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S.C.R. 13
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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges the State Board of
11 Education to reconsider the board's decision to adopt the Common Core standards.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 . urges the State Board of Education to reconsider the board's decision to adopt the
15 Common Core standards and, in reconsidering the decision, evaluate the cost,
16 control, and quality of Utah standards in comparison to the cost, control, and quality
17 of the Common Core standards.
18 Special Clauses:
19 None
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21 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
22 WHEREAS, high student performance is fundamentally linked to an overall reform of
23 the public education system through a strong system of accountability and transparency built on
24 state standards;
25 WHEREAS, the responsibility for the upbringing and education of children lies with
26 parents, supported by local school boards, and the state government;
27 WHEREAS, Utah has an obligation to control Utah's core curriculum, the state of Utah
28 shall maintain the right to modify its education curriculum without being subject to an entity
29 outside our state;
30 WHEREAS, in 2009 and 2010, the state was offered the chance to compete for
31 education funding through the Race to the Top (RTTT) program created by the United States
32 Department of Education;
33 WHEREAS, the only way to achieve a score in the RTTT competition sufficient to
34 qualify for funding was to agree to participate in a consortium of states working toward jointly
35 developing and adopting a common set of kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum standards;
36 WHEREAS, the only common set of kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum
37 standards is the set of standards developed through the Common Core State Standards
38 Initiative, which was created without a grant of authority from any state;
39 WHEREAS, locally elected officials, school leaders, teachers, and parents were not
40 included in the discussion, evaluation, and preparation of the Common Core standards;
41 WHEREAS, citizens and elected officials had no opportunity to review or comment on
42 the Common Core standards and states were not offered an option to modify the standards
43 before adoption;
44 WHEREAS, no empirical evidence indicates that centralized education standards result
45 in higher student achievement;
46 WHEREAS, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) currently allows
47 comparisons of academic achievement to be made across states without the necessity of
48 imposing national standards or curricula;
49 WHEREAS, common standards will impair the ability of local stakeholders to innovate
50 and continue to make improvement over time;
51 WHEREAS, Race to the Top funding for states is limited, and $350 million for
52 consortia to develop new assessments aligned with the Common Core standards is not
53 sufficient to cover the costs of overhauling state accountability systems, which includes
54 implementation of standards and testing, associated professional development, and curriculum
55 restructuring;
56 WHEREAS, all entities, public and private, that receive taxpayer funds either directly
57 or in the form of a grant, stipend, or any other means are accountable to Utah taxpayers, and the
58 State Board of Education is required annually to post on the Utah Public Finance Website
59 created in Section 63A-3-402 , any funds received or spent on development of Utah's core
60 curriculum as a result of the Common Core;
61 WHEREAS, the centralized decision making that governs the Common Core standards
62 is vulnerable to manipulation by special interest groups who over time may seek to lower the
63 rigor and quality of the standards;
64 WHEREAS, the United States Constitution, which recognizes Utah as a sovereign
65 republic, acknowledges that the federal government has no educational mandate or authority
66 and allows the states to direct their own education systems;
67 WHEREAS, Utah should neither relinquish nor cede control of our education system to
68 a consortium of other states or to the federal government; and
69 WHEREAS, Utah is a governing member of the Smarter Balance Assessment
70 Consortium (SBAC) and, as such, is required to use SBAC assessments with the Common
71 Core standards:
72 NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
73 Governor concurring therein, urges the State Board of Education to reconsider the board's
74 decision to adopt the Common Core standards and, in reconsidering the board's decision,
75 evaluate the cost, control, and quality of Utah standards and assessments compared to the cost,
76 control, and quality of the Common Core standards and SBAC assessments.
Legislative Review Note
as of 2-28-12 6:42 AM