The goal of No Child Left Behind is to help schools ensure that 100 percent of their students achieve proficiency on state defined standards. Why 100 per cent? Because to demand anything less is to assume from the outset that some children will inevitably be left behind, and that is not a concession President Bush or Congress is willing to make. And I doubt many parents ... are willing to make that concession either.

There is no doubt NCLB is a tough law. True reform is never easy. But with the unprecedented levels of federal funding for education, new options for parents, historic amounts of flexibility for state and local leaders to target resources where they are needed most, and an emphasis on teaching methods and programs that have been scientifically proven to work, we're already off to a great start.

From a letter published in a Nevada newspaper reprinted at the U.S. Department of Education website: ED.gov

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NATIONAL PTA CALLS ON CONFEREES TO REJECT D.C. VOUCHERS

National PTA and other public education supporters denounce efforts by congressional leaders to force the DC voucher program through Congress. Such actions undermine the voice of the Senate and DC residents who have called for public school reform instead of unproven solutions that weaken the already struggling public schools. The solution for improving education for all children is not in the creation of programs that encourage the abandonment of public schools. Programs such as the DC voucher proposal are highly detrimental to the public education system, do not expand parents' education, option, and do not raise student achievement levels.

From the National PTA's Press Room Website: aboutnationalpta.com

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VOUCHERS TO BE INCLUDED IN OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL

Congressional leaders have included a controversial experimental private school voucher program for Washington DC's schools in the massive omnibus FY04 spending bill. The move comes over the objections of Senate Democrats who threatened filibuster to prevent the voucher bill from being voted on and now forces them to approve the vouchers by passing the must-pass spending measure for critical government programs. Democrats concede they cannot sustain a filibuster on the giant spending package, so passage of the voucher plan seems assured.

In its final form, the voucher program will provide vouchers of up to $7,00 to 1,700 low income students, with a priority given to students in performing schools. Private schools will have to administer the same tests to their voucher students as those used by the district's public schools to measure student performance. According to Washington delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the vouchers will be administered not by the city, but will be approved and disseminated by the U.S. Department of Education.

From the Website of the National Association of School Boards of Education - nasbe.org (1/7/04)

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SCHOOL VOUCHERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, JUDGE RULES

A Denver judge declared Colorado's fledgling school voucher program unconstitutional today, saying it illegally strips local school boards of control over education.

Denver District Judge Joseph Meyer issued n injunction barring implementation of the voucher law, the first in the nation since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a voucher program in Cleveland last year.

"I see no way to interpret the voucher program statute in a way that does not run afoul of the principle of local control," Meyer wrote. "The goals of the voucher program are laudable. However, even great ideas must be implemented within the framework of the Colorado Constitution."

From the National PTA Press Room; Excerpt taken from the Denver Post.

The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn."

John Lubbock, 1887

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FEWER SCHOOLS "IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT" CREDITED TO NCLB

... the number of schools identified as "in need of improvement" as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act has declined. According to a count performed by the National Education Association based on state department of education data this week, there are now more than 5,600 schools nationwide that have failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in at least two consecutive years. This figure is down from almost 9,000 schools that were listed by the U.S. Department of Education before the beginning of the 2002-3 school year. Still, while the overall number has dipped, it could be ready to go higher before the next school year. Based on NASBE calculations, there are currently more than 24,000 schools on state warning lists because they have made AYP for one year.

From the NASBE Website: nasbe.org

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NAEP 4TH AND 8TH GRADE MATH SCORES RISE: READING SCORES ENCOURAGING

The 2003 NAEP mathematics scores for 4th and 8th graders were higher than all previous NAEP results measured by scale scores or proficiency levels from either grade, according to NAEP results released last week. Equally encouraging, gains were made across the board and among all demographic subgroups helping to narrow the achievement gap...

Incredibly, every state showed an increase in the 4th grade math scores from the 2000 results. And only three states did not improve over the 4th grade 2003 assessment (Alabama had a two point decline, Michigan a one point decline, and Indiana remained the same). Nearly every state experienced an increase in the percentage of students proficient at both the 4th and 8th grade levels since 2000.*

* Administrators should note how easy it has been for the politicians to raise student scores.

From the NABE Website: nasbe.org

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"VERBAL ASSAULT" LAW TOSSED

A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law that requires schools to suspend students who "verbally assault" teachers, volunteers and administrators.

U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson said the law violated the First Amendment in a ruling on a case of a student in Mount Pleasant who was suspended for10 days for reading out loud his commentary about the school's policy on tardiness.

Alexander Smith, then a junior at Mount Pleasant High School, was suspended in 2000 after he read, in the school cafeteria, a three page typewritten commentary on the tardiness policy. The commentary also made lewd remarks about school officials, including the school's principal and assistant principal.

The school cited Michigan's law on verbal abuse in schools, which makes it mandatory to suspend students in the sixth grade or above for speech that is deemed abusive to teachers, volunteer and administrators.

In September, 2001, the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court in Detroit on behalf of Smith, gaining nationwide attention for the case.

In his ruling, Lawson upheld Smith's suspension, which later was reduced by the school board to four days after he wrote letters of apology, and underwent a psychological examination. But the judge declared the state law unconstitutional.

From The Detroit News, November 4, 2003