentage of students testing proficient in math increased from thirty-nine percent to fifty-four percent in 2011; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the improvements that have been made, it is widely believed that all schools throughout the United States will fail to meet the grade level standards by 2014 as required by No Child Left Behind; and

 

     WHEREAS, the current presidential administration, in recognition that the requirements of No Child Left Behind are unattainable and that Congress has failed to act to remedy the situation, has begun to allow states to apply for a waiver from the requirements of No Child Left Behind, provided that states can provide a clear plan of attaining high student outcomes; and

 

     WHEREAS, ten out of the eleven states that have applied for a waiver have been granted relief from the requirements of No Child Left Behind based on their plans to improve student achievement through the preparation and evaluation of students; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Board of Education and Department of Education are requested to apply to the United States Department of Education for a waiver from the requirements of No Child Left Behind; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education are requested to develop a plan to improve and attain high student achievement that would be submitted with the waiver application; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and Department of Education are requested to provide the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and House Committee on Education with an update once the application for a waiver is filed and when any response is received from the United States Department of Education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Education are requested to conduct an informational briefing on the status of the waiver application before the Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education during the Regular Session of 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education.

Report Title: 

Education; No Child Left Behind, Waiver