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What is NCLB?
The current No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002, is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the central federal law in pre-collegiate education. Since the law was first enacted in 1965, it has been reauthorized and renamed several times, and it is up for reauthorization again in 2007. It is the nation's largest and most comprehensive federal education law: more than 90 percent of America's school districts receive funding for more than 40 federal educational and supportive services programs covered by the act.
The U.S. Department of Eduction NCLB site
NCLB in Wisconsin
National PTA Recommendations for NCLB 2007 Reauthorization
The current No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization this year. The PTA is seeking to improve the parental involvement provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind Act). Studies have documented that regardless of the economic, ethnic, or cultural background of the family, parent involvement in a child's education is a major factor in determining success in school. Successful parental involvement strategies vary from region to region, school to school and this flexibility needs to be supported by the law. You cannot mandate parental engagement however the government can provide parents multiple opportunities to be an active participant in their child's education. PTA's recommendations for the ESEA-NCLB reauthorization are built on four core principles:
1) Better data through a more understandable delivery system
- The information from the accountability systems should be geared towards informing parents. The parents have the primary decision making responsibility for their child's education.
2) More accountability to parents
- Each state needs to hold schools accountable for implementing their Parental Involvement plans.
- Parents must be better informed of what is going on in their child's school. Whether its being an integral part of a schools parental involvement plan or making key decisions on how to improve the school, parents need to be at the table when these decisions are being made.
3) Better resources to help teachers and parents
- Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) and other existing state and local resources with expertise in parent engagement and community outreach should be better utilized as part of the solution when there is a need for school improvement in the area of parental involvement.
- Teachers need better preparation on how to engage and develop positive partnerships with parents to support active parent participation in their child's education.
4) Community Support
- Schools need to be an active, essential part of a community again. Each segment of the community served by a school must have a stake in every child's education and the new law must create incentives for this to happen.
For a printable copy of this summary, click here
To view National PTA's FULL version of Reauthorization Recommendations click here
To view the Publicated version of the Reauthorization Recommendations click here
For a checklist on taking action on the Recommendations click here
For talking points of the Reauthorization Recommendations click here
National PTA's Position on the current NCLB:
National PTA supports many provisions of NCLB, such as those that expand parent involvement policies, improve the targeting of resources to students and schools most in need, and increase the authorization of funds for NCLB programs.
National PTA is concerned the law relies too heavily on testing as the primary measure of accountability without looking at other important indicators that help assess school performance, such as equity of resources, physical infrastructure, class size, instructional methods, and parent involvement. In addition, National PTA opposes the expansion of state and local block grant and transferability provisions, which could negatively affect accountability and program quality, and the consolidation of the class-size reduction program in the teacher-quality title.
Talking Points on the current NCLB:
- NCLB includes strengthened parent involvement provisions that are based on National PTA's National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs. States and schools must report their parent involvement practices in relation to safe and drug-free schools, education technology, and professional development activities.
- The law has shed light on widening achievement and resource gaps, and has led to much-needed targeted assistance for low-performing schools and subgroups. However, the implementation of the law has also had some unintended consequences that have interfered with some schools' ability to meet the law's rigorous requirements. If the goals of NCLB are to be met, increased and targeted funding is needed, as is effective and timely implementation of all provisions of the law, especially those relating to parent involvement.
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