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2000 SESSION

000415480
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 207
Offered January 24, 2000
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study ways to ensure equal educational opportunity.
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Patrons-- Miller, Y.B.; Delegate: Spruill
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, under Article VIII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution, ultimate responsibility for public education rests with the Virginia General Assembly, which is specifically charged with the duties of establishing a public school system and striving to ensure its quality; and

WHEREAS, the Standards of Quality (SOQ), prescribed by the Board of Education and revised only by the General Assembly, establish minimum educational goals and requirements; and

WHEREAS, to meet the constitutional directive that the Commonwealth and localities jointly provide and support "an educational program of high quality," the General Assembly apportions the state and local share for the Standards of Quality, which necessarily includes the requirements imposed by the Standards of Accreditation (SOA); and

WHEREAS, cited in the initial Standards of Quality, the SOA are "designed to ensure that an effective educational program is established and maintained in Virginia's public schools"; and

WHEREAS, while acknowledging that the "mission of the public education system, first and foremost, "is to prepare students with "essential academic knowledge and skills in order that they may be equipped for citizenship, work, and a private life that is informed and free," the SOA also include mandates for course offerings, school year and day standards, and staff levels and responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, various provisions of the Standards of Accreditation, such as the graduation requirements, mandated course offerings and staffing levels, and the addition of SOL assessments have compounded space and staffing needs in some school divisions, as well as prompted increased demand for instructional time, remediation, teacher re-training, and new instructional materials and textbooks; and

WHEREAS, only a small percentage of Virginia schools today can meet the SOA requirements; and

WHEREAS, because failure to meet these new requirements will significantly affect the lives and aspirations of students and teachers, and the viability of schools, it is critical that all issues, problems, and concerns about the new standards be thoroughly and thoughtfully considered and evaluated; and

WHEREAS, students who are already educationally at-risk and localities that are burdened by local fiscal stress face a steep mountain fraught with many obstacles to satisfy the new SOL and SOA requirements, including providing teacher training on the SOL, the purchase of new textbooks and materials that are consistent with the SOL, remediation and acceleration of students who fail the SOL tests, possible changes in the school day to accommodate more teacher planning time, notification of parents and the community, and preparation for and the re-allocation of previously dedicated resources to ensure school accreditation; and

WHEREAS, concerted attention must be given to this dilemma and appropriate solutions should be implemented to ensure that no child is left behind; and

WHEREAS, careful examination of the impact of the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation, and the costs of providing the required programs, instruction, and staffing is necessary to ensure equal educational opportunities for all Virginia's children, and to eliminate wide disparity in educational programs and resources; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study ways to ensure equal educational opportunity. The joint subcommittee shall be composed of seven members as follows: three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections; and four members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House in accordance with the principles of Rule 16 of the Rules of the House of Delegates.

In pursuing its study, the joint subcommittee shall consider, among other things, current funding levels for meeting the Standards of Accreditation; specific needs and challenges identified by Virginia school divisions in striving to achieve and maintain accreditation; the varying fiscal capacities and demographics of the Commonwealth's school divisions; the impact of the SOL and SOA on educationally at-risk students, teachers, urban and small rural school divisions; and such other issues as it deems appropriate.

The direct costs of this study shall not exceed $6,750.

The Division of Legislative Services shall provide staff support for the study. Technical assistance for the study shall be provided by the Department of Education and the staffs of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint subcommittee, upon request.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its work in time to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2001 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may withhold expenditures or delay the period for the conduct of the study.