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May 11, 2005

New guidelines on NCLB flexibility

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced guidelines Tuesday for states that plan to take advantage of new, short-term flexibility in the way special education students are tested under No Child Left Behind. But that flexibility comes with some responsibility. The New York Times describes it like this: "To gain the extra flexibility, Spellings said, states must show that they are in compliance with other facets of the law and that their efforts to raise the achievement of students with disabilities are working."

Spellings lays it out this way: "Under this policy, to be made final under a new rule, students with academic disabilities will be allowed to take tests that are specifically geared toward their abilities, as long as the state is working to best serve those students by providing rigorous research-based training for teachers, improving assessments and organizing collaboration between special education and classroom teachers. If you stand up for the kids and provide better instruction and assessment, we will stand by you."

Here is how the changes shake out in one state: "About 11,500 more special education students in Illinois could be judged against less rigorous testing standards starting this year under a new policy outlined Tuesday by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings," reports the Chicago Sun-Times. "In 2004, 142 Illinois schools and 201 districts failed to meet NCLB standards solely because of special education test results. Now, only 1 percent of students—those with serious cognitive disabilities—can take an alternative test. The new policy would allow an additional 2 percent of all students to take a modified test if they are disabled." The Department of Education also announced it will release a notice of proposed rulemaking to seek comments from local school districts, parents, and others before finalizing a regulation to implement the new policy.

The department has posted a fact sheet, an amendment request, and interim options for states.

Got that? At this hour, BoardBuzz can reveal that there is no word yet on whether to expect more guidance that expands that ruling, classifying further directives, delineating the description, defining the statute, characterizing the explanation, explaining the recent regulation, finalized with a new rule, that implements the policy.

Simple.

Posted May 11, 2005 12:00 AM