SENATE
                           Final Reading
                        May 9, 2011First Regular Session
              Sixty-eighth General Assembly
                    STATE OF COLORADO
                                                  ENGROSSED
                                                           
                                                           
 LLS NO. M11-0863.01 Amanda King                  SJM11-004
                   SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Brophy,  Carroll
 
                    HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Solano and Massey,  Sonnenberg, Kagan, Miklosi
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Senate Committees
 House Committees
 
 
 Education
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                   SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 11-004 
       Memorializing Congress to repeal the provisions of the
            federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" when
            reauthorizing the federal "Elementary and Secondary
            Education Act of 1965".
       
       
            WHEREAS, The citizens of Colorado have the greatest interest in
       ensuring the success of Colorado's elementary and secondary public
       education system; and
       
            WHEREAS, The citizens of Colorado understand and are familiar
       with Colorado's elementary and secondary public education system,
       including its strengths and areas needing improvement to support
       economic viability, resilient communities, and an effective and efficient
       government; and
       
            WHEREAS, The Colorado Constitution provides that Colorado's
       178 school districts are governed by locally elected school boards, the
       Colorado Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the
       General Assembly; and
       
            WHEREAS, There is no evidence to support the belief that
       increasing federal oversight, as required by the federal "No Child Left
       Behind Act of 2001", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq., as amended, which was
       signed into law on January 8, 2002, has improved school quality or
       narrowed the achievement gap; and
       
            WHEREAS, The costs associated with complying with the
       requirements of, and the federal reporting mandates related to, the federal
       "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" exceed the amount of federal funds
       provided to public schools, and the on-going economic challenges facing
       the state continue to force drastic cuts in all areas of the state budget,
       including funding for public education; and
       
            WHEREAS, The National Assessment of Educational Progress
       (NAEP) provides a reliable benchmark for comparing student
       achievement on test scores in a variety of subject areas and remains an
       efficient and effective common metric, providing a national
       representation of students' scores and state-to-state comparisons; and
       
            WHEREAS, Federal law requires states to participate in NAEP's
       fourth- and eighth-grade reading and mathematics assessments in order
       to receive Title I funds; and
       
            WHEREAS, The federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001"
       creates redundancies and inefficiencies in the elementary and secondary
       public education system, increases costs to both the state and local
       governments, arguably exceeds the limits of Congress's authority, and has
       been shown to be ineffective in improving the education of students; now,
       therefore,
       
            Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly
       of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
            That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, find
       that, due to the immediate fiscal challenges facing the state's elementary
       and secondary public education system, it is in the best interests of the
       citizens of Colorado for the state, rather than the federal government, to
       exercise responsibility for Colorado's public schools and Colorado's
       students;
       
            That we encourage Congress to reduce the number of federal
       mandates and amount of federal oversight of public education, allowing
       for more state and local control of the public school systems; and
       
            That, with this Joint Memorial, Colorado is not refusing to comply
       with the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001"; rather we
       encourage Congress, in reauthorizing the federal "Elementary and
       Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq., which
       has been overdue for reauthorization since 2007, to revert to the initial
       intention behind the Act, using the NAEP assessment as the national
       indicator for student achievement, and to completely repeal the provisions
       enacted as part of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" as soon
       as practicable.
       
            Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Memorial be sent
       to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the
       United States House of Representatives; each member of Colorado's
       Congressional delegation; each member of the United States Senate
       Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; each member of
       the United States House Education and the Workforce Committee; and
       the governor of each state of the United States.