House Resolution 22

PAG LIN

  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ___
  1  2                        BY  FORD
  1  3 A Resolution urging the State Board of Education,
  1  4    education professionals throughout Iowa, and Iowa's
  1  5    community leaders to actively and prominently make
  1  6    every effort to close Iowa's achievement gap.
  1  7    WHEREAS, a suitable education nourishes the soul,
  1  8 builds character, eliminates class barriers, and pays
  1  9 rewards beyond an individual's lifetime; and
  1 10    WHEREAS, Iowa's exemplary education system, though
  1 11 still consistently ranking among the nation's best, is
  1 12 not meeting the needs of all of the state's children
  1 13 uniformly; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, a UNICEF report analyzing the educational
  1 15 performance in the world's industrialized nations
  1 16 noted that family backgrounds and the home environment
  1 17 play crucial roles in children's education; and
  1 18    WHEREAS, research in this country has identified a
  1 19 number of other factors contributing to the
  1 20 achievement gap, including students' racial or
  1 21 economic background, access to high=quality preschool
  1 22 instruction, peer influences, teachers' expectations,
  1 23 and curricular and instructional quality; and
  1 24    WHEREAS, research also indicates poor and minority
  1 25 children, the very children who need the most support,
  1 26 are often served by schools that receive fewer
  1 27 resources, have difficulty attracting a quality
  1 28 teaching and administrative staff, have a greater
  1 29 variety of student needs to fill, and receive less
  1 30 parental and community support; and
  2  1    WHEREAS, in 2001, the Education Trust reported that
  2  2 Iowa districts with the highest child poverty rates
  2  3 have $456 less in state and local moneys to spend per
  2  4 student compared with the lowest=poverty districts;
  2  5 and that Iowa districts with the highest minority
  2  6 enrollments have $596 less in state and local moneys
  2  7 to spend per student compared with the lowest=minority
  2  8 districts; and
  2  9    WHEREAS, scientifically based research indicates
  2 10 the achievement gap can be closed through the
  2 11 utilization of any number of measures, including
  2 12 implementing parent education programs; high=quality
  2 13 preschool programs; promoting the expectation from
  2 14 parents and educational professionals that all
  2 15 students can succeed and demanding that they do so;
  2 16 using challenging curricula and instructional
  2 17 strategies that engage students' interests; recruiting
  2 18 and retaining well=qualified, fully supported
  2 19 teachers; and maintaining a culture where learning and
  2 20 achievement are valued and modeled; and
  2 21    WHEREAS, Iowa's population is changing, with more
  2 22 challenges and changes to come, making this the best,
  2 23 most appropriate time to close the achievement gap,
  2 24 thereby energizing and strengthening the state's
  2 25 future; NOW THEREFORE,
  2 26    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 27 That the House of Representatives urges the State
  2 28 Board of Education, education professionals throughout
  2 29 Iowa, and Iowa's community leaders to actively and
  2 30 prominently make every effort to close Iowa's
  3  1 achievement gap; and
  3  2    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon adoption, a copy
  3  3 of this resolution be sent to the State Board of
  3  4 Education to be distributed electronically to
  3  5 education professionals and community leaders
  3  6 throughout the state.
  3  7 LSB 2499HH 80
  3  8 kh/pj/5