Reauthorizing No Child Left Behind
In the president’s State of the Union Address, he called on the U.S. Congress to reauthorize NCLB. Washington insiders seem to be divided on whether legislators will take up the law or let it slide for another year while they deal with other education legislation, including the Head Start legislation and the Higher Education Authorization Act. But committees both in the House and the Senate are holding hearings on different aspects of NCLB. In the Senate’s first hearing, called by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, several educators testified to the power of data and accountability in school reform. The first to testify was Martha Barber, principal coach with the Alabama Reading Initiative, whose work was profiled last year in this newsletter (see here for full story). She told the assembled senators and senate staffers that “leadership, professional development, and school culture” were the key elements in school reform.
NCLB Commission Recommendations
The No Child Left Behind Commission issued its recommendations for changes when the law is reauthorized. In a substantive report on progress and problems, the commission recommendations include:
- Using a growth-to-proficiency model to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). That is, the commission recommends giving credit to schools that have not yet made AYP if their students are on track to meet standards within three years based on trajectories of progress.
- Establishing a set of national standards and assessments that states could use on a voluntary basis.
- Making sure that all schools must report the achievement results of any subgroup that includes 20 or more children. Currently different states have different requirements. Maryland reports results for subgroups as small as five; Texas doesn’t report until the subgroup reaches 200 or is 15 percent of the school’s population.
- Counting students as English language learners for accountability purposes for three years after being declared proficient instead of the current two.
Those are only a few of the many recommendations. To read the report, click here. |
President’s Proposed Budget
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President Bush’s proposed education budget for 2008 totals about $56 billion, which is what was appropriated for 2007. The proposed budget allocates an additional $1.2 billion for Title I (which in 2007 was $12.7 billion), with the increase directed at high schools. The budget includes $250 million for scholarships to help low-income students in restructuring schools attend private schools, schools in other districts, or intensive tutoring. The budget also proposes a substantial cut in vocational and career education. For the full statement from the U.S. Department of Education, click here. |
Connecticut’s NCLB Lawsuit
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The Connecticut NAACP won the right to intervene in the case brought by the state of Connecticut against No Child Left Behind. “We sought a seat at the table and now we have one,” said Scot X. Esdaile, President of the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP. “The Court recognizes what’s at stake for our children and families, and that their education and future hinges on the outcome of this case. They also recognize the importance of our involvement in making sure their interests are represented.” The NAACP and individual parents are represented by the NAACP Legal Department; the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights; the NYC office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; and Walker & Associates in Stamford, CT.
Connecticut claims that No Child Left Behind is an unfunded mandate and thus the state should not have to comply with its testing regulations; the NAACP says that such an argument undermines all civil rights legislation. Stay tuned to see if Connecticut’s position moderates now that the state has a new superintendent.
(Full disclosure note: The Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights is a co-founder of The Achievement Alliance.) |
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