Final NCLB rules impose new burdens on districts
01/09—The U.S. Education Department has issued final regulations making major changes in how the No Child Left Behind Act is implemented.
The rules, published in the Federal Register Oct. 28, require states to use the same formula to determine the graduation rate, strengthen parental notification procedures, and require more rigorous interventions for schools undergoing restructuring.
NSBA urged the U.S. Education Department to hold off on imposing new regulations, “given the grave concerns over some of the existing provisions of NCLB and the growing need to implement major reforms that will be addressed by the new administration and the new Congress,” says NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick.
Provisions in the new regulations do address some of NSBA’s proposed changes, such as the expansion of growth models that track the progress of individual students. But NSBA is concerned that the new rules will force districts to redirect limited resources toward complying with new burdensome reporting requirements.
“We were hoping for relief, not more reporting requirements or barriers to achieving the goals of the law,” Resnick says.
Here are some of the key changes:
Graduation
The rules require states to use a “four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.” It is defined as the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who entered high school four years earlier.
States can choose to include students who earn a diploma during a summer session immediately following their fourth year. To remove a student from a cohort, a school or district must confirm in writing that the student has transferred to another school, left the country, or died.
The new graduation rate must be reported at the high school, district, and state levels in the aggregate and disaggregated by subgroups for the 2010-11 school year. States that can’t meet that deadline must request an extension by March 2, 2009.
States can propose the use of one or more extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rates that take into account students who graduate in more than four years. This rate must be reported separately and is subject to approval by the education secretary.
Aggressive goals and annual targets must be set for high school graduation. States and districts must meet or exceed the state target to make adequate yearly progress (AYP).
The graduation rate provisions “involve substantial data collection by schools and districts,” Resnick notes. “Further, at a time when the focus has been on increasing academic performance by subgroups, the progress schools make on student growth could be negated by the lack of success in meeting aggressive graduation goals. That would create a less favorable public perception of the substantial achievement gains that may have been made.”
School choice and SES
Districts now must notify parents about their options for transferring to another school at least 14 days before the start of the school year.
Information must be posted on district websites about parents’ options for school choice and supplemental educational services (SES). Such information must include the number of students who were eligible for and participated in SES starting in 2007-08; a list of SES providers and their locations; and a list of schools to which eligible students may transfer.
Each state most post online how much districts can spend for choice-related transportation, SES, and parent outreach, as well as the maximum per-pupil amount available for SES.
The list of eligible SES providers must indicate which ones can serve students with disabilities and English language learners.
In approving SES providers, states must consider whether providers’ instruction programs are research based and aligned with state standards; whether a provider has been removed from any other state’s list of approved providers; and parents’ recommendations.
NSBA is concerned that the rules do not require states to consult with districts in the approval process for new SES providers, Resnick says. NSBA also is concerned that the rules establish additional barriers in the use of unspent federal funds that must be set aside for public school choice and SES.
The NCLB statute requires districts to spend at least 20 percent of their Title I funds on choice-related transportation and SES. Districts can include a portion of their parent outreach costs within the 20 percent.
Districts cannot use unspent funds from the 20 percent obligation for other purposes until a detailed process is carried out to make sure all eligible children can take advantage of the choice and SES options.
Restructuring
Schools that have not met AYP goals for five years must implement a restructuring plan that is “significantly more rigorous and comprehensive” than the corrective actions undertaken when the school was first identified as needing improvement. The plan must include interventions that address why the school is in restructuring.
NSBA is disappointed that the education secretary rejected our recommendation to impose sanctions only if the same subgroup failed to meet its goal for two consecutive years in the same subject, Resnick says. “This interpretation of the law punishes districts and schools that are successful in raising student achievement in a specific subgroup.”
“These regulations continue the unnecessary mislabeling of schools and force the reallocation of limited federal funds to address the needs of the ‘newest’ group missing AYP,” he says, “rather than to strategically direct resources based on longer-trend experience.”
Reproduced with permission from
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