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• Obama administration proposes changes to NCLB [HTML 4,775kb]
  The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Obama administration has released a blueprint for overhauling the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This blueprint will be considered by Congress as it reauthorizes NCLB.
  
• Obama administration seeks sweeping overhaul of NCLB [HTML 3,789kb]
  The Obama administration is proposing a major overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), says the New York Times. The proposal calls for broad changes in how schools are judged to be succeeding or failing, and the elimination of the law’s 2014 deadline for bringing every American child to academic proficiency.
  
• Missouri district’s rise in AYP transfer requests taxing its financial resources [HTML 4,057kb]
  Springfield school district is experiencing a steep rise in the number of requests for transfers by students whose schools failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), says the Springfield News-Leader.
  
• Army responds to North Carolina district’s policy restricting its recruiters’ access to schools [HTML 2,123kb]
  The U.S. Army has responded to the Wilkes County Board of Education’s (WCBOE) new policy toward military recruitment, says the Wilkes Journal-Patriot. The new policy is the result of settlement of a lawsuit brought by the North Carolina chapter of Peace Action, a nonprofit organization devoted to the issue of military recruitment on campus.
  
• School district, peace activist reach mediated agreement on school access [HTML 3,307kb]
  The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina reports that Wilkes County Schools and a Quaker peace activist have reached a court-mediated agreement in a four-year-long dispute about her access to high-school students so she can present information about alternatives to military service.
  
• North Carolina district’s transfer rule may violate NCLB [HTML 4,027kb]
  State and federal education officials say the Wake school system ignores the intent of federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements by making parents reapply for transfers after pulling their children from high-poverty schools that fail to hit the statute's academic goals, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
  
• Providence, R.I. union lawsuit: Collective bargaining trumps NCLB intervention [HTML 2,639kb]
  The Providence Teachers Union has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court that seeks to prevent the school district from abolishing seniority as the primary way in which teacher vacancies are filled, the Providence Journal reports.
  
• ED issues ARRA guidance on waivers of Title I requirements and IDEA funding, announces ARRA web conferences [HTML 5,937kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has (1) issued draft guidance regarding waivers under ARRA of certain NCLB requirements, of Title I, Part A rules, and of “maintenance of effort” (MOE) rules; (2) issued guidance on stimulus funding and MOE requirements under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and (3) announced a series of technical assistance web conferences on ARRA implementation.
  
• Virginia turns to portfolio testing to meet NCLB requirements [HTML 2,238kb]
  The Washington Post reports that the No Child Left Behind testing requirements have pushed the state of Virginia to greater lengths to achieve higher passing rates.
  
• Detroit embarks on massive restructuring amid jurisdictional questions [HTML 6,296kb]
  Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager has announced that he will close 29 schools this year and restructure 40 more, the Detroit News reported last week. The restructuring of the 40 schools is necessary for buildings that are in phase 4 or higher of Adequate Yearly Progress, under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
  
• Recession may lead to more NCLB interventions in schools [HTML 1,848kb]
  The Charlotte Observer reports that in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, the number of extremely high-poverty schools—where at least three-fourths of students get lunch aid for low-income families—will surge from 35 this school year to 59 in August, officials predict.
  
• Obama actions so far signal direction on education and NCLB [HTML 5,126kb]
  The New York Times reports that clues are now emerging that suggest that the Obama administration will use a Congressional rewriting of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) later this year to toughen requirements on topics like teacher quality and academic standards and to intensify its focus on helping failing schools.
  
• Secretary Duncan outlines some NCLB changes [HTML 6,320kb]
  In an April 1 letter to chief state school officers, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has outlined several changes he intends to make to the rules covering Title I programs under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), reports Education Week.
  
• Public schools changing how multiracial children are counted [HTML 2,968kb]
  Public schools are abandoning their check-one-box approach to gathering information about race and ethnicity in an effort to develop a more accurate portrait of classrooms transformed by immigration and interracial marriage, reports the Washington Post.
  
• Georgia schools the focus of latest “persistently dangerous” exposé [HTML 5,896kb]
  State data show that in schools across the Atlanta metro area, a student was accused of handling a gun nearly once every three school days last year, writes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  
• President calls for stronger public education, from “career to cradle” [HTML 5,580kb]
  President Barack Obama has outlined his plan for a major overhaul of the country's education system "from the cradle up through a career," reports CNN. "We have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us," Obama said in an address to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
  
• Hartford schools out of money for federally mandated tutoring [HTML 2,848kb]
  Hartford students will go without federally mandated tutoring temporarily, the Hartford Courant reports, while the school district figures out whether it has enough money to continue the services at the current level.
  
• Support grows for national academic standards [HTML 5,065kb]
  The National Governors Association (NGA) has adopted a policy statement endorsing a process to develop common academic standards by comparing student performance on international tests, writes Education Week.
  
• Duncan addresses NCLB, performance pay in confirmation hearing [HTML 2,433kb]
  The Associated Press reports that Barack Obama's choice for education secretary, Arne Duncan, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) should stop punishing schools where only a handful of kids are struggling.
  
• NCLB guidance on graduation rates issued [HTML 2,109kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued non-regulatory guidance on its recently published regulations regarding the “other academic indicators” that states use in defining “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Outgoing Bush administration defends NCLB, issues late administrative decisions [HTML 5,387kb]
  According to U.S. News & World Report’s “On Education” blog, President Bush is touting the success of his education reforms, mainly the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB).
  
• Whole Sixth Circuit hears arguments in suit challenging NCLB [HTML 5,328kb]
  Education Week’s School Law Blog reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc (i.e., with all active judges participating), has heard oral arguments on the issue of whether a group of school districts backed by the National Education Association (NEA) has a case in challenging the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as an unfunded mandate.
  
• ED denies Utah request to try new testing system [HTML 2,058kb]
  The Salt Lake Tribune reports that U.S. Department of Education (ED) has denied a request from Utah to waive No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirements so two school districts could give computer adaptive tests several times a year instead of Criterion Referenced Tests (CRTs), which most Utah students now take at the end of each school year.
  
• Title III as Amended by NCLB [HTML 1,535kb]
  The Department of Education issued a notice of final interpretations under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act.
  
• Entire Sixth Circuit to hear NCLB challenge next month [HTML 1,630kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (KY, MI, OH, TN) has scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 10, 2008, in its en banc consideration of Pontiac School District v. Spellings, a suit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Department of Education issues final Title I regulations [HTML 4,616kb]
  Secretary Margaret Spellings has announced final regulations that will require schools and states to track and lift the graduation rates for all students, including minorities and students with disabilities, reports the Associated Press.
  
• Texas district shares experience with school restructuring [HTML 3,240kb]
  Longview Independent School District (LISD) administrators have shared with other Texas school leaders how they redesigned Longview High School according to the Longview News-Journal.
  
• NSBA analysis of NCLB’s proposed Title I regulations [HTML 754kb]
  NSBA’s Office of Advocacy has published a chart summarizing the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) proposed regulations for Part A Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as reauthorized in the No Child Left Behind Act.
  
• GOP outlook on NCLB unclear [HTML 3,171kb]
  As President Bush anoints Sen. John McCain as his successor the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week, Education Week reports, it remains far from clear whether Sen. McCain—and other top Republicans—will continue to embrace the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), or whether the GOP will return to its role as a champion of limited government and local control of schools.
  
• NCLB the focus of rival camps at Democratic Party Convention [HTML 4,121kb]
  According to the New York Sun, a bitter rift inside the Democratic Party over testing, teachers, and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was expected to be exposed at the party's convention in Denver.
  
• Back-to-school complaints surface over public school choice [HTML 5,919kb]
  North Carolina’s New Hanover County Public Schools has approved only 62 out of the 303 requests parents made to transfer their children out of schools that failed testing expectations under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), according to the Wilmington Star News.
  
• Ohio’s greater NCLB flexibility doesn’t extend to local districts or schools [HTML 2,101kb]
  The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that even though Ohio is one of six states that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has granted increased flexibility to under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the state's 1.8 million public-school students attending classes this fall won't have a clue that ED eased regulations for Ohio. Nor will the state's teachers, principals and superintendents find their day-to-day chores any easier.
  
• More states permitted to switch order of tutoring and transfer interventions [HTML 3,187kb]
  Under No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) schools failing to make “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) for two years in a row must are placed on a list slated for “school improvement.”
  
• Nashville parents oppose state’s move to replace principals [HTML 2,972kb]
  The Tennessee Sate Department of Education (TDE) has run into opposition from parents over its decision to replace principals at some of Nashville’s schools, says a Tennessean news report.
  
• California district risks federal funding over state law [HTML 3,931kb]
  Lagunitas School District has decided to follow a California law that allows parents to opt their children out of standardized testing, even though the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires most of the district to take such tests in order to qualify for Title I federal funds, according to a report in the Point Reyes Light.
  
• Six states accepted for ED’s NCLB alternative assessment pilot program [HTML 3,115kb]
  U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced that Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, and Ohio have been approved to participate in a pilot program that will allow them administer their own prescription for ailing schools under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Associated Press reports in the New York Sun.
  
• NSBA submits formal comments on NCLB regulations [HTML 2,104kb]
  NSBA has submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on its proposed regulations under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, in its most recent iteration as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Report finds achievement up, gap narrowing, but NCLB role uncertain [HTML 3,194kb]
  According to USA Today, a study by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) reports math and reading test scores are up in most states since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) took effect in 2002, but it's impossible to know how much credit the law deserves.
  
• Arizona sues federal government again over ELL students’ test scores [HTML 2,587kb]
  The Arizona Republic reports that the state of Arizona is suing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to stop it from labeling schools as failing because students still learning English are doing poorly on the state’s AIMS test.
  
• Some states report tutoring ineffective in raising student performance [HTML 3,859kb]
  A recent Washington Post story reports that the free tutoring services that struggling schools are required to provide to students under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have had little or no positive effect on student test scores in Virginia, Maryland, and several other states, according to early evaluations.
  
• Feds approve NCLB growth model plans from Michigan, Missouri [HTML 1,644kb]
  U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced its approval under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of state growth models submitted by Michigan and Missouri.
  
• Department of Education extends NCLB pilot program to reverse order of SES and public school choice [HTML 2,230kb]
  U.S. Department of Education (ED) has sent a letter to chief state education officers announcing that it will continue for the 2008-09 school year a pilot program for the purpose of determining whether more families would take advantage of supplemental educational services (SES) like tutoring if such services were offered in the first year of school improvement—one year earlier than the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires.
  
• Idaho asks feds for “do over” on accountability standards [HTML 2,726kb]
  Idaho's State Board of Education wants a fresh start for hundreds of public schools facing sanctions under a tough federal education accountability mandate. The board has asked the U.S. Department of Education to wipe away the student progress measurements between 2002 and 2006 under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on which the sanctions are based.
  
• Department of Education interprets rules for Title III accountability for limited English proficient students [HTML 2,382kb]
  The Department of Education (ED) has proposed interpretations of certain provisions of Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) relating to the English language proficiency assessments for limited English proficient (LEP) students, Title III annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs) for such students, and Title III accountability provisions.
  
• Connecticut appeals dismissal of NCLB suit [HTML 1,263kb]
  Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has appealed a federal judge's dismissal of the state's lawsuit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act, pledging to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
  
• Report claims NCLB fails struggling Asian-American pupils [HTML 3,630kb]
  Schools are failing to identify struggling Asian-American students under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and to get them the academic interventions they need, a report says.
  
• 411 school districts in 27 states failing to meet NCLB accountability standards [HTML 3,490kb]
  At Las Palmitas Elementary School in Southern California, 99% of students live in poverty and fewer than 20% speak English fluently.
  
• Florida applies for NCLB alternative assessment pilot program [HTML 1,883kb]
  Florida is applying to join an experimental program that could resolve some sharp differences between state and federal school assessment results.
  
• Entire Sixth Circuit to reconsider NCLB suit [HTML 1,825kb]
  A federal appeals court has agreed to reexamine a ruling by a panel of the court that revived a lawsuit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for imposing unfunded mandates on states and school districts.
  
• In California, reclassifying students can change NCLB results [HTML 3,471kb]
  Over the past two years, 80 California schools got "out of trouble" with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) after changing the way they classify their students, a Sacramento Bee analysis has found.
  
• ED rejects Utah’s proposed NCLB growth model [HTML 1,920kb]
  The federal government has again rejected Utah's request to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by measuring student growth over time. Utah education officials had hoped to use the state's system for measuring school success, U-PASS, to participate in an expanded program allowing states to satisfy NCLB by measuring student growth in math and reading.
  
• Proposed federal formula for graduation rates wins praise [HTML 2,832kb]
  A Bush administration proposal to require that all states use the same formula to calculate high school graduation rates is winning applause from education experts who say it will shed light on the nation's dropout problem.
  
• Court dismisses remaining count in Connecticut NCLB suit [HTML 6,164kb]
  A federal district court has dismissed the last remaining count in Connecticut’s lawsuit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In September 2006, the court dismissed three of four counts on jurisdictional grounds and, thus, did not address the merits of those claims.
  
• With Congress gridlocked, Spellings proposes more changes via regulations [HTML 7,397kb]
  The Bush administration sought to bolster its signature education law Tuesday, announcing new rules designed to address the nation's dropout problem and ensure close attention is paid to the achievement of minority students.
  
• Arizona Senate committee rejects NCLB opt-out bill [HTML 2,481kb]
  A state Senate panel has failed to pass a bill that would have Arizona opt out of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but the measure will likely be revived on a vote.
  
• Tennessee officials to seek flexibility under new NCLB pilot program [HTML 3,589kb]
  As talks of tweaking accountability under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) revive, Tennessee could be among 10 states to tailor penalties for schools that don't show enough student progress—a failure often blamed on special-education students.
  
• Some schools making adequate progress under “safe harbor” provision [HTML 2,860kb]
  Hundreds of schools in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia were judged to have made adequate yearly progress (AYP) last year under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) even though they failed to meet performance targets for all groups of historically underperforming students, the requirement at the heart of the law.
  
• Arizona lawmakers considering opting out of NCLB [HTML 3,595kb]
  The Arizona House of Representatives is on the verge of opting out of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush's premier educational accomplishment.
  
• ED to set federal formula to calculate graduation, dropout rates [HTML 6,186kb]
  Moving to sweep away the tangle of inaccurate state data that has obscured the severity of the nation’s high school dropout crisis, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will require all states to use one federal formula to calculate graduation and dropout rates.
  
• Spellings to relax NCLB accountability standards for some states [HTML 6,255kb]
  The Bush administration, acknowledging that the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is diagnosing too many public schools as failing, says that it will relax the law’s provisions for some states, allowing them to distinguish schools with a few problems from those that need major surgery.
  
• Utah state board of education urges veto of spending, NCLB bills [HTML 3,307kb]
  The Utah State Board of Education has urged Governor Jon M. Huntsman to veto a bill requiring outside approval for expensive federal programs and to look at exercising line-item veto power over the school's $2.5 billion budget.
  
• Virginia passes legislation to allow state to opt out of NCLB [HTML 2,034kb]
  Virginia's Board of Education would be directed to recommend whether the state should pull out of a federal school accountability system under legislation that has cleared the General Assembly Saturday.
  
• Utah to subject federal education programs to state scrutiny [HTML 3,461kb]
  The Utah Legislature has been no fan of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). And now, it could be in control of its money.
  
• Virginia considering abandoning NCLB [HTML 4,848kb]
  The General Assembly is flirting with abandoning a landmark federal law that governs schools in the United States.
  
• Indianapolis to “cluster” kids who have repeated grades twice [HTML 2,643kb]
  Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) will target its toughest academic cases next year: the more than 1,400 students who have been held back at least twice before eighth grade.
  
• U.S. to ask full Sixth Circuit to reconsider ruling on NCLB funding [HTML 1,981kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education says it will ask all active judges on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear a Jan. 7 three-judge panel ruling in favor of school districts in three states and the nation's largest teachers' union who argued that schools should not have to comply with requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that aren't funded by the federal government.
  
• California state officials propose big education agendas, little money [HTML 5,358kb]
  Even though California schools could lose millions in funding next year, the state's education system can be improved through streamlined preschool and other low-cost efforts to close the achievement gap, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell says.
  
• Milwaukee school board rejects part of state improvement plan [HTML 3,245kb]
  With millions of dollars in aid to schools at stake, the Milwaukee School Board has put the brakes on a main element of a plan to get Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) off the list of districts not measuring up under the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB).
  
• Spellings warns states to comply with NCLB despite court ruling [HTML 3,203kb]
  U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has warned states that they still have to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), despite a recent court ruling allowing a lawsuit that challenges its funding.
  
• Secretary Spellings tours states seeking comments on improving law [HTML 3,258kb]
  Special-education achievement and the cost of testing and tracking data were among the issues leaders raised at a round-table session this week in Olympia, Washington, with U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
  
• Oregon schools turn down federal aid for students behind in reading and math [HTML 4,258kb]
  At least 25 Oregon schools whose students are behind in reading and math have turned down federal aid intended to help those students learn more, an analysis by The Oregonian has found.
  
• Michigan special education teachers likely stripped of highly-qualified status [HTML 4,235kb]
  Thousands of secondary special education teachers in Michigan likely have been stripped of their status as highly-qualified teachers because the state improperly allowed them to reach the standard by taking an elementary education exam.
  
• Schools in eligible states may be graded through a "growth model" [HTML 3,476kb]
  The U.S. Education Department (ED) has announced it will allow schools in eligible states to be graded on steady student achievement over a period of time through a "growth model" under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Maryland's attempts to turn around worst schools have largely failed [HTML 3,123kb]
  Maryland's attempts to turn around its worst schools in the past several years have largely failed, according to a report by a Washington-based nonprofit education research group.
  
• NCLB allows Florida students to escape struggling schools [HTML 3,733kb]
  The No Child Left Behind Act has allowed some Broward County, Florida students to escape schools that are struggling because of low test scores, causing these campuses to suffer further under the federal law meant to improve public education, educators say.
  
• Education committees signal that time has run out for NCLB reauthorization [HTML 2,638kb]
  The leaders of the Senate and House education committees are signaling that time has run out for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act this year, leaving prospects for rewriting it uncertain during the presidential campaign in 2008.
  
• ED finalizes guidance on reporting race and ethnicity [HTML 2,093kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has finalized its guidance for how states and school districts are to report racial and ethnic data as to multiracial students.
  
• School Choice and Supplemental Services [HTML 2,557kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued a new publication entitled Giving Parents Options: Strategies for Informing Parents and Implementing Public School Choice and Supplemental Education Services Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
  
• House bill to renew No Child Left Behind law under sharp attack [HTML 4,546kb]
  The draft House bill to renew the federal No Child Left Behind law has come under sharp attack from civil rights groups and the nation’s largest teachers unions, the latest sign of how difficult it may be for Congress to pass the law this fall.
  
• Pittsburgh tightens restrictions on military recruiters [HTML 2,599kb]
  Driven by concerns about high pressure tactics by military recruiters, the Pittsburgh school board has tightened restrictions on recruiters who visit district high schools.
  
• Proposed revisions to NCLB would ease penalties but tighten another rule [HTML 4,370kb]
  U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has issued proposed revisions yesterday to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that would ease the penalties for public schools that barely miss academic testing targets but would tighten another rule that has allowed states to meet achievement goals.
  
• Group alleges district failed to disclose legally-required data [HTML 2,778kb]
  An activist group has filed suit against the Oakland Unified School District alleging that it has failed to disclose legally-required data, including per-pupil spending figures, for each school through a so-called "school accountability report card."
  
• Lawsuit alleges NCLB loophole allows government to misrepresent teacher preparedness [HTML 2,374kb]
  A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco alleges that a loophole in the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) allows the government to misrepresent how prepared teachers are for their jobs, perpetuating a pattern of clustering inexperienced teachers in the neediest schools.
  
• Department of Education chief of staff gives interview on NCLB [HTML 1,698kb]
  After a recent speech to a group of teachers in Schaumburg, Illinois, David Dunn, chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), sat for an interview with the Chicago Daily Herald on the subject of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Chairman of the House education committee calls for “serious changes” to NCLB [HTML 3,839kb]
  U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House education committee, is calling for “serious changes” to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), including new ways to measure school progress, a proposal some Republicans fear could jeopardize efforts to renew the law this year.
  
• Parents and educators would prefer to mend No Child Left Behind Act [HTML 5,202kb]
  According to a recently released survey commissioned by the Education Testing Service (ETS), despite many criticisms, parents and educators would rather mend than end the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires all children to be academically "proficient" by 2014.
  
• Study concludes high-performing states use less stringent standards than lower-performing [HTML 6,289kb]
  A new study from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) concludes that many of the states that claim to have large shares of their students reaching proficiency in reading and mathematics under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have set less stringent standards than lower-performing states.
  
• Survey reports increase in student achievement and narrowing of achievement gap since NCLB was signed [HTML 4,573kb]
  Student achievement has increased and test score gaps between white students and black and Hispanic students have narrowed in many states since President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) in 2002, according to a new survey of state scores in reading and math.
  
• Iowa receives permission to track student progress in a way officials say is more accurate and informative [HTML 2,807kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has given Iowa permission to track student progress in a way state education officials say is more accurate and informative. Educators will compare test scores among students in a particular grade all the way through their academic careers.
  
• Members of the House of Representatives want changes to the No Child Left Behind Act [HTML 3,709kb]
  Members of the House of Representatives want changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and the chairman of the chamber’s education committee is saying he’s willing to make some of them.
  
• Virginia school districts back off their vow to defy the Department of Education testing mandate [HTML 4,190kb]
  Backed into a corner by shifting testing regulations and funding threats, some Virginia school districts have backed off their vow to defy the U.S. Department of Education (ED) mandate to test students with limited English skills with grade level tests as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• NCLB Alternative Assessments [HTML 2,222kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has published final regulations under the No Child Left Behind Act on assessments of students with disabilities based on modified academic achievement standards that cover grade-level content.
  
• Department of Education releases regulations guiding test creation for special education students [HTML 3,619kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has released final regulations to guide the creation of tests for students in special education who are capable of learning grade-level content, but not as quickly as their peers.
  
• Virginia’s Senators introduce legislation to protect schools from threats to withhold federal funding [HTML 5,843kb]
  Virginia’s U.S. Senators John W. Warner (R) and James Webb (D) have introduced legislation to protect the state's schools from Bush administration threats to withhold millions of dollars in aid in a clash over federal testing rules.
  
• Officials confront reality that NCLB's goals are unlikely to be met [HTML 5,436kb]
  As the U.S. Congress begins to debate renewing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), legislators and federal education officials are confronting the reality that it is unlikely the law will achieve its lofty goal that all students tested in reading and math will reach grade level by 2014.
  
• Resistance to NCLB testing grows in Virginia [HTML 6,772kb]
  Resistance to the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) requirement that all students take the same reading tests, even those struggling to learn English, is growing in Virginia school districts with large immigrant populations.
  
• Demand to partner with parents has intensified with increasing accountability [HTML 4,989kb]
  With schools increasingly held accountable for the performance of every student, the demand to partner with parents has intensified.
  
• Private commission set up by the Aspen Institute issues 75 NCLB recommendations [HTML 4,656kb]
  A private commission set up by the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, has issued a report of 75 recommendations as Congress prepares to rewrite the 5-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law this year.
  
• Board of supervisors of Fairfax County endorses school board's decision to defy Department of Education [HTML 6,396kb]
  In an 8-1 vote, the board of supervisors of Fairfax County, Virginia, has endorsed the Fairfax school board’s decision to defy the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) directive to give English language learner (ELL) students the same reading exams given to native speakers.
  
• Commercial tutoring providers weigh in with proposed changes to NCLB [HTML 4,142kb]
  As the U.S. Congress gears up to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), commercial tutoring providers are weighing in with proposed changes to the act’s provision requiring underperforming public schools to offer students supplemental educational services (SES), typically tutoring.
  
• Department of Education threatens “enforcement action” against Virginia [HTML 3,919kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has threatened to take “enforcement action” against Virginia if any school districts defy a federal mandate to give reading tests to thousands of immigrant students.
  
• Senator Ted Kennedy vows to work to soften the No Child Left Behind Act's deadlines and discipline [HTML 4,343kb]
  During a speech to about 1,000 local school board members at a conference of the National School Boards Association, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), has vowed to work to soften the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) deadlines and discipline while providing a new surge of federal funds and encouragement.
  
• Representative Robert Andrews believes NCLB relies too narrowly on one test to measure student performance [HTML 2,408kb]
  During a recent meeting with New Jersey school district superintendents, U.S. Representative Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), a member of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, has said he believes the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) relies too narrowly on one test to measure student performance.
  
• Bush administration bends NCLB rules to promote tutoring [HTML 4,585kb]
  In an effort to get thousands more poor children into tutoring, the Bush administration says it will again bend the rules of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Virginia school boards to challenge NCLB mandate on English learner reading tests [HTML 5,632kb]
  Several Virginia school boards are poised to challenge the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) mandate to give most English learners reading tests that mirror those taken by their native-speaking peers.
  
• Watchdog group alleges the implementation of the Reading First program violated federal law [HTML 2,048kb]
  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group, filed a lawsuit last month against the U.S. Department of Education (ED), alleging the department violated federal law in implementing the Reading First program.
  
• No Child Left Behind Act turns five years old [HTML 6,128kb]
  As the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) turns five years old and Congress prepares to reauthorize it, it faces a tough future. A group of 100 education, religion, and civil rights leaders has announced an effort calling for “major changes.”
  
• Connecticut branch of the NAACP becomes party in state's suit over NCLB [HTML 2,949kb]
  The Connecticut branch of the NAACP has received permission to become a party in the state's lawsuit against the federal government over the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education law.
  
• San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District to adopt ambitious student achievement plan [HTML 1,521kb]
  The leaders of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District in Santa Cruz, California are poised to adopt a plan for student achievement more ambitious than the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• School districts and the NEA seek to revive lawsuit challenging NCLB funding [HTML 3,221kb]
  School districts in three states and the nation's largest teachers union have asked a federal appeals court to revive a lawsuit challenging the way the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is funded.
  
• Food and Nutrition Service proposes rule on milk substitutes [HTML 1,508kb]
  The Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has proposed a rule that would allow children with medical or other special dietary needs to receive substitutes for fluid milk at the request of the child’s parent or legal guardian.
  
• Tutoring company files suit against Detroit Public Schools for alleged NCLB violation [HTML 2,538kb]
  Alliance for Children Inc., a private tutoring company in Michigan, has filed a lawsuit against Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in U.S. District Court for allegedly violating the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by barring the company from providing free tutoring services to poor children in failing schools.
  
• Alaska's application for flexibility in measuring AYP has been rejected [HTML 3,594kb]
  Alaska’s application to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for flexibility in measuring adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has been rejected.
  
• Company headed by President Bush's brother benefits from federal dollars under NCLB [HTML 2,910kb]
  A company headed by President Bush's brother and partly owned by his parents is benefiting from Republican connections and federal dollars targeted for economically disadvantaged students under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Nearly 52,000 students in Chicago Public Schools sign up for free tutoring [HTML 4,989kb]
  Nearly 52,000 students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) signed up for free tutoring this year, about 9,000 more than last year, but still a fraction of the 200,000 students eligible for such services mandated under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in the 295 CPS schools that failed testing standards.
  
• Florida districts say data on meeting "highly qualified" teacher requirements is out of date [HTML 4,529kb]
  Some Florida school districts say state data on their progress toward meeting the No Child Behind Act’s (NCLB) “highly qualified” teacher requirements are out of date.
  
• Audit of Reading First initiative finds violations of conflict of interest rules [HTML 4,364kb]
  An audit by the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Inspector General (IG) of the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) Reading First initiative has concluded that federal officials violated conflict of interest rules when awarding grants to states under the reading program and steered contracts to favored textbook publishers.
  
• Arizona not taking advantage of NCLB's exemption for language learners because of pending lawsuit [HTML 3,162kb]
  Although the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has adjusted the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) accountability provisions to allow a one-year testing exemption for English language learner (ELL) students, Arizona will not be able to take advantage of the change yet because of its pending lawsuit against ED.
  
• Momentum is building in Kansas to give the No Child Left Behind Act a failing grade [HTML 3,217kb]
  Momentum is building across the political spectrum in Kansas to give the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) a failing grade. The Kansas State Board of Education (KBOE), sharply divided between moderates and conservative on numerous issues, has agreed to take a look within the next couple of months at what the potential impact if the state disengaged from NCLB and refused the federal funding associated with it.
  
• Department of Education issues final regulations on accountability provisions for LEP students [HTML 1,778kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued final regulations implementing the accountability provisions for limited English proficiency (LEP) students under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• California school board considers opting out of NCLB [HTML 3,385kb]
  A California school district is contemplating leaving NCLB behind by telling Uncle Sam to keep his money.
  
• Secretary Spellings declares NCLB close to perfect [HTML 3,431kb]
  U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has declared the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) close to perfection and in need of little change as its first major update draws near.
  
• Georgia students in "failing" Bibb County public schools not allowed to transfer [HTML 2,855kb]
  About 3,400 students in Bibb County, Georgia attending public high schools identified as failing won't be allowed to transfer from their failing schools this year as allowed under federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.
  
• Department of Education proposes new guidance on reporting race and ethnicity data [HTML 2,434kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is proposing new guidance on the maintaining, collecting, and reporting of data on race and ethnicity to ED by local school districts and states.
  
• 80% of students eligible for tutoring under NCLB are not receiving the services [HTML 2,259kb]
  The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report that found that over 80% of students eligible for additional tutoring services under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are not the required services.
  
• States face challenge in putting qualified teachers in core academic classes [HTML 4,532kb]
  A federal review has found that states, having missed one deadline already, still face an enormous challenge in putting qualified teachers in all major classes.
  
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board would support new superintendent in reconstituting struggling schools [HTML 2,621kb]
  A majority of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board has vowed to support its new superintendent, Peter Gorman, if he decides to reconstitute the North Carolina school district’s struggling schools and move in stronger teachers.
  
• Bush administration calls on Congress to make changes to No Child Left Behind [HTML 4,096kb]
  The Bush administration is calling on Congress to make changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), including placing more emphasis on science and giving poor students private school vouchers.
  
• Montana plans to appeal its failure to meet NCLB testing requirements [HTML 2,097kb]
  Montana plans to appeal its inclusion on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) list of states whose current standardized tests fail to meet the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) requirements.
  
• NEA delegates approve plan to increase lobbying for NCLB reform [HTML 3,286kb]
  A majority of delegates from the National Education Association (NEA) has approved a plan designed to increase lobbying efforts with the U.S. Congress to reform the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal seizes on language in recent Supreme court case to support suit challenging NCLB [HTML 2,753kb]
  Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has seized on language in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy in support of the state's suit against the U.S. Department of Education (ED) challenging the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
  
• New York testing of disabled and limited English proficiency students fails to meet standards [HTML 3,496kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has informed the State of New York that its methods for testing disabled and limited English proficiency students fail to comply with No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) standards.
  
• Arizona suit claims federal officials reneged on agreement over testing English-language learners [HTML 4,794kb]
  Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has filed suit in federal court against the federal government, claiming federal education officials have reneged on their prior oral agreement with state officials to count the standardized test scores of English-language learners (ELL) for purposes of the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) accountability standards only after those students have attended school in the state for three years, allowing them time to become proficient enough in English to pass an academic test.