00                          HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9                                                                         
01 Urging the commissioner of education and early development and the state Board of                                       
02 Education and Early Development to delay implementation of statewide education                                          
03 standards.                                                                                                              
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:                                                                         
05       WHEREAS the state Board of Education and Early Development, not the legislature,                                
06 adopted new statewide education performance standards, described as college and career                                  
07 readiness standards, in English and language arts and mathematics in June 2012; and                                     
08       WHEREAS, in May 2013, the United States Department of Education granted to the                              
09 Department of Education and Early Development a flexibility waiver of specified provisions                              
10 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that amended the Elementary and Secondary                                       
11 Education Act, based in part on the college and career readiness standards; and                                         
12       WHEREAS the college and career readiness standards have not been tested in the                                  
13 state; and                                                                                                              
14       WHEREAS the college and career readiness standards substantively change the                                     
15 educational standards for all students and teachers in the state; and                                                   
01       WHEREAS unknown and significant costs are associated with implementation of the                                 
02 college and career readiness standards; and                                                                             
03       WHEREAS many school districts in the state lack the technology, infrastructure, and                             
04 funding to provide online testing aligned with the college and career readiness standards                               
05 contemplated by the Department of Education and Early Development; and                                                  
06       WHEREAS the state Board of Education and Early Development has not secured                                      
07 funding for schools that will require curricular, technological, and infrastructural                                    
08 modifications as a result of the college and career readiness standards;                                                
09       BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges Commissioner Hanley                                      
10 and the state Board of Education and Early Development to delay implementation of the                                   
11 college and career readiness standards until the state Board of Education and Early                                     
12 Development conducts a study of the costs associated with implementation of the college and                             
13 career readiness standards, including the costs of curriculum alignment, technological                                  
14 improvement, teacher preparation, and new standards-based assessments; and be it                                        
15       FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives requests that the state                                      
16 Board of Education and Early Development collaborate with the Alaska State Legislature to                               
17 develop and implement a statewide transition plan to satisfy the requirements of the flexibility                        
18 waiver of specified provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that amended the                                 
19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.                                                                               
20       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Sean Parnell, Governor of                              
21 Alaska; the Honorable Mike Hanley, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early                                      
22 Development; and the members of the state Board of Education and Early Development.