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HJR 259 - Introduced - PDF
HJR259
192233-1
By Representative Hall
RFD: Rules
First Read: 27-FEB-18
192233-1:n:02/26/2018:DSM*/bm LSA2018-1040
REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EDUCATION FROM THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
WHEREAS, we are now competing and living in a global
community, and this new reality can increasingly be a benefit;
and
WHEREAS, our public school students no longer
compete only with peers in their state or even our country;
and
WHEREAS, our nation's students are now also
competing against students in countries all over the world;
and
WHEREAS, as changes make our world much smaller, we
must do everything we can to prepare our students for this new
reality; and
WHEREAS, with collective effort and support, our
students can achieve any goal placed before them, including
being abundantly prepared to compete in the global economy;
and
WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act was a
bipartisan legislative effort signed into law in December
2015, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act; and
WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act provides the
states an opportunity to further shape school systems in a way
that will best prepare our public school students for the
future; and
WHEREAS, in order for successful change to
transpire, additional assistance in funding may be required
from the federal government; and
WHEREAS, in the recent past, we have seen that by
states' leading policy discussions around public education and
the federal government's providing needed funding, positive
results in increasing student learning outcomes and
preparedness can be achieved; and
WHEREAS, a suitable school system is effective and
fair in how it prepares students within the constructs of the
that particular system; and
WHEREAS, effectiveness in how well a particular
system prepares the students in that system and the fairness
with which the resources are allocated to educate students can
require additional funding beyond the normal level of current
federal funding; and
WHEREAS, an increase in these two variables will
lead to better overall preparedness of all our public school
students; and
WHEREAS, for the purpose of the preceding two
clauses, fairness is defined by how equitably funding
resources are allocated per pupil based on need, with an
annual baseline funding amount of $9,585 per pupil when
adjusted for the comparative wage index, or within ten percent
of current funding levels, whichever is greater; and
WHEREAS, an effective school system can be defined
in different ways; and
WHEREAS, the National Conference of State
Legislatures convened a bipartisan working group of
twenty-eight veteran education-policy legislators from around
the country which recently issued a report called No Time to
Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by
State; and
WHEREAS, the report released findings on effective
school systems around the world and, after an 18-month period
of labor, the group concluded that there were some recurring
components and several repeated overarching factors in these
effective systems; and
WHEREAS, according to the report, the elements of an
effective public education system are:
(1) "Children come to school ready to learn, and
extra support is given to struggling students so that all have
the opportunity to achieve high standards";
(2) "A world-class teaching profession supports a
world-class instructional system, where every students has
access to highly effective teachers and is expected to
succeed";
(3) "A highly effective, intellectually rigorous
system of career and technical education is available to those
preferring an applied education"; and
(4) "Individual reforms are connected and aligned as
parts of a clearly planned and carefully designed
comprehensive system"; and
WHEREAS, for the purpose of the preceding clause:
(1) An "effective school system" is defined as a
public school system that sets high student learning outcomes,
including academic standards, and then implements changes to
achieve those high standards within the system;
(2) "High standards" are defined as standards that
are internationally competitive; and
(3) "Internationally competitive" can be defined as
a public school system globally ranked among the top ten with
respect to the Program for International Student Assessment;
now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH
HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That in accordance with the spirit
of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which encourages states to
implement adjustments to their public school systems and to
help achieve higher levels of effectiveness and fairness
within our school systems, through voluntary partnership, the
United States Department of Education is requested to offer
competitive sources of additional federal funding to the
states through their respective eligible entities in a second
round of new, additional federal funding.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that through voluntary
partnership, the United States Department of Education is
requested to provide additional funding to those states
currently under an annual baseline funding amount of $9,585
per pupil when adjusted for the comparative wage index.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that because certain states
are currently internationally competitive, or are approaching
international competitiveness, as a first round of new,
additional federal funding assistance, through voluntary
partnership, the United States Department of Education is
requested to immediately award federal funding to the states
with the highest National Assessment of Educational Progress
assessment scores; provided that the cumulative score in
reading and math is above 473 in fourth grade, 563 in eighth
grade, and 450 in twelfth grade; provided further that these
states are willing to share information on the specifics of
their public school systems' educational reforms and current
practices with the United States Department of Education and
other states' eligible entities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that although these types of
adjustments require collective effort, teachers are the
largest contributing factor to student success and
preparedness; therefore, through voluntary partnership, the
United States Department of Education is requested to pay each
full-time national board certified public school teacher a
$5,000 annual bonus payment; provided that certain criteria
are met.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that such criteria include,
but not be limited to, the requirement that 50 percent of
students per class meet or exceed grade-level proficiency by
obtaining subject-matter proficiency equal to or exceeding
that of the rate of incremental change to 235 points in
fourth-grade reading, to 251 points in fourth-grade math, to
274 points in eighth-grade reading, to 279 points in
eighth-grade math, to 293 points in twelfth-grade reading, and
to 161 points in twelfth-grade math in the National Assessment
of Educational Progress scores; and, with respect to the
Program for International Student Assessment, every three
years beginning in the next assessment cycle, to a score of
527 in reading, a score of 514 in math, and a score of 527 in
science for public school students who are fifteen years of
age; provided that the same or similar assessment methodology
for the National Assessment of Educational Progress be used
for the remaining grade levels, excluding every third year for
public school students who are fifteen years of age, starting
in the next Program for International Student Assessment
cycle.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the rate of change
increases at an equally divisible rate each year for a period
of ten consecutive years from the current point level, also
defined as the starting point level; this requirement may not
be the sole requirement to receive the bonus payment; and the
primary bargaining unit's exclusive representative, the local
counterpart, and the employer must formally agree on any
remaining requirements and that such bonus payments must be
awarded to each full-time national board certified public
school teacher who meets the total requirements.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the states and the
federal government work together, the states, which have a
significant responsibility in preparing public school students
for the future success of self, state, and country, can better
ensure that these students are internationally competitive and
truly prepared for the future, because the states and our
country depend on it.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this
resolution be transmitted to the President of the United
States, Secretary of the United States Department of
Education, the Governor of each state, the director or other
head of each state's Board of Education, and the Chief State
School Officer of each state.