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September 10, 2007
NCLB reauthorization process begins, NSBA testifies todayCapitol Hill is abuzz with supporters and critics of the No Child Left Behind law as Congress gears up to start the law's reauthorization process. In testimony today to the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, NSBA urged lawmakers to heed the lessons learned during implementation of the current law and carefully consider how proposed changes will actually play out in schools across the country.
Reacting to the discussion draft of changes proposed by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), “We are pleased with the movement away from the rigid punitive aspects and the one-size-fits-all approach and toward greater flexibility and more options for states and districts in the law’s implementation,” said NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael Resnick in his testimony before the Committee.
Resnick went on to say, “We are also pleased with the key concepts included in the draft such as growth models and indexing systems, multiple measures of academic achievement, and reforms regarding accountability measures for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.”
“However, one of our concerns with this draft is the addition of many new requirements, including significant process, data collection, and reporting requirements for schools and districts,” said Resnick. These proposed changes would overwhelm schools, and “substantially complicate general understanding of the revised law and its actual implementation.”
Resnick accompanied NSBA's Board of Directors to Kodiak, Alaska, last week where leaders held their annual retreat, and the topic of NCLB was on everyone's minds. NSBA's President Norm Wooten, a local school board member in Kodiak, commented in this article in the Kodiak Daily Mirror:
"The most important thing a school board can do is be the connection between the local community and the school system. We need to reflect the values and desires of the community,” Wooten said. “By reflecting, I mean that we do that by passing budgets and implement policies.”NCLB is providing a useful measuring stick but there is plenty it cannot do, Wooten said.
“The NSBA supports local control, we think that is where education issues are best decided,” he said.
NSBA is urging support for H.R. 648, which was sponsored in the House by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
Wooten and NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant also shared their views on NCLB on Alaska Public Radio KMXT.
The Washington Post carried a variety of editorial opinions on the fate of NCLB in today's edition, including U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; Fairfax County (Virginia) Schools Superintendent Jack Dale; and Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association.
Read NSBA's press release on the testimony here and the full testimony here.
Posted September 10, 2007 4:52 PM | No Child Left Behind
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