Louisiana HR 10: EARLY CHILDHOOD: Requests that the state Dept. of Education revise the proposed early learning and development standards and submit its version to the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education for consideration

Bill Text

HLS 23RS-546 ENGROSSED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 10
BY REPRESENTATIVE AMEDEE
EARLY CHILDHOOD: Requests that the state Dept. of Education revise the proposed
early learning and development standards and submit its version to the State Bd. of
Elementary and Secondary Education for consideration
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the state Department of Education to revise the proposed early learning
3 and development standards and to submit its version of the standards to the State
4 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for consideration.
5 WHEREAS, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) gave
6 notice of its intention to adopt a proposed rule revising Part CLIX of Title 28 of the
7 Louisiana Administrative Code, commonly known as Bulletin 136, through a Notice of
8 Intent published in the October 2022 edition of the Louisiana Register; and
9 WHEREAS, in the Notice of Intent, BESE proposed that the revisions would replace
10 existing standards and "provide Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS), a set
11 of common, developmentally-appropriate expectations for what children typically know,
12 understand, and are able to perform at different stages of early childhood"; and
13 WHEREAS, BESE received requests for a public hearing regarding the Notice of
14 Intent and held the hearing on November 28, 2022, during which both proponents and
15 opponents of the proposed standards provided testimony; and
16 WHEREAS, on December 21, 2022, BESE submitted its second report to the
17 legislature, which included a copy of the Notice of Intent, the public hearing certification,
18 and a summary of the public comments and agency response; and
19 WHEREAS, there was particular public interest in the proposed "social and
20 emotional development" standards contained in Section 303; and
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HLS 23RS-546 ENGROSSED
HR NO. 10
1 WHEREAS, some members of the public and some legislators expressed concern
2 that these standards were proposed without sufficient input from stakeholders, including
3 parents and educators, and that as a result, the standards may not accurately reflect the needs
4 and concerns of those affected by them; and
5 WHEREAS, in December of 2022, BESE approved reopening an online comment
6 portal in order to receive further public comments on the proposed standards and also
7 approved the submission of the rule for publication in the February edition of the Louisiana
8 Register; and
9 WHEREAS, in January of 2023, BESE approved halting the publication of the rule
10 in the February edition of the Louisiana Register as previously approved in order for the
11 standards review committee to revisit and possibly revise the standards while taking
12 additional public comment and concerns into consideration; and
13 WHEREAS, the review committee held continued discussions and received
14 additional public testimony on the standards at meetings held in the spring of 2023; and
15 WHEREAS, at the meeting of BESE's Academic Goals and Instructional
16 Improvement Committee on March 7, 2023, the chair of the review committee presented an
17 update on the ongoing work of the review committee; and
18 WHEREAS, at this meeting, the public comments included a request that BESE
19 direct the state Department of Education to revise the proposed standards and present its
20 version of the standards to BESE for consideration; and
21 WHEREAS, there are members of the public and legislators who favor this approach
22 rather than waiting for the review committee to complete its work due to uncertainty related
23 to the repeated absence of a quorum at review committee meetings called on February 8,
24 March 2, and March 15, 2023; the delay in the revision and endorsement of standards by the
25 committee; and what is perceived by some as a low likelihood of the parties successfully
26 finding common ground on the standards' social and emotional development domain.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
28 Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the state Department of Education to
29 revise the proposed early learning and development standards and submit its version of the
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HLS 23RS-546 ENGROSSED
HR NO. 10
1 standards to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) for
2 consideration.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department's submission of its version of the
4 standards be done in a time frame that allows BESE's consideration of the department's
5 version to occur at the board's next regularly scheduled meeting following the adoption of
6 this Resolution.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
8 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state
9 superintendent of education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract