A RESOLUTION ON BUILDING A NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENSURE CAREER READINESS
WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators has a long history of working to improve education outcomes for all students;
WHEREAS, technology and an evolving job market has forced us to rethink the traditional educational model, and it has compelled us to reckon with the difference between more education and the right education;
WHEREAS, the emerging gig economy, developing industries, the workplace, and the workforce present very different career paths and options than what we knew about decades ago;
WHEREAS, during the bulk of 2020 America has been dealing with a deadly global pandemic that ravaged our economy, and will likely have long term effects on how the economy operates;
WHEREAS, millions of employees were laid off because of the coronavirus and according to a paper published by the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago around 40% of that employment reduction will be permanent;
WHEREAS, a pre-COVID-19 study from Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, there will be an estimated 55 million job openings created by 2020, and more than 30 percent of predicted jobs were to be in emerging industries or jobs that require education and training beyond high school but less than a bachelor’s degree;
WHEREAS, by the end of 2020 according to the same Georgetown study, it is expected that 65 percent of all U.S. jobs will need postsecondary education and training of some kind;
WHEREAS, these are the jobs that a growing number of top employers, such as Google and Apple to IBM and Ernst and Young that are trying desperately to fill jobs like software engineers, security analysts, computer support specialists, and web developers; and
WHEREAS, there is a lack of enough skilled workers to fill these openings, and there is a disconnect between what public schools are offering and what skill sets and academic programs students are encouraged to pursue.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) fully supports bridging this gap and building a national infrastructure for career readiness programs;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL calls on federal, state, and local governments to create and fund innovative collaborations and partnerships between school districts, companies, unions, community colleges and other higher educational institutions to align their curriculum to meet the needs of businesses and industries based upon the current demands, the foreseeable needs of employers, and economic projections; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.
- SPONSOR(S): Representative Sandra Scott (GA), Representative Karen Camper (TN), and Representative Debra Bazemore (GA)
- Committee of Jurisdiction: Education Policy Committee
- Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Rufus Straughter (MS) and Representative Sheryl Williams-Stapleton (NM)
- Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 3, 2020
- Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President
A RESOLUTION ON PREPARING PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators has a long substantive history of fighting to close the large achievement gaps that exist in our country’s public education system in the United States, and COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated many of these gaps;
WHEREAS, the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has shuttered at least 98,000 public schools in over 6,000 school districts impacting at least 50 million students in 48 states, the District of Columbia and four territories;
WHEREAS, school districts and individual schools were unprepared for a catastrophic event like the coronavirus,
WHEREAS, many scientists and health organizations, including the World Health Organization, predict the virus could flare-up in the winter of 2020-2021 and will be more deadly than the Spring of 2019; and
WHEREAS, the pandemic has illustrated that the districts that are the most vulnerable are those that serve the most ethnically diverse and are low income communities, and those districts are facing profound and dramatic educational achievement, accessibility, and financial gaps that will grow during the pandemic.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) calls on the over 130,000 public schools to prepare an annual emergency preparedness plan for all public schools that includes:
- Ensuring each student has access to reliable technology
- A rapid distribution plan that ensures every student has requisite equipment to continue schooling within days of a district’s closure
- Regular teacher training on remote teaching and tools
- Create a training seminar for parents and guardians on the use and role of technology in education
- A map of internet access and potential options for students without access to the internet
- A plan to engage students whose parents or guardians are essential workers or first responders that require students to be home alone or with siblings
- An annual survey of families in the district to determine the technological needs of the family for the student to learn effectively in the event of school closure
- A report and assessment of the remote education that happened under COVID-19 to learn from mistakes and improve for the future
- A plan for special need students or those with development disabilities
- A substantive plan to ensure these students can still receive school lunches they would otherwise have access to
- A plan to monitor and ensure student safety at home;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NBCSL calls on Congress and the President to authorize and appropriate a new program that will assist states and school districts to create, maintain and implement an annual emergency preparedness plan for all public-school districts;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL encourages a plan to address the educational needs of students who have fallen behind due to the interruptions of the normal school systems, which may require students to attend school year-round to ensure they do not fall substantively behind; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.
- SPONSOR(S): Senator Raumesh Akbari (TN) and Representative Karen Camper (TN)
- Committee of Jurisdiction: Education Policy Committee
- Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Rufus Straughter (MS) and Representative Sheryl Williams-Stapleton (NM)
- Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 3, 2020
- Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President
A RESOLUTION ON PROTECTING THE LONGTERM STABILITY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WHEREAS, public education in the United States was established to meet the needs of a democratic society and create an educated society, vouchers have the ability to take resources that would otherwise go to public schools and send them to private schools;
WHEREAS, there has been a long and difficult struggle to achieve an equitable system of public education for all of the children of all of the people of the United States;
WHEREAS, according to a study by the Center for American Progress, their analysis builds on a large body of voucher program evaluations in Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., all of which show that students attending participating private schools perform significantly worse than their peers in public schools—especially in math;
WHEREAS, participating private schools have the ability to limit enrollment and discriminate in admissions on the basis of gender, religion, sexual orientation, ability, behavioral history, prior academic achievement, standardized test scores, interviews with applicants and parents, and income;
WHEREAS, a voucher system will not provide the support for the public-school system as well as the aspirations of millions of people of color and poor children; and
WHEREAS, the use of vouchers for private and religious schools would signal the virtual abandonment of public education.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) vigorously opposes any national, state or local campaign to institute vouchers and undermine public schools at a time when our Country and our public school system is suffering;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL believes that public education should be supported and financed at a level which would ensure all children equal access to a quality education;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that by providing increased competition and diversity of educational options does not automatically ensure a better option for quality education;
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges the U.S. Congress and states to not enact any laws which would undermine public interest in providing an equitable system of public education; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.
- SPONSOR: Senator Brenda Gilmore (TN)
- Committee of Jurisdiction: Education Policy Committee
- Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Rufus Straughter (MS) and Representative Sheryl Williams-Stapleton (NM)
- Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 3, 2020
- Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President