Policy Resolution EDU-18-03

WHEREAS, we are now competing and living in a global community, and this new reality can increasingly be a benefit;

WHEREAS, our public school students no longer compete only with peers in their state or even our country;

WHEREAS, our nation’s students are now also competing against students in countries all over the world;

WHEREAS, as changes make our world much smaller, we must do everything we can to prepare our students for this new reality;

WHEREAS, with collective effort and support, our students can achieve any goal placed before them, including being abundantly prepared to compete in the global economy;

WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was a bipartisan legislative effort signed into law in December 2015, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act;

WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act provides the states an opportunity to further shape school systems in a way that will best prepare our public school students for the future;

WHEREAS, in order for successful change to transpire, additional assistance in funding may be required from the federal government;

WHEREAS, in the recent past, we have seen that by states leading policy discussions around public education and the federal government providing needed funding, positive results in increasing student learning outcomes and preparedness can be achieved;

WHEREAS, a suitable school system is effective and fair in how it prepares students within the constructs of that particular system;

WHEREAS, effectiveness in how well a particular system prepares students and the fairness with which the resources are allocated to educate students, may require additional funding beyond the normal level of current federal funding;

WHEREAS, an increase in these two variables will lead to better overall preparedness of all our public school students;

WHEREAS, for the purpose of the preceding two clauses, fairness is defined by how equitably funding resources are allocated per pupil based on need;

WHEREAS, an effective school system can be defined in different ways;

WHEREAS, the National Conference of State Legislatures convened a bipartisan working group of twenty- eight veteran education-policy legislators from around the country which recently issued a report called, “No Time to Lose: How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State;”

WHEREAS, the report released findings on effective school systems around the world and, after an 18-month period of labor, the group concluded that there were some recurring components and several repeated overarching factors in these effective systems;

WHEREAS, according to the report, the elements of an effective public education system are:

1. “Children come to school ready to learn, and extra support is given to struggling students so that all have the opportunity to achieve high standards”;
2. “A world-class teaching profession supports a world-class instructional system, where every student has access to highly effective teachers and is expected to succeed”;
3. “A highly effective, intellectually rigorous system of career and technical education is available to those preferring an applied education”;
4. “Individual reforms are connected and aligned as parts of a clearly planned and carefully designed comprehensive system”;

WHEREAS, for the purpose of the preceding clause:

1. An “effective school system” is defined as a public school system that sets high student learning outcomes, including academic standards, and then implements changes to achieve those high standards within the system;
2. “High standards” are defined as standards that are internationally competitive;
3. “Internationally competitive” can be defined as a public school system globally ranked amongst the top ten with respect to the Program for International Student Assessment.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that in accordance with the spirit of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which encourages states to implement adjustments to their public school systems and to help achieve higher levels of effectiveness and fairness within our school systems  through voluntary partnership, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) requests that the United States Department of Education offer competitive sources of additional federal funding to the states through their respective eligible entities in supplemental rounds of federal funding;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that through voluntary partnership, the United States Department of Education is requested to provide additional funding to those states currently under the average national funding amount per public school student;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that because certain states are currently internationally competitive, or are approaching international competitiveness, as a first round of new, additional federal funding assistance, through voluntary partnership, the United States Department of Education is requested to immediately award federal funding to the states with the highest National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment scores; provided that the cumulative score in reading and math is above 473 in fourth grade, 563 in eighth grade, and 450 in twelfth grade; provided further that these states are willing to share information on the specifics of their public school systems’ educational reforms and current practices with the United States Department of Education and other states’ eligible entities;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that although these types of adjustments require collective effort, teachers are the largest contributing factor to student success and preparedness; thus, through voluntary partnership, the United States Department of Education is requested to pay to each full-time national board certified public school teacher an annual bonus payment, provided that certain criteria are met;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the states and the federal government work together, the states, which have a significant responsibility in preparing public school students for the future success of self, state, and country, can better ensure that these students are internationally competitive and truly prepared for the future; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR(s): Representative Justin Woodson (HI), Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), Senator Anastasia Pittman (OK), and Delegate Angela Angel (MD)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Education Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair(s): Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (CA) and Representative Harold Love (TN)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 2, 2017
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President