RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING CONGRESS TO AMEND THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT.

Resolved by this Assembly:

WHEREAS, in 2001 the Congress of the United States enacted and the President signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, while it has the laudable purpose of increased accountability and higher student achievement, it is an unwarranted extension of federal power without federal constitutional authority and misplaced in its application to Connecticut and other states which have consistently led the nation in accountability and student achievement; and

WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110 holds the states to rigid unfunded federal mandates, increasing the financial burdens already faced by the state of Connecticut and its cities and towns, including federal special education mandates still not funded as promised; and

WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110 requires paraprofessionals to be highly qualified, the federal government has provided neither adequate funding to provide paraprofessionals the necessary training, nor sufficient time for paraprofessionals to meet the mandated requirements; and

WHEREAS, even though Connecticut and other states have a history of demonstrated success in raising student achievement through state standards in place prior to the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110, the President and Congress made no provisions for, nor established a mechanism for, the granting of waivers from the mandates of said act for states such as Connecticut;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly expresses its solidarity with other states seeking to challenge this unwarranted federal mandate and calls upon the President and Congress of the United States to amend the No Child Left Behind Act, P.L. 107-110 to provide for a mechanism that will require the granting of waivers from said act to Connecticut and other states that (1) have implemented effective, high standards and accountability measures, (2) consistently achieve within the top tenth percentile of all states for student performance and participation in national assessments, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Scholastic Achievement Test, (3) annually profile school districts and schools for accountability and student achievement pursuant to demographic indices including subcategories of student performance, including a subcategory based on a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced price lunches, and (4) direct additional resources for school readiness and reading programs and school construction projects to school districts with a high concentration of students performing below the level of proficiency; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate cause a copy of this resolution to be sent to the President and each member of the Connecticut Congressional delegation.