1Urging the Secretary of Education and the State Board of
2Education to ensure that Pennsylvania's academic standards
3are thoroughly rigorous for all Pennsylvania students.

4WHEREAS, Academic standards are statements of what students
5are expected to know and to be able to do at specific grade
6levels; and

7WHEREAS, The establishment of academic standards is within
8the jurisdiction of each state; and

9WHEREAS, Prior to the mid-1990s, Pennsylvania had no
10Statewide academic standards for its students; and

11WHEREAS, Pennsylvania began to implement standards-based
12education in the mid-1990s; and

13WHEREAS, The State Board of Education adopted Pennsylvania's
14first State Standards in Mathematics and in Reading, Writing,
15Speaking and Listening in January 1999; and

16WHEREAS, During the years 2002 through 2006, the State Board
17of Education adopted additional standards in Science and
18Technology, History, Health/Safety and Physical Education,

1Geography, Family and Consumer Science, Environment and Ecology,
2Economics, Civics and Government, Career Education and Work and
3Arts and Humanities; and

4WHEREAS, In 2004, several states began collaborating on the
5development of common state standards in Mathematics and English
6Language Arts; and

7WHEREAS, During the late 2000s, the National Governors
8Association, representing all states' chief executives, and the
9Council of Chief State School Officers, representing each
10state's top government official overseeing education, began to
11coordinate the effort to develop common state standards which
12effort culminated in the development of the Common Core State
13Standards; and

14WHEREAS, The State Board of Education adopted the Common Core
15State Standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts on July
161, 2010, replacing the original standards that the State Board
17of Education adopted in 1999; and

18WHEREAS, The State Board of Education has proposed
19Pennsylvania-specific Common Core State Standards; and

20WHEREAS, Members of the General Assembly are cognizant that
21many concerns have been raised by individual Pennsylvanians as
22well as various organizations within Pennsylvania about the
23adoption of the Common Core State Standards; therefore be it

24RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
25of Education be urged to ensure that Pennsylvania's academic
26standards are thoroughly rigorous for all Pennsylvania students;
27and be it further

28RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
29of Education be urged not to adopt future academic standards
30that do not meet or exceed the rigor of Pennsylvania's current

1academic standards; and be it further

2RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
3of Education be urged to ensure that Pennsylvania's academic
4standards are adapted to the specific needs of Pennsylvania; and
5be it further

6RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
7of Education be urged to consult with Pennsylvania parents,
8students, teachers, school administrators, school board members,
9representatives of institutions of higher education and business
10and community leaders before adopting any new academic
11standards; and be it further

12RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
13of Education be urged to ensure that public schools continue to
14maintain absolute flexibility in the curriculum that they
15provide under Pennsylvania's proud tradition of local control;
16and be it further

17RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
18of Education be urged not to establish required reading lists or
19in any other way adopt, or attempt to impose, a Statewide
20curriculum; and be it further

21RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
22of Education be urged to reject completely and unilaterally any
23attempts to subject Pennsylvania students to a national
24standardized assessment; and be it further

25RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
26of Education be urged to ensure that Pennsylvania academic
27standards are not burdensome and costly to public schools; and
28be it further

29RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
30of Education be urged to ensure that Pennsylvania academic

1standards do not result in intrusion into student and family
2privacy or in the collection or reporting of additional data to
3the Federal Government; and be it further

4RESOLVED, That the Secretary of Education and the State Board
5of Education be urged to amend any regulations necessary to
6effectuate the sentiment of the House of Representatives as
7expressed in this resolution.