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Second Substitute S.C.R. 13

Senator Aaron Osmond proposes the following substitute bill:

             1      CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON COMMON CORE
             2      STANDARDS
             3      2012 GENERAL SESSION
             4      STATE OF UTAH
             5      Chief Sponsor: Aaron Osmond
             6      House Sponsor: LaVar Christensen
             7     
             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
             20     
             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

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             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      adequately included in the discussion, evaluation, and preparation of the Common Core
             41      standards;
             42          WHEREAS, citizens and elected officials want additional review of, or comment on,
             43      the Common Core standards and stakeholders in the Utah educational system were not offered
             44      sufficient opportunity to review, comment on, and modify standards before adoption;
             45          WHEREAS, no empirical evidence indicates that centralized education standards result
             46      in higher student achievement;
             47          WHEREAS, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) currently allows
             48      comparisons of academic achievement to be made across states without the necessity of
             49      imposing national standards or curricula;
             50          WHEREAS, standards imposed by groups or entities outside of Utah will impair the
             51      ability of local stakeholders to innovate and continue to make improvement over time;
             52          WHEREAS, Race to the Top funding for states is limited, and $350 million for
             53      consortia to develop new assessments aligned with the Common Core standards is not
             54      sufficient to cover the costs of overhauling state accountability systems, which includes
             55      implementation of standards and testing, associated professional development, and curriculum
             56      restructuring;

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             57          WHEREAS, all entities, public and private, that receive taxpayer funds either directly
             58      or in the form of a grant, stipend, or any other means are accountable to Utah taxpayers, and the
             59      State Board of Education is required annually to post on the Utah Public Finance Website
             60      created in Section 63A-3-402 , any funds received or spent on development of Utah's core
             61      curriculum as a result of the Common Core;
             62          WHEREAS, the centralized decision making that governs the Common Core standards
             63      is vulnerable to manipulation by special interest groups who over time may seek to lower the
             64      rigor and quality of the standards;
             65          WHEREAS, the United States Constitution, which recognizes Utah as a sovereign
             66      republic, acknowledges that the federal government has no educational mandate or authority
             67      and allows the states to direct their own education systems;
             68          WHEREAS, Utah should neither relinquish nor cede control of our education system to
             69      a consortium of other states or to the federal government; and
             70          WHEREAS, Utah is a governing member of the Smarter Balance Assessment
             71      Consortium (SBAC) and, as such, is required to use SBAC assessments with the Common
             72      Core standards:
             73          NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
             74      Governor concurring therein, urges the State Board of Education to reconsider the board's
             75      decision to adopt the Common Core standards and, in reconsidering the board's decision,
             76      evaluate the cost, control, and quality of Utah standards and assessments compared to the cost,
             77      control, and quality of the Common Core standards and SBAC assessments.
             78          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor requests the State
             79      Board of Education to make publicly available on the State Board of Education's website an
             80      evaluation comparing the cost, control, and quality of Utah standards and assessments to the
             81      cost, control, and quality of the Common Core standards and SBAC assessments.

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