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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate recognize that | ||||||
3 | the State Board of Education's decision to implement the Common | ||||||
4 | Core State Standards was not authorized by the General | ||||||
5 | Assembly; and
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6 | WHEREAS, In 2010, Illinois became one of 45 states to opt | ||||||
7 | into the Common Core State Standards Initiative by accepting | ||||||
8 | federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act | ||||||
9 | of 2009 and through the Race to the Top initiative of the | ||||||
10 | federal government; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Over the next few years, the Common Core State | ||||||
12 | Standards, which are largely untested in the United States, | ||||||
13 | will substantively change the educational standards for | ||||||
14 | students in Illinois, thus affecting every teacher and student | ||||||
15 | in the State; and
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16 | WHEREAS, There are many unknown and significant costs | ||||||
17 | associated with the Common Core State Standards and the | ||||||
18 | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and | ||||||
19 | Careers; and
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20 | WHEREAS, The only substantive cost analysis of the | ||||||
21 | implementation of the Common Core State Standards was conducted |
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1 | by the Pioneer Institute, a non-partisan, privately funded | ||||||
2 | research organization, which estimates the financial impact | ||||||
3 | for Illinois to be close to $773 million over 7 years; and
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4 | WHEREAS, There are many school districts who lack the | ||||||
5 | technology, infrastructure, and funding to create an | ||||||
6 | environment for the online-standards testing required by the | ||||||
7 | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers | ||||||
8 | or the new textbooks that will be needed to teach to the Common | ||||||
9 | Core State Standards; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has not secured | ||||||
11 | funding for schools that will need curricular, technological, | ||||||
12 | and infrastructure upgrades; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The most recent data shows that over 60% of school | ||||||
14 | districts are operating with a deficit, the prospect of a | ||||||
15 | pension cost-shift, and other expensive unfunded mandates by | ||||||
16 | the State; and
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17 | WHEREAS, It is inconceivable to require districts to incur | ||||||
18 | costs to upgrade schools in their respective districts because | ||||||
19 | the State Board of Education unilaterally made the decision to | ||||||
20 | move to the Common Core State Standards, without counsel from | ||||||
21 | school districts, without a strong statewide informational | ||||||
22 | campaign about the Common Core State Standards, and without |
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1 | performing a cost analysis for school districts and the State; | ||||||
2 | and
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3 | WHEREAS, Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have opted | ||||||
4 | out of the Common Core State Standards and more than a dozen | ||||||
5 | states are considering legislation to repeal involvement in | ||||||
6 | Common Core; 7 Governors have also issued executive orders to | ||||||
7 | reexamine, change, or delay implementation or use of Common | ||||||
8 | Core; therefore, be it
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9 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | ||||||
10 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the State | ||||||
11 | Superintendent of Education and the State Board of Education to | ||||||
12 | opt out of the Common Core State Standards until a | ||||||
13 | Board-authorized and conducted study shows the costs | ||||||
14 | associated with the Common Core State Standards and the | ||||||
15 | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and | ||||||
16 | Careers; and be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and General | ||||||
18 | Assembly create a viable plan to provide funding to school | ||||||
19 | districts that need improvements and modernizations to comply | ||||||
20 | with the new Common Core State Standards and the Partnership | ||||||
21 | for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers; and be it | ||||||
22 | further
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1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | delivered to the State Superintendent of Education and the | ||||||
3 | State Board of Education.
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