ACR104

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman DOUGLAS H. FISHER

District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester)

Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS

District 38 (Bergen)

Assemblyman CRAIG A. STANLEY

District 28 (Essex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Chivukula, Wisniewski, Mayer, Gusciora, McKeon, Johnson, Burzichelli, Conners and Gordon

SYNOPSIS

Endorses National Conference of State Legislatures' recommendations concerning "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" and urges Congress and President of United States to make appropriate changes.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

A Concurrent Resolution endorsing certain recommended changes to the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001."

Whereas, The "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," (NCLB) Pub. L. 107-110 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.), embraces the laudable goal of closing the achievement gap in America's schools by establishing accountability measures for the progress of all students and high standards around core academic subjects; and

Whereas, Although the NCLB affects nearly all classroom activity, K-12 education has historically been a state responsibility, funded by state and local revenue, with the federal government contributing less than 8% of the $500 billion expended nationally for education; and

Whereas, Many teachers and school officials contend that the one-size-fits-all education accountability system encompassed within the NCLB stifles previously successful state innovations and programs and unjustly penalizes schools for failing to meet unrealistic expectations; and

Whereas, A special task force of the National Conference of State Legislatures in a report issued in February, 2005, recommended specific changes to the NCLB designed to improve the quality of education for all students and to close the gap in achievement that currently exists in schools; and

Whereas, The task force recommended that the federal government show significantly more flexibility by approving state accountability plans that meet the spirit of the law and that allow states to: focus on the schools and students most in need, measure more than just standardized test scores, set their own proficiency goals, and determine the sequence of consequences for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress; and

Whereas, The task force specified that the NCLB must recognize that some schools face special challenges, including adequately teaching students with disabilities and English language learners, and that a 100% proficiency goal is statistically unattainable; and

Whereas, Implementing the changes endorsed by the NCLB task force of the National Conference of State Legislatures will help close the achievement gap in America's schools and improve educational opportunities for all students; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. The Legislature urges the Congress and President of the United States to enact legislation making the specific changes to the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" endorsed by the NCLB task force of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and the President of the Senate and attested to by the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the President of the United States and to each member of Congress from New Jersey.

STATEMENT

This concurrent resolution urges the Congress and the President of the United States to enact legislation making the specific changes to the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" endorsed by the National Conference of State Legislatures in a February 2005 task force report.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) task force considered the following six areas related to the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" (NCLB) and the United States Department of Education's oversight of the act's implementation: the federal role in education reform; adequate yearly progress; adequate yearly progress as it applies to students with disabilities and limited English proficiency; flexibility for states to address unique schools and districts; highly qualified teachers and paraprofessional requirements; and the cost of closing the achievement gap.

Major recommendations in the task force report include: revitalization of the federal-state partnership (the source of much educational innovation in past years, including standards-based education reform on which NCLB is dependent); developing a transparent and uniform process for waiver consideration; providing greater flexibility for states in meeting the objectives of adequate yearly progress, including adding or substituting a student growth approach to testing and accountability, multiple measures of performance, setting the percent of special education students who can be tested according to their ability, and determining the appropriate time to use native-language tests and English-only tests; permitting states to decide the order of intervention when a school is identified as being in need of improvement; giving primacy to the provisions of the federal special education act, IDEA, when its provisions are in conflict with the provisions of NCLB; through amendment to NCLB, providing that special education teachers who teach multiple subjects can meet the criteria of a highly qualified teacher without having to prove content knowledge in each subject; providing a single means of evaluating teachers who teach multiple subjects for highly qualified teacher status; reevaluating the 100% student proficiency goal established in the law; and substantially increasing federal funding for the law.