PRINTER'S NO. 1762
No. 168 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY C. WILLIAMS, KUKOVICH, EARLL, COSTA, STOUT,
KITCHEN AND LOGAN, MARCH 5, 2002
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MARCH 5, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Education Committee to examine and study matters
2 relating to the participation of students with disabilities
3 in the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and
4 the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA); and
5 providing for its powers and duties.
6 WHEREAS, The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with
7 Disabilities Education Act require that students with
8 disabilities be included in Statewide assessment programs, with
9 appropriate accommodations where necessary; and
10 WHEREAS, The Federal law requires the Pennsylvania Department
11 of Education to develop guidelines for the participation of
12 students with disabilities in alternate assessments; and
13 WHEREAS, The Department of Education has implemented the
14 Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA), which
15 measures the knowledge and skills of children with significant
16 cognitive disabilities for whom the Pennsylvania System of
17 School Assessment (PSSA) is not appropriate; and
18 WHEREAS, The Department of Education has established criteria
19 for school districts in determining participation of students
1 with disabilities in State assessments; and
2 WHEREAS, All students are required to participate in the PSSA
3 or the PASA; and
4 WHEREAS, As the PSSA has increasingly become a high-stakes
5 test in which districts earn performance funding grants or are
6 designated empowerment districts based on student performance,
7 it is imperative to review State policies along with the
8 experiences of school administrators, teachers and parents of
9 students with disabilities who have taken the State assessment
10 tests; therefore be it
11 RESOLVED, That the Education Committee of the Senate examine
12 and study all matters related to students with disabilities and
13 their participation in the PSSA or the PASA; and be it further
14 RESOLVED, That the Education Committee hold hearings for the
15 purpose of taking testimony; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That the Education Committee report its findings
17 and recommendations to the Senate by July 1, 2002.
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