2012-37 RESOLUTION NO. 2012-37
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA URGING THE
GOVERNOR 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;URGING
THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO
MAINTAIN CURRENT TRAINING STANDARDS FOR
READING 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 MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, THE
CHAIRPERSON OF THE STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION, THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION,
AND TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE MIAMI-DADE
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
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Page 2
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 Commission, 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
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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 Commission 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 Aventura, 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
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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 Aventura, 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 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 Aventura.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, 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
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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 4. 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 Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation, the Chairperson of the
State Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and to the Executive Board
of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.
Section 5. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 6. 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 7. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage
and adoption.
The foregoing Resolution was offered by Commissioner Auerbach, who moved
its adoption. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Joel, and upon being put to a
vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Zev Auerbach yes
Commissioner Bob Diamond yes
Commissioner Billy Joel yes
Commissioner Michael Stern yes
Commissioner Luz Urbaez-Weinberg yes
Vice Mayor Teri Holzberg yes
Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes
Resolution No. 20123
Page 6
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 4th day of September, 2012.
SUN G TTLIEB, MAYOR
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APPROVED AS TO LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
H/44/1
CITY ATTORNEY