Bill Text: HI SCR48 | 2017 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Requesting Additional Funding For Education From The United States Department Of Education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-29 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SCR48 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-SCR48-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	48
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EDUCATION FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii are now competing and living in a global community, and this new reality can increasingly be a benefit; and

WHEREAS, public school students in Hawaii no longer compete only with peers in the State or even the country; and

WHEREAS, the nation's students are now also competing against students in countries all over the world; and

WHEREAS, as changes make the world much smaller, it is vitally important to do everything possible to prepare students for this new reality; and

WHEREAS, with collective effort and support, students can achieve any goal placed before them, including being abundantly prepared to compete in the global economy; and

WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act was a bipartisan legislative effort signed into law in December 2015, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act; and

WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act provides the states an opportunity to further shape school systems in a way that will best prepare public school students for the future; and

WHEREAS, in order for successful change to transpire, additional assistance in funding may be required from the federal government; and

WHEREAS, in the recent past, it has been demonstrated that by states' leading policy discussions around public education and the federal government's providing needed funding, positive results in increasing student learning outcomes and preparedness can be achieved; and

WHEREAS, a suitable school system is effective and fair in how it prepares students within the constructs of that particular system; and

WHEREAS, effectiveness in how well a particular system prepares the students in that system and the fairness with which the resources are allocated to educate students can require additional funding beyond the normal level of current federal funding; and

WHEREAS, an increase in these two variables will lead to better overall preparedness of all public school students; and

WHEREAS, for the purpose of this measure, fairness is defined by how equitably funding resources are allocated per pupil based on need, with an annual baseline funding amount of $9,585 per pupil when adjusted for the comparative wage index, or within ten percent of current funding levels, whichever is greater; and

WHEREAS, an effective school system can be defined in different ways; and

WHEREAS, the National Conference of State Legislatures convened a bipartisan working group of twenty-eight veteran education-policy legislators from around the country which recently issued a report entitled "No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State"; and

WHEREAS, the report released findings on effective school systems around the world and, after an 18-month period of labor, the group concluded that there were some recurring components and several repeated overarching factors in these effective systems; and

WHEREAS, according to the report, an effective public education system is one:

(1) In which "children come to school ready to learn with extra support given to struggling students so all have an opportunity to achieve high standards";

(2) That includes "a world-class teaching profession who supports a world-class instructional system, where every student has access to highly effective teachers and is expected to succeed";

(3) That includes "a highly effective, intellectually rigorous system of career and technical education, available to those preferring an applied education"; and

(4) That is characterized by "individual reforms that are connected and aligned as parts of a clearly planned and carefully designed comprehensive system"; and

WHEREAS, for the purpose of the preceding clause:

(1) An "effective school system" is defined as a public school system that sets high student learning outcomes, including academic standards, and then implements changes to achieve those high standards within the system;

(2) "High standards" is defined as standards that are internationally competitive; and

(3) "Internationally competitive" can be defined as a public school system globally ranked amongst the top ten with respect to the Program for International Student Assessment; and

WHEREAS, with proper support, Hawaii's children can be amongst the most internationally competitive students in the new global community; and

WHEREAS, if the states and the federal government work together, the states, which have a significant responsibility in preparing public school students for the future success of self, state, and country, can better ensure that these students are internationally competitive and truly prepared for the future, because the states and the country depend on it; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the House of Representatives concurring, that in accordance with the spirit of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the United States Department of Education is requested to offer competitive sources of additional federal funding to the states through their respective eligible entities in a second round of additional federal funding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of Education is requested to provide additional funding to those states currently under an annual baseline funding amount of $9,585 per pupil when adjusted for the comparative wage index; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED as a first round of additional federal funding assistance, the United States Department of Education is requested to immediately award federal funding to the states with the highest National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment scores; provided that the cumulative score in reading and math is above 473 in fourth grade, 563 in eighth grade, and 450 in twelfth grade; provided further that these states are willing to share information on the specifics of their public school systems' educational reforms and current practices with the United States Department of Education and other states' eligible entities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Department of Education is requested to pay to each full-time national board certified public school teacher a $5,000 annual bonus payment; provided that certain criteria are met; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such criteria include but not be limited to the requirement that 50 percent of students per class meet or exceed grade-level proficiency by obtaining subject-matter proficiency equal to or exceeding that of the rate of incremental change to 235 points in fourth-grade reading, to 251 points in fourth-grade math, to 274 points in eighth-grade reading, to 279 points in eighth-grade math, to 293 points in twelfth-grade reading, and to 161 points in twelfth-grade math in the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores; and, with respect to the Program for International Student Assessment, every three years beginning in the next assessment cycle, to a score of 527 in reading, a score of 514 in math, and a score of 527 in science for public school students who are fifteen years of age; provided that the same or similar assessment methodology for the National Assessment of Educational Progress be used for the remaining grade levels, excluding every third year for public school students who are fifteen years of age, starting in the next Program for International Student Assessment cycle; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that:

(1) The rate of change increases at an equally divisible rate each year for a period of ten consecutive years from the current point level, also defined as the starting point level;

(2) This requirement may not be the sole requirement to receive the bonus payment; and

(3) The primary bargaining unit's exclusive representative and the state Department of Education must formally agree on any remaining requirements and such bonus payments be awarded to each full-time national board certified public school teacher who meets the total requirements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Secretary of the United States Department of Education, Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education.

Report Title:

Additional Funding for Education from United States; Department of Education