2012 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12-029 BY SENATOR(S) Williams S., Bacon, Spence, Aguilar, Boyd, Brophy, Cadman, Carroll, Foster, Giron, Grantham, Guzman, Harvey, Heath, Hodge, Hudak, Jahn, Johnston, King K., King S., Lambert, Lundberg, Mitchell, Morse, Neville, Newell, Nicholson, Renfroe, Roberts, Scheffel, Schwartz, Steadman, Tochtrop, White, Shaffer B.; also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Todd, Court, Hamner, Kerr A., Massey, Peniston, Schafer S., Solano, Bradford, Brown, Duran, Ferrandino, Fields, Fischer, Hullinghorst, Jones, Kagan, Labuda, Lee, Levy, Miklosi, Pace, Ryden, Singer, Soper, Swerdfeger, Vigil, Williams A., Wilson. CONCERNING A WORLD LANGUAGE ROADMAP FOR COLORADO. WHEREAS, Colorado is being affected by increasing globalization and the resulting economic challenges and opportunities, especially as they impact preparing a workforce that can effectively compete in the 21st century; and WHEREAS, There is a well-documented, critical national requirement for high-level cultural knowledge and speakers of languages other than English, especially less commonly taught languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, Farsi, and Korean, as well as Spanish, given Colorado's demographics; and WHEREAS, Empirical research from the Center for Applied Linguistics and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has validated the cognitive, academic, and attitudinal benefits of developing proficiency in another language; and WHEREAS, The Senate of the United States and the Colorado Board of Education each designated 2005 as the "Year of World Languages" to call attention to the importance of educating citizens to be fluent and literate in English and at least one other world language; and WHEREAS, The United States government has undertaken a number of world language initiatives, such as the National Security Language Initiative and activities funded by the departments of Defense, Education, and State and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and WHEREAS, The "Colorado Academic Standards for World Languages", adopted in December 2009 by the Colorado Board of Education and aligned with the national core content standards adopted by 44 states, calls for students graduating from high school to be proficient in a world language in addition to English and for Heritage Language speakers to academically develop their Heritage Language; and WHEREAS, A P-16 education system is central to responding effectively to the 21st century challenges to our economic and national security and ensuring the development of a workforce that possesses the cross-cultural and world language skills to compete globally; and WHEREAS, Colorado Heritage Language speakers, representing 123 languages, are a vital resource for our business, educational, and cultural communities; and WHEREAS, The number of Heritage Language speakers attending Colorado's K-12 public schools has increased dramatically, comprising 14.4% of the total K-12 enrollment in 2011 (123,002 English Language Learners out of 854,265 students according to the Colorado Department of Education), and requiring innovative educational responses to their unique needs; and WHEREAS, In order to increase Colorado's competitive edge economically, it is critical that, in addition to ensuring that all students become proficient in English, Colorado also provide opportunities for students to learn a second world language or to develop their Heritage Language; and WHEREAS, The "Colorado Academic Standards for World Languages" and research on language acquisition acknowledge the importance of beginning education in a second language at an early age and continuing in an uninterrupted sequence of study over many years; and WHEREAS, Language immersion, where 50% or more of the day is spent in the new target language, has been shown by research to be the most effective educational model for learning a second language; and WHEREAS, Colorado has only a handful of public schools that offer English-Spanish immersion programs and even fewer that offer language immersion instruction in other world languages: Global Village Academy-Aurora Public Schools (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French); Global Village Academy-Northglenn (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian); the Denver Language School - Denver Public Schools (English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese); Denver International School - Denver Public Schools (French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish); and Academy International Elementary School-Colorado Springs (English and French); and WHEREAS, Key stakeholders in California, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Utah have responded to this educational challenge through the development of a state-level strategic "Roadmap for World Languages"; Rhode Island is currently completing their state "Roadmap"; Iowa is researching the development of a "Roadmap"; and Maryland is implementing their "World Languages Pipelines Project" using Race to the Top funding; and WHEREAS, Colorado would also benefit from developing a "World Language Roadmap" that ultimately increases academic achievement for our students, preserves heritage languages, increases cultural understanding and language skills of P-16 world language learners, improves our long-term economic outlook and our ability to do business internationally, and enhances our competitiveness within the international business community; 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, hereby: (1) Support the continued effort of systematic world-language immersion instruction; and (2) Encourage the development of a "World Language Roadmap" for Colorado for the 21st century that: (a) Involves key stakeholders, including but not limited to business and economic development leaders, public officials, representatives of P-12 and higher education, P-16 educators, and members of Heritage Language communities; (b) Is based on the best practices utilized by other states; (c) Is supported by research; (d) Is responsive to the needs of Colorado and its citizens; (e) Is both innovative and feasible for school districts; and (f) Is oriented toward the future. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Colorado State Board of Education, the Colorado Office of International Trade and Economic Development, and each member of Colorado's Congressional delegation. ____________________________ ____________________________ Brandon C. Shaffer Frank McNulty PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES ____________________________ ____________________________ Cindi Markwell Marilyn Eddins SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES