SF 1853

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                             A resolution
  1.2             memorializing the Congress of the United States to 
  1.3             amend the No Child Left Behind Act immediately to 
  1.4             provide more flexibility for states and to include a 
  1.5             mechanism for an automatic waiver from provisions for 
  1.6             school accountability for states such as Minnesota 
  1.7             that have successfully increased student achievement 
  1.8             through their own standards and accountability reforms.
  1.9      
  1.10     WHEREAS, Minnesota is a national leader in high academic 
  1.11  student achievement; and 
  1.12     WHEREAS, in 2001 the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was 
  1.13  enacted on a bipartisan basis, which has as its purpose bringing 
  1.14  academic achievement in language arts, math, and science to 
  1.15  students who are not presently achieving at acceptable levels; 
  1.16  and 
  1.17     WHEREAS, while Minnesota has been a national leader with a 
  1.18  successful track record of school performance and 
  1.19  accountability, NCLB will, according to the Minnesota Office of 
  1.20  the Legislative Auditor, cause between 80 and 100 percent of 
  1.21  Minnesota elementary schools to fail to meet adequate yearly 
  1.22  progress for proficiency by 2014; and 
  1.23     WHEREAS, even though Minnesota has demonstrated significant 
  1.24  success in raising student achievement through standards and 
  1.25  accountability, there is no provision in NCLB to grant waivers 
  1.26  from the mandates of NCLB to states such as Minnesota which have 
  1.27  demonstrated records of success; and 
  2.1      WHEREAS, a stated goal of NCLB is to provide flexibility 
  2.2   for states to improve academic achievement; and 
  2.3      WHEREAS, although Minnesota recognizes there is a serious 
  2.4   achievement gap for some students, NCLB provisions improperly 
  2.5   apply to all public schools and public school students; and 
  2.6      WHEREAS, NCLB sets expectations for all students to meet 
  2.7   the same proficiency levels, these expectations are not 
  2.8   reasonable for students with limited English proficiency and 
  2.9   students with disabilities, making it impossible for Minnesota 
  2.10  schools to comply with the law in the next decade; and 
  2.11     WHEREAS, NCLB represents a federal intrusion into state and 
  2.12  local control of education, which violates time-honored American 
  2.13  principles of balanced federalism and respect for state and 
  2.14  local prerogatives; and 
  2.15     WHEREAS, NCLB may violate the Tenth Amendment of the United 
  2.16  States Constitution which restricts the power of the federal 
  2.17  government to those so delegated by the United States 
  2.18  Constitution and reserves powers not delegated to the federal 
  2.19  government, such as education, to the states and the people; 
  2.20  NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.21     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  2.22  that it urges the Congress of the United States to amend the No 
  2.23  Child Left Behind Act immediately to include a mechanism for a 
  2.24  waiver from its provisions that shall automatically be granted 
  2.25  to states such as Minnesota that have high student achievement, 
  2.26  that any NCLB requirements negotiated with Minnesota shall only 
  2.27  apply to students whose learning is directly assisted by NCLB 
  2.28  funds, and that Minnesota be allowed to continue to work towards 
  2.29  the goal of closing the achievement gap. 
  2.30     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  2.31  State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  2.32  memorial and transmit them to the President and the Secretary of 
  2.33  the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the 
  2.34  United States House of Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators 
  2.35  and Representatives in Congress so that they may be apprised of 
  2.36  the sense of the Minnesota Legislature in this matter.