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Resolution 12-1314RESOLUTION NO. 12-1314 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO TO EXERT THEIR LEADERSHIP TO PAVE THE WAY FOR ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER'S TASK FORCE ON INCLUSION AND ACCOUNTABILITY; URGING THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO MAINTAIN CURRENT TRAINING STANDARDS FOR BEADING TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS ("ELLs") IN FLORIDA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE GOVERNOR, SENATE PRESIDENT, THE SPEAKER OF THE FLORIDA HOUSE, TO THE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE SEMINOLE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, AND TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE SEMINOLE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, a Task Force was established by the Commissioner of Education to devise ways to fairly, fully, and accurately include students in Exceptional Student Education programs and English Language Learners in the state accountability system and did so; and WHEREAS, only part of one recommendation for English Language Learners and only 5 of 35 recommendations overall were brought by the Commissioner to the State Board of Education for action at its May 10, 2012 meeting; and WHEREAS, the results of the current accountability system rules are not fair or accurate for Special Populations but nonetheless threaten grave consequences for students, schools and communities, such as increased failure rates for students, increased numbers of dropouts, inaccurate results on teacher evaluations, lower School Report Card grades disproportionately applied to districts with large populations of English Language Learners or students in Special Education programs, school closures, reduced property values, and disincentives for business relocation ; and WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Education maintains the FCAT and current accountability system bring hope to students; yet a child who does not graduate because of inappropriate assessment and accountability procedures has no reason to hope for a successful future; and WHEREAS, this Board, like the Florida School Boards Association, is not against accountability, just against the provisions of the current accountability system that are counterproductive when applied to Special Populations; and WHEREAS, Governor Rick Scott declared that our education system must be able to measure and benchmark students' progress so that clear education goals can be set and Governor Scott called for review of. FCAT issues and an action plan; and WHEREAS, the accountability action plan for Special Populations already exists that will more accurately and fairly benchmark progress but the Task Force recommendations that constitute the action plan have been ignored; and WHEREAS, according to school district superintendents, the Florida Education Association, and professional education organizations, the Task Force recommendations are more just and would yield more accurate results than the means currently included in the state's rule for school accountability, and WHEREAS, requests for consideration of the Task Force Recommendations from elected officials, from highly respected community based organizations (such as ASPIRA, the Institute for Mexicans in the Exterior, LULAC Florida, the Florida Conference of the NAACP, the National Association of Cuban American Educators, SALAD, and Sant La), from parents and concerned citizens, and from educators have been disregarded; and WHEREAS, without Task Force recommendations as amendments to the current accountability policies, schools are not responsible for their English Language Learners' progress in English Language Acquisition, and schools that have no contact with Special Education students would be held responsible for their academic progress; and WHEREAS, failure to put the Task Force recommendations into practice would cause great harm to our most vulnerable students, their families, communities, and schools; and WHEREAS, it is the view of this Board that moving ahead with the recommendations of the Commissioner's Task Force on Inclusion and Accountability is in the best interests of the citizens and residents of Longwood, Florida; and WHEREAS, in 1990, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, Case No. 90-1913, issued a Consent Decree in LULAC v. Florida Board of Education, calling for equal access to all education programs for ELL students, including a mandate for ESOL Endorsement for all teachers of the English language to ELL students; and WHEREAS, in 2007 and 2008 legislative efforts to weaken the training requirements for reading teachers of ELL students failed, but a current administrative move by the Florida Department of Education again threatens to reduce training requirements; and WHEREAS, Section 1003.56, Florida Statutes, entitled "English language instruction for limited English proficient students", is designed to develop the student's mastery of the four language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as rapidly as possible; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Longwood, Florida (the "City") desires for all children to read English, wants teachers well prepared to teach them to read, and wants monitoring to ensure compliance with the requirements stated in the Consent Decree, referenced above; and WHEREAS, it makes no sense to withdraw support from children who are already struggling; and WHEREAS, not supporting appropriate training would violate the intent of the Consent Decree; and WHEREAS, at a time when we must strive to be as competitive as possible in the quickly changing global economy and are raising the bar for student performance expectations, we cannot afford to lower the bar of expectations and training for our highly qualified teachers; and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Longwood deems the maintenance of the continued training standards for reading teachers of English Language Learners to be in the best interests of the citizens and residents of the City of Longwood. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are confirmed and ratified as being true and correct and are hereby incorporated herein. Section 2. The City Commission hereby urges Governor Scott and the State Board of Education to exert their leadership to pave the way for 'adoption and implementation of the recommendations of the Commissioner's Task Force on Inclusion and Accountability. Section 3. The City Commission hereby urges the Florida Department to Education to maintain current training standards for reading teachers of English Language Learners in Florida's public schools. Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Governor, the Senate- President, the Speaker of The Florida House, to the Chair and Members of the Seminole County Legislative Delegation, the Chairperson of the State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and to the Executive Board of the Seminole County League of Cities. Section 4. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. Section 5. If any clause, section, other part or application of this Resolution is held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, in part or application, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Resolution. Section 6. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY JHE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, THIS l •-DAY OF �u , 2012. Brian D. Sackett, )V ayoor ATTEST: arch M. Mirus, lV MC, MBA, City Clerk Approved as to form and legality for the use and reliance of the City of Longwood, Florida only. 4?