WHEREAS, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the outgrowth of the intention to ensure that groups of students whose needs were/are not being addressed, The American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) supports its underlying objective and
WHEREAS, the NCLB act is an unfounded mandate that requires annual testing to measure adequate yearly progress (AYP), and
WHEREAS, the federal government has repeatedly refused to grant to the states waivers of full funding in order to comply with the NCLB act, and
WHEREAS, the federal government has violated the terms of the NCLB act and the spending clause of the United States Constitution, and
WHEREAS, some of the provisions of NCLB are seriously flawed in the following ways:
- The Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) formula is neither research- based nor scientifically reliable and therefore, of questionable validity.
- The narrow set of school improvement interventions that are research-based may, in fact, be more punitive than helpful to schools and the children they serve.
- Requirements for highly qualified teachers, particularly in regard to special education, science, mathematics and middle schools may be unrealistic.
- The NCLB act fails to provide resources for paraprofessionals to meet the acts requirements and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Federation of School Administrators supports the Connecticut Federation of Administrators in its intention to ask the courts to:
- Declare that the state of Connecticut and its local schools districts are required to spend state, local or non-local NCLB funds to comply with the NCLB mandates, and
- Declare that the federal government cannot withhold federal funds, benefits, or decline to grant waivers to the state for failing to comply with the NCLB act due to insufficient federal funding and,
- Enjoin the federal government from taking any adverse action against the state because of failure to comply with the NCLB act that is attributable to the states refusal to spend its own funds to comply and,
- Grant Connecticut's waiver request and award the state any costs, fees and other expenses incurred prosecuting this lawsuit and,
- Support any additional state wishing to join Connecticut in fighting the injustice of NCLB and
- Demand full federal funding of NCLB and
WHEREAS the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) believes that financial support for public education must be shared by local, state and federal governments,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) use its resources to urge legislators to increase federal support and,
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that federal, state and local laws provide building-level flexibility in the allocation and use of federal funds and
WHEREAS the primary responsibility for providing public education lies with the states,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA)urge its locals and affiliates to work cooperatively with state legislative bodies to develop plans that ensure equitable distribution of support judicial decisions highlighting the disparities in the provision of equitable educational opportunities for all children