Education, Careers & Professional News
Education Law Flexibility Offered
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings offered greater flexibility to states on Thursday in meeting the requirements of the Bush administrations education reform law, calling the changes a major policy shift.
In her first national response to growing resistance among state officials to the law, known as No Child Left Behind, Spellings sought to set a new, more cooperative tone. She compared the laws tempestuous first years to those of an infants experiencing the terrible 2s.
This is a new day, she said. States that show results and follow the principles of No Child Left Behind will be eligible for new tools to help you meet the laws goals.
Although President Bush promoted the law during his re-election campaign as one of his major accomplishments, more than 30 states, including many Republican strongholds, have raised objections to it. Some argue that the federal government is not adequately financing its requirements, which include a broad expansion of standardized testing. Others object to federal intrusion into an area long considered the domain of the states.
It was unclear whether Spellings proposals went far enough to assuage state officials concerns, though several state superintendents expressed approval, as did both national teachers unions and several members of Congress.
But Connecticut officials, who announced earlier this week that they would sue the federal government for forcing the state to conduct more testing without providing the money to pay for it, were not impressed.
Spellings announced specific concessions in only one area, concerning how learning-disabled students must be tested.
Until now, the administration has allowed only 1 percent of the most severely handicapped students to be given special tests. Dozens of state officials have called that policy unfair and unrealistic. Today, Spellings said states would be allowed to administer alternative tests to an additional 2 percent of students.
Spellings also said the Department of Education could give some states additional flexibility, but she said they must first prove that they deserve it.
The states that may be eligible, she said, must have sound educational policies in place, demonstrate that student achievement is rising, and follow the basic principles of the law, which she listed as administering standardized tests every year in Grades 3 through 8, reporting test results by ethnic groups and others to make sure that all students are advancing, and working to improve teacher training and parent participation.