NSBA Editorial/Boards' Eye View: NCLB: Reauthorize it now
By Michael A. Resnick
01/08 -- When Congress and the White House created the No Child Left Behind Act six long years ago, it was widely recognized that the program would have to undergo corrections.
After all, this was the federal government’s first venture into educational accountability. And NCLB was a theoretical model whose real-world implementation was not tested across the 50 states -- each with its own system in place.
While the states and the U.S. Department of Education have made some operational adjustments, NCLB still has fundamental flaws. Meanwhile, Congress has been unwilling or unable to take the havoc caused by these flaws seriously enough to overcome the inside-the-beltway squabbles that are preventing corrective legislation from moving forward.
This point is painfully apparent from the reaction to the House discussion draft that was released over three months ago by committee chair George Miller (D-Calif.) and ranking member Howard McKeon (R-Calif.).
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who chaired the House committee when NCLB was originally enacted, objected to the manner in which the discussion draft approached the requirements on supplemental services, data collection, and other areas.
Several Democratic members objected to a provision in the draft that would provide some school districts with incentives to initiate merit pay for teachers under certain circumstances.
But surely differences like these -- including concerns raised by NSBA -- can be worked out to ensure that the overall program is put on a productive footing.
There are some who would prefer putting off dealing with NCLB until after the presidential election.
They argue there will be a new administration that will want to put forward its own agenda. And a new administration is likely to be less resistant to some changes than the current policymakers in the Department of Education.
NSBA believes that a post-election delay is misguided for several reasons.
For one thing, waiting until after the election is likely to mean that NCLB won’t be reauthorized until 2010. Depending on how complicated or controversial the legislation is, schools might have to struggle with NCLB’s dysfunctional requirements through the 2010-11 school year.
Over this lag time, the adequate yearly performance bar will rise significantly, and the progression of overly broad sanctions will unnecessarily lead more schools and districts into restructuring -- at the expense of students, teachers, and the taxpayers.
Further, in dealing with a new administration, everybody -- including a new president -- would be better off if as many problem areas can be resolved now to provide a better focus for new ideas rather than getting bogged down with fixing the errors of the past.
K-12 education is important enough that Congress can address legislation again in a few years if that is what’s needed to clean up the problems it put into motion six long years ago.
School board members from across the nation will be coming to Washington, D.C., in early February for NSBA’s annual Federal Relations Network meeting to deliver that message. NSBA encourages all school board members to communicate with their representatives and senators the urgent need to address the reauthorization of NCLB in 2008.
For more information, Federal Relations Network members and National Affiliates, should visit www.nsba.org/nclbcampaign.
| Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2008, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |