State lawmakers share union's concerns on NCLB

A recent report from a bipartisan group of state lawmakers seconds many of the concerns voiced by the AFT when it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released its report in February after a yearlong review of NCLB that included hearings across the country. The final document voices concerns about many key elements of the law—including adequate yearly progress, methods for determining when educators are “highly qualified” and adequate federal support for school improvement—that reflect and reinforce many stands the AFT has taken on Capitol Hill and in statehouses nationwide.

For example, the NCSL panel describes the current provisions for adequate yearly progress as “overly prescriptive and rigid.” Currently, “the law improperly identifies schools as ‘in need of improvement’ by creating too many ways to ‘fail.’”

The report also voices concern that NCLB’s definition of “highly qualified” teachers often conflicts with state certification practices. It calls for Congress to amend the law so that teachers of multiple subjects, including special education teachers, have a way to meet the definition of a “highly qualified teacher” without having to prove content knowledge in each subject.

And the report points to a “glaring conflict” between NCLB’s requirement that students with disabilities be tested by grade level and requirements in the federal IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which mandate that students be taught according to ability.

In terms of funding, the NCSL concludes that there are “minimal new federal resources to allow schools to offer the remediation services and enhanced learning opportunities necessary to meet the proficiency goals of NCLB.”