“No Child Left Behind”

You know it by the nickname “No Child Left Behind” or “NCLB.” It is really the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a 1965 law Congress has reauthorized several times. In 2002, under the Bush Administration, Congress made sweeping changes in the law and now it is up for regular changes made every five years.

Congress began considering the 2007 reauthorization of the law this fall. Congressmen filed numerous bills to change the law, and the House Education and Labor Committee began a review of the many proposed changes -- some good, some not.

Our Association has a plan for these changes. NEA is taking the lead in a broad national coalition of education and other organizations in proposing them. Read about what our Association wants to do with NCLB.

As you know, the political landscape changes quickly in Washington and Congress. President Bush has vetoed the federal spending bill. California Congressman George Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the President’s failure to support adequate NCLB funding and his veto means the House is not likely to take action on NCLB reauthorization before the next session of Congress in early 2008.

What exactly does this mean? It means that our NEA family – through the action of members across the nation and a cadre of NEA staff and member lobbyists – has prevented Congress from passing objectionable changes to NCLB. It also means that we now move the debate from persuading Congress to make our policy recommendations part of NCLB reauthorization law to a fight about the federal government’s role in providing the much-needed funding to truly create great public schools for every American child.

Stay tuned and up-to-date on the action at the NEA Legislative Action Center.

Colorado's implementation of NCLB

To a large degree, states are permitted to design their own NCLB implementation plans as long as they incorporate all of Congress’s many rules. The Colorado Department of Education and the State Board of Education are responsible for our state’s implementation plan which, that must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education. The law addresses teacher and paraprofessional quality, student assessment and student academic progress measured by “Adequate Yearly Progress,” and the consequences for schools that do not improve under NCLB’s specific timelines. These issues are addressed in the links below where you will find detailed information and links to more information:

Student Assessment: NCLB's requirements for K-12 student testing and how this requirement is implemented in Colorado

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): NCLB's requirement that schools demonstrate measurable annual progress through student test scores and how Colorado defines AYP

Teacher Quality: NCLB's requirement that teachers be "highly qualified" and what this means in Colorado

Special Education Teacher Quality: NCLB and IDEA requirements for "highly qualified" and what this means in Colorado

Paraprofessional Quality: NCLB's requirement that paraeducators be "highly qualified" and what this means in Colorado

Public Choice: NCLB's requirement for offering students "public school choice"

Supplemental Services: NCLB's requirement for offering students "supplemental services"

School Report Cards: NCLB's requirement for reporting on school quality

Reading & Literacy Initiatives in NCLB

Scientifically Based Research Requirement in NCLB

NCLB & Colorado's Accountability and Accreditation System

Colorado's NCLB Planning & Implementation Process