Bill Text: IL HR0161 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the U.S. Department of Education, pursuant to section 8401(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, to offer states the option to waive certain assessment and concomitant accountability and reporting requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-05-12 - Resolution Adopted 075-039-000 [HR0161 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HR0161-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Over the past several months, the Illinois State
Board of Education has heard from superintendents, building
principals, classroom teachers, parents, and students
regarding their thoughts and concerns on federally required
assessments for the 2020-2021 school year; and
WHEREAS, Because so many of our students have been
separated from their school since March 2020, bringing
students back in-person only to immediately begin state
testing will have a detrimental effect on the goals of
supporting their social and emotional well-being, mental
health, and reconnection with the school community; while 77
percent of our 852 school districts are offering some
in-person instruction, data show that more than a million
students are still learning in fully remote environments;
fewer than 200 Illinois school districts serving less than
200,000 students are currently able to provide fully in-person
instruction to all students; Illinois students need their
school and district administrators focused on resuming
in-person instruction for the purposes of providing
trauma-informed supports, increasing the quality of
instruction, and rebuilding relationships between students and
teachers; the administration of state assessments would take
away from these critical endeavors that are foundational to

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the recovery of our educational systems; and
WHEREAS, After hearing the concerns of district and school
leaders, teachers, families, and students, ISBE delayed its
testing windows in order to provide as much flexibility for
administration under socially distanced conditions; currently,
and in addition to supporting the academic, social, and
emotional needs of students, districts are utilizing time and
resources to ensure transportation and safe logistics for
testing; this time could be better spent coordinating
vaccination administration for educators and the larger
community and providing necessary supports for students; and
WHEREAS, Without a clear signal that the Department of
Education will permit an assessment waiver, districts will
continue to plan for the administration of assessments; this
is not the optimal use of their time or resources; and
WHEREAS, Illinois educators understand and believe in the
importance of assessment results, but the likely variability
in participation across the State will limit the comparability
and usefulness of the data at both the individual student and
student group levels; and
WHEREAS, The potential yet diminished benefits of using
incomplete state assessment data as a means of understanding

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the scope of learning loss that may have occurred as a result
of the pandemic do not outweigh the significant burden that
the administration of state assessments would incur on our
students, families, teachers, and administrators; and
WHEREAS, Assessment, the practice of collecting evidence
about student learning to provide students with feedback and
to inform supports and instructional design, is still
critically important to helping students recover from the
pandemic; schools, districts, and teachers can and should
continue to conduct formative assessments at the local levels
to understand the impact of the pandemic on student learning
and provide holistic and individualized supports; and
WHEREAS, Accountability is an effective means of
identifying schools and students in the greatest need of
assistance; a second year without state assessments will
impact longitudinal data and accountability systems; however,
ISBE has the ability to continue to provide support to the
highest need schools and students and to leverage local data
sources to evaluate its progress; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we urge the U.S. Department of Education, pursuant to section
8401(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,

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as amended, to offer states the option to waive the following
assessment and concomitant accountability and reporting
requirements; specifically the U.S. Department of Education
should release an expedited waiver application for:
(1) Assessment requirements in section 1111(b)(2)
covering all required assessments in school year
2020-2021;
(2) The requirement that a state annually meaningfully
differentiate all public school and to identify schools
for comprehensive and targeted support and improvement, as
required in sections 1111(c)(4) and 1111(d)(2)(C)-(D); and
(3) Those report card provisions related to
assessments and accountability in section 1111(h) that
would be based on data from the 2020-2021 school year; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That we believe that it is in the best interest
of students and educators for the U.S. Department of Education
to release an expedited waiver of assessment and
accountability requirements for the 2020-2021 school year.