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1999 SESSION

991083178
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 721
Offered January 21, 1999
Establishing a joint subcommittee to examine the impact of the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation on students and localities.
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Patrons-- Crittenden, Abbitt, Barlow, Baskerville, Behm, Brink, Christian, Cranwell, Darner, Day, DeBoer, Hall, Jones, D.C., Jones, J.C., McEachin, Melvin, Phillips, Puller, Spruill, Van Landingham and Van Yahres; Senators: Lambert, Lucas, Maxwell and Miller, Y.B.
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, Article VIII, § 2 of the Virginia Constitution directs the Board of Education to establish standards of quality, while granting the General Assembly the dual responsibilities of revising and funding these standards; and

WHEREAS, the Standards of Quality (SOQ), initially codified in 1972, direct the Board of Education to promulgate regulations pursuant to the Administrative Process Act establishing standards for the accreditation of public schools; and

WHEREAS, the accreditation standards for public schools must include student outcome measures, requirements and guidelines for instructional programs, staffing levels, pupil personnel services, special education program standards, auxiliary programs such as library and media services, community relations, and graduation requirements, as well as "the philosophy, goals, and objectives of public education in Virginia"; and

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

WHEREAS, the SOA are organized in eight parts, addressing broad areas, such as school and community communications, instructional programs and leadership, student achievement, school facilities and safety, accreditation, and goals and objectives; 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, the 1997 revisions to the SOA set forth new criteria and processes for individual school accreditation, and clearly state that schools shall be accredited “primarily” based on pupil achievement, as evidenced by scores on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and other assessments; 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; 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, the Standards of Quality, the Standards of Learning, and the Standards of Accreditation are interactive standards which constitute the foundation for the Commonwealth’s public policy in education, and the new SOL and SOA may have an unintended negative effect on urban and small rural school divisions and their students; and

WHEREAS, recent preliminary SOL tests results indicate that only two percent of the public schools meet the SOA requirements for SOL assessments; 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 which 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 which are consistent with the SOL, remediation and/or acceleration of students who fail the SOL tests, possible changes in the school day to accommodate more teacher planing 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 determine the educational and fiscal impact of these regulations on students, teachers, and local school divisions, which may have widely disparate resources and educational needs; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to examine the impact of the Standards of Learning and the Standards of Accreditation on students and localities. The joint subcommittee shall be composed of seven members as follows: four members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House in accordance with the provisions of Rule 16 of the House Rules; and three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections.

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 constitutional, fiscal, and policy implications of maintaining separate regulations and statutes imposing minimum standards for public schools in Virginia; the impact of the SOL and SOA on educationally at-risk students, teachers, and urban and small rural school divisions; and such other issues as it deems appropriate.

The direct costs of this study shall not exceed $6,300.

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 staff of the House Appropriations Committee. 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 2000 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.