NEA Calls for Change to NCLB Regulations
While waiting for Congressional action to change the law, NEA has called on the Department of Education to make changes in regulations to stop further harm to the nation’s public schools. The NCLB letter is described in an article on NEAToday.org, which also reported on a statement from the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association warning that the nation’s schools are headed for a “train wreck” due to runaway NCLB formulas that bear no relationship to reality.
AASA and NSBA called on Education Secretary Arne Duncan to use his regulatory powers to stop further harm to the nation’s public school students if Congress doesn’t act quickly. Specific recommendations include suspension of additional sanctions under current AYP [Adequate Yearly Progress] requirements.
Other detailed regulations that would make it possible for more schools to live with the NCLB mandates according to NEA include:
• Revise the one-size-fits-all approach so that a school where one subgroup of students does not meet the state standard is NOT treated the same as a school whose entire student body doesn’t meet the standard
• Remove the requirement that penalizes whole schools when parents exercise their right to decline to have their children tested and do not count them under the law’s 95 percent attendance mandate
• Test students with disabilities in accordance with their Individual Education Plans (which follow federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act-DEA regulations), without the current arbitrary limits on how many can be assessed by alternate or modified standards and still have their scores count for accountability purposes
Take Action Today: Remind Congress about the core values reflected in the original ESEA. Urge the House to reject “flexibility” proposals that undermine the federal government’s role in targeting resources to those most in need.
