NCLB Reauthorization

I just finished reading ASCD’s comments to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. I guess my reaction is, if the “comments” to the “discussion draft” of the reauthorization legislation are this complicated, I wonder what the draft legislation looks like?

I can remember the good old days when I was able to quote chapter and verse from PL94-142 – the Education of All Handicapped Children Act – the first national special education law. Perhaps I was young and more vigorous, but it did seem simpler in those days.

The New York Times and Washington Post are reporting that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings thinks the draft of the legislation is “just too darn confusing…” According to this source she states, “To make it more complex, less transparent, more obfuscated I think would be a huge mistake, particularly when we’re on the run, we’re on the move.”

Information about the review process is also reported in eSchool News online which describes how the draft of the law emphasizes the importance of "21st-century skills and the wider use of data."

In ASCD’s comments to the Committee, they note concerns about the addition of several new layers of record keeping, reporting and data collection. The ASCD comments state:

"While it is necessary for school districts to engage in some of the record keeping, especially in view of the extensive new flexibility around multiple measures of assessment, use of growth models, indicators of achievement and more, the new requirements in this draft appear onerous. Each of the prospective changes in the draft include more reporting requirements. These new requirements run the risk of making this new proposed Title I almost unworkable at the local level. What is certain is that more resources will be required to comply with requirements outside the classroom. We urge you to keep this in mind as alterations are made. The overwhelming goal of this proposal is to improve education, not to place undue stress and burdensome record keeping on schools in order to meet numerous state and federal requirements affiliated with this proposal."

So, it appears we have a long way to go before this process will be finished and there is still plenty of time for input. If you are interested in this topic, you are encouraged to get involved and become one of ASCD’s Educator Advocates and if you would like to read the ASCD comments and learn more about the process, visit the ASCD Action Center.

~John Brandt