HJR 259

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.