Tennessee officials to seek flexibility under new NCLB pilot program
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. The law was the first to say students with disabilities ranging from dyslexia to autism had to meet the same standards as their peers in regular classrooms. After six years under NCLB, the number of Tennessee's special-needs children who tested on grade level and above in math and English has, for the most part, grown or remained steady, state data show. Most of the increases have been small. Some special-education advocates praise the law's intent to pay attention to students who sometimes got ignored, and some even worry the new flexibility may take that attention away.
The new initiative would grant 10 chosen states permission to match the severity of the consequences for missing progress goals to the seriousness of the infractions. Tennessee education officials say they will apply. As it stands, schools are penalized with funding losses or restructuring whether they miss standards by a little or a lot. Success typically depends on the performance of subgroups—special- education students, students who don't speak English proficiently, racial and ethnic minorities, and low-income students, among others. “The new flexibility, the key is going to be not to return to the battle days where those kids didn't count in any way, shape or form,” said Holly Lu Conant Rees, chairwoman of the Tennessee Disability Coalition on Education. “What we have to figure out is how to be generous with the school systems without weakening that requirements that you've got to look at all the kids within your school building.”
The aim of NCLB is for all students to read, write and do math on their grade level by 2014. School districts across the country have complained the goal is unrealistic, especially when it comes to special-education students. Reauthorization efforts with tweaks to the 2002 legislation haven't been successful. Some special-education advocates say that gains posted by students with disabilities under NCLB are bittersweet. “On the positive end, maybe we're focusing more on these kids because we have to,” said George Giuliani, executive director of the National Association of Special Education Teachers. “But if you talk to teachers, they will tell you they're teaching for the test. Although the numbers may be up, the question is, is this really good for education?”
Source: Nashville Tennessean, 3/22/08, By Natalia Mielczarek
[Editor’s Note: Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah State Board of Education has voted not to apply for the pilot program amid (1) recognition that Utah does not meet the priority the program will assign to states in which 20% of public schools receiving Title I funds are deemed in need of improvement, and (2) concern that the program “would increase the amount [the U.S. Department of Education] is involved in our choice of interventions." Details on the program are at the second link.]
Salt Lake Tribune, 4/4/08, By Lisa Schencker
NSBA School Law pages on Differentiated Accountability program