00                    CS FOR HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9(EDC)                                                                   
01 Urging the commissioner of education and early development and the state Board of                                       
02 Education and Early Development to evaluate and ensure that, in setting state education                                 
03 performance standards, Alaska's sovereignty is maintained and that the standards of the                                 
04 Common Core State Standards Initiative are not adopted as state education                                               
05 performance standards.                                                                                                  
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:                                                                         
07       WHEREAS the state Board of Education and Early Development, not the legislature,                                
08 adopted new statewide education performance standards, described as college and career                                  
09 readiness standards in English, language arts, and mathematics in June 2012; and                                        
10       WHEREAS, in May 2013, the United States Department of Education granted to the                              
11 Department of Education and Early Development a flexibility waiver of specified provisions                              
12 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, that amended the Elementary and Secondary                                      
13 Education Act, based in part on the college and career readiness standards; and                                         
14       WHEREAS the college and career readiness standards have not been validated in the                               
15 state; and                                                                                                              
01       WHEREAS unknown and significant costs are associated with implementation of the                                 
02 Elementary and Secondary Education Act waiver; and                                                                      
03       WHEREAS many school districts in the state lack the technology, infrastructure, and                             
04 funding to provide online testing aligned with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act                               
05 waiver adopted 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 need curricular, technological, and infrastructural modifications and                          
08 professional development as a result of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act waiver                               
09 agreement;                                                                                                              
10       BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges the commissioner of                                      
11 education and early development and the state Board of Education and Early Development to                               
12 verify that the Alaska "college and career readiness standards" establish standards a secondary                         
13 school graduate must meet to obtain the requisite knowledge and skill to transition without                             
14 remediation to postsecondary education or training and, ultimately, into a sustainable career;                          
15 and be it                                                                                                               
16       FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges the commissioner                                       
17 of education and early development and the state Board of Education and Early Development                               
18 to ensure that those educational standards meet national benchmarks for college and career                              
19 readiness, are aligned with postsecondary educational expectations, employ the highest                                  
20 standards, maintain state sovereignty, and provide strict safeguards to protect the                                     
21 confidentiality of student data; and be it                                                                              
22       FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives urges the state Board of                                     
23 Education and Early Development to identify all improvements and adaptations necessary to                               
24 implement the Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility waiver and calculate the                               
25 related costs, including the expenses of curriculum alignment, technological improvements,                              
26 teacher preparation, and new standards-based assessments; and be it                                                     
27       FURTHER RESOLVED by the House of Representatives that neither the                                               
28 Department of Education and Early Development nor the state Board of Education and Early                                
29 Development shall expend any money to implement the set of educational curriculum                                       
30 standards for grades kindergarten through 12 established by the Common Core State                                       
31 Standards Initiative; and be it                                                                                         
01       FURTHER RESOLVED by the House of Representatives that, after June 30, 2014,                                     
02 the state, or the state Board of Education and Early Development on behalf of the state, may                            
03 not enter into or renew an agreement with any organization, entity, group, or consortium that                           
04 requires the state to cede any measure of autonomy or control over state education standards                            
05 and assessments, including cut scores.                                                                                  
06       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Sean Parnell, Governor of                              
07 Alaska; the Honorable Mike Hanley, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early                                      
08 Development; and the members of the state Board of Education and Early Development.