HLS 21RS-1789 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 54
BY REPRESENTATIVE MINCEY
SCHOOLS: Urges the state superintendent to request school and district performance score
waivers from the U.S. Department of Education for the 2020-2021 school year
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the state superintendent of education to request Elementary and
3 Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waivers regarding school and district
4 accountability and reporting requirements for the 2020-2021 school year.
5 WHEREAS, Section 8401 of ESEA authorizes state departments of education to
6request waivers of its provisions; twenty-eight state departments plus the District of
7Columbia have already requested such waivers for the 2020-2021 school year; and
8 WHEREAS, due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic, the 2020-2021 school
9year has been trying on students, families, teachers, and education officials alike; and
10 WHEREAS, natural disasters also drastically disrupted elementary and secondary
11education services in multiple Louisiana parishes, including Hurricanes Marco, Laura, Sally,
12Beta, and Delta in 2020, and the winter storm of February 2021; and
13 WHEREAS, students across the state have been exposed to different levels of in-
14person instruction, online instruction, and hybrids of in-person and online instruction; and
15 WHEREAS, the disruption of education due to COVID-19 and extraordinary weather
16events during the 2020-2021 school year will likely result in an inaccurate measure of
17educational outcomes; inaccurate measures ought not be used as a basis for imposing
18negative consequences on schools, school districts, or teachers.
19 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
20Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the state superintendent of education
21to seek a waiver from the provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act dealing
Page 1 of 2 HLS 21RS-1789 ORIGINAL
HR NO. 54
1with accountability and school identification requirements, Sections 1111(c)(4) and
21111(d)(1)(C)-(D), and with the report card provisions related to accountability, Section
31111(h), based upon the disruptions of education during the 2020-2021 school year.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
5state superintendent of education and the president of the State Board of Elementary and
6Secondary 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, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 54 Original 2021 Regular Session Mincey
Requests the state superintendent of education to request waivers from provisions of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act relative to school accountability and reporting for
the 2020-2021 school year.
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