Text: HR00021 Text: HR00023 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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
Text: HR00021 Text: HR00023 Text: HR00000 - HR00099 Text: HR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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