"NO CHILD SHOULD BE LEFT BEHIND...ALL SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN EDUCATION"

"The promotion of education is the most urgent requirement of our time. No nation can achieve prosperity unless it makes education one of its central concerns. Education brings honour, independence and freedom to a government and its people."

The Importance of Education for Children

Every child, including the world’s most disadvantaged, has the right to an education because it has the power to change lives.

Education is a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty; supporting child survival, growth, development and well-being; and closing the gap in social inequality. On average, one additional year of education can increase an individual's earnings by 10 per cent. Knowledge in hygiene and disease prevention can greatly reduce the number of preventable deaths. Furthermore, girls’ education is particularly impactful for future generations: children of educated mothers are much more likely to go to school than children of mothers with little or no education.

• However, there is still more to be done as 57 million primary school-age children currently do not have access to education.

The Purpose of No Child Left Behind. The primary purpose of NCLB is to ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals while being educated in safe classrooms by well-prepared teachers. ... To measure progress, NCLB requires that states administer tests to all public school students.

Early Learning

Early childhood education gives children the best start in life. Early childhood (between 0-5 years old) is an ideal time to absorb basic skills. It’s proven to help give children a strong basis for social, emotional and cognitive skills for future learning and development.

Early learning centres should be dedicated spaces with plenty of light and air. Activity areas can be separated by things like shelves or plants, or bright signs of different colours or textures, which encourage social interaction and exploratory behaviour. From dancing, playing and moving things around, to resting areas, these spaces will help develop children’s motor skills and more. Making sure that there is a good number of caregivers for each age group and number of children is critical in keeping children safe and engaged.

It can be difficult for children with younger siblings to attend school if they’re responsible for taking care of their younger brothers and sisters. When early learning centres are located in or near schools, younger siblings have somewhere to go during school time, freeing up older siblings to focus on their studies.

Focus on Equity, Girls’ Education and Inclusive Education

All children, regardless of circumstances, should have equal opportunities in education. However, children often face barriers to accessing education due to personal circumstances, like poverty, gender, ethnicity, orphan status, disability and/or living in a conflict zone. Thanks to global efforts, girls’ education is gaining more momentum therefore enabling girls to gain confidence and knowledge. The school curriculum can also be problematic when it’s delivered in a language they do not speak or understand. UNICEF works to break down these barriers so that inclusive and equitable quality education is available for all children.

Different things can help make education more accessible. In terms of curriculum, non-formal education programs with flexible schedules will ensure that children who also have to work to earn some income do not miss out. Satellite schools mean shorter distance to travel, making it easier for those living in remote communities to attend classes. To combat language barriers, schooling offered in students’ mother tongue make the curriculum more relevant to minority populations. And, teaching about diseases will help to combat the stigma associated with children affected by, for example, HIV and AIDS, helping to make them feel welcome in their communities.

Other times, it’s about helping students to meet legal requirements for enrollment by providing birth registration services, or ensuring the physical design of a school meets their needs. Simple design changes, like creating separate toilet facilities for girls and boys, can increase girls’ participation by meeting cultural standards that guide local practices and could otherwise prevent them from going to school.

• Schools should operate in the best interests of the child.
• Educational environments must be safe, healthy and protective.
• Classrooms should have trained teachers and adequate resources.
• Children's rights must be protected and their voices heard.
• Learning environments must be a haven for children to learn and grow, with respect for their identities and varied needs. The child-friendly model promotes inclusiveness, gender-sensitivity, tolerance, dignity and personal empowerment.

Children's Rights

Children’s Rights is one of seven focus areas identified by the South African Human Rights Commission as requiring a dedicated focus in order to effectively fulfil its mandate of promoting, protecting and monitoring the realisation of the rights of children in South Africa.

The South African Constitution defines ‘children’ as persons below the age of 18.  An estimated one fifth of children are orphaned and at least 64.5% of children live in low-income households and are impacted by poverty. Children also experience food insecurity and struggle to access basic education and basic services such as sanitation and water. South African children are also exposed to high levels of violence.

• The Children’s Rights portfolio at the Commission seeks to protect, promote, and educate on children’s rights, and advocates for legislative and policy reform, creates awareness, and participates in advancing children rights both at the domestic, regional and international levels.

Strategic Focus Area: Children’s Rights

The South African Constitution defines ‘children’ as persons below the age of 18. An estimated one fifth of children are orphaned and at least 64.5% of children live in low-income households and are impacted by poverty. A large majority of South Africa’s children experience food insecurity and struggle to access basic education and basic services such as sanitation and water. South African children are also exposed to high levels of violence.

The Human Rights Commission’s work on Children’s Rights

The SAHRC is mandated to monitor and influence progress by all organs of State in the realisation of the constitutional rights of children.

The work of the Children’s Rights portfolio is informed by the Constitutional mandate of the Commission, relevant national legislation, and applicable international and regional instruments.

In the exercise of its mandate, the Commission collaborates with a range of stakeholders in the child rights sector as well as with government departments, supra national bodies; civil society, and the private sector.

Complaints to the Commission most often, highlight systemic challenges relating to access to basic services, race, disability, sexual orientation, education, culture, language, citizenship, social support and birth. Many of these complaints are about, or impact on, children.

The Commission also initiates hearings and investigations into social and political issues affecting children’s rights, such as the impact of protest related action on the right to access a basic education. Other initiatives include a collaboration with the mining sector on children as stakeholders in sustainable development, monitoring the delivery of learning materials to schools. In addition, the Commission is in the process of accelerating its operational accessibility to children through the implementation of child-friendly complaints procedures, trained staff; and child friendly materials and infrastructure. 

Reports

In fulfilling its constitutional and statutory mandate, the Commission produces statutory reports such as the Annual Equality and the State of Human Rights Reports, which address concerns around the rights of children, provided for in section 28 of the Constitution as they inter-relate with other basic human rights.

Section 11 Committees

Section 11 Committees are advisory structures comprised of experts from different disciplines and institutions, who advise the Commission on matters and interventions relating to children’s rights. 

The committee name derives from the section of the South African Human Rights Commission Act, No. 40 of 2013, and provide for the Commission to establish advisory committees that bring together experts on specific focus areas.

A Section 11 Committee meeting with a focus on the rights of children was convened on the 11 August 2016, to consider children’s rights and the right to access a basic education.

Own-initiative Investigations

In addition to investigating complaints lodged with provincial offices, the Commission also initiates its own investigations into systemic and maters of public interest which impact the rights of children. 

The Commission convened a national investigative hearing during 13-15th June 2016 after a number of schools in Vuwani, Limpopo were closed due to protest related action. Stakeholders including government departments at national and provincial levels, trade unions, non-governmental organisations, school principals and community leaders appeared before the Commission to make submissions to the hearing. 

The Commission’s probe found that the right to a basic education is adversely affected by protest-related action, and that inadequate measures were in place to effectively protect the right to access a basic education. A number of remedial actions were recommended to government departments, calling for the promotion of a shift in understanding, so that schools are seen to belong to communities, and; that education be given the priority and attention it deserves. The Commission also emphasised the need for early warning systems, adequate resourcing, effective information and communication, coordination and planning.

Reports

In addition to the statutory reports above, the Commission has also released the following reports and publications:

?   Human Rights and Business Country Guide: South Africa (March 2015),

?   Poverty Traps and Social Exclusion Among Children in South Africa (2014),

?   SAHRC Charter on Children’s Basic Education Rights (2012)

?   South Africa’s Children: A Review of Equity and Child Rights (2011).

?   The Report Hearing on the Impact of Protest-Related Actions on the Right to Basic Education (2016).

International & Regional Conferences

The Commission attends regional and international conferences and other domestic platforms and engages with a range of stakeholders to ensure that it keeps up with national and international developments around children’s rights. The Commission’s attendance is also intended to foster information sharing and collaboration with other institutions and the development of regional legislation and guidelines on children’s rights.

The Commission attended a session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), in Geneva, in January 2016, and, the follow-up session in September 2016. Participation at the international level provides an additional platform through which the Commission exerts influence toward domestic reforms in the interests of children.

Advocacy and public education

The Commission regularly conducts advocacy initiatives and public education on issues pertaining to children. These include, awareness raising through education, training, public information campaigns and outreach clinics, seminars, conferences, dialogues, roundtables, web publishing, and through the use of print and social media platforms.

Priority reform initiatives have included advocating for the establishment of an inter-party parliamentary caucus focussing on children’s rights and, for the development of a Protocol on the Elimination of Corporal Punishment in South African schools. Included in the calls for reform, have been recommendations from its Roundtable on Corporal Punishment, which supports the prohibition of corporal punishment in the home. The Commission convened a business and child rights roundtable to discuss the role of business in advancing rights of children at the Mining Indaba. The roundtable at which the rights of children in relation to the mining sector were discussed, was a side event at the Mining Indaba, however, in future the event will form part of the formal programme of the Mining Indaba.

At the Global Child Forum, the Commission again raised awareness of the impact of mining child rights.

Provincial Visits

The Commission conducts provincial visits to monitor compliance with children’s rights, to raise awareness, create partnerships with relevant stakeholders, and promote protection of the rights of children. In 2016 the Commission undertook a visit to the KwaZulu-Natal Province, where the Commission met with the MEC for Basic Education, MEC for Health and the Office of the Premier and visited three schools in the province.

Domestic Legislation, International And Regional Frameworks on Children’s Rights

In the exercise of its mandate with respect to Children’s Rights and Basic Education, the Commission monitors compliance with:

• Section 28 of the Constitution, which identifies the needs of, and mechanisms to cater for, the interests of children. This section mirrors the provision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child around the guiding best interests of the child principle. The provision guarantees specific children’s rights, including the right to nationality from birth, parental care, basic nutrition, shelter, basic health care services, social services, protection from abuse, exploitative labour practices and from detention, among others.
• Section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution, which makes provision for the right to basic education.
• The Children’s Act as primary domestic law aimed at giving effect to children’s rights.
• The Sexual Offences Act – includes protection from a wide range of sexual offences that commonly occur against children.
• Child Justice Act – establishes a separate justice system for children in conflict with the law and;
• The Births and Death Registration Act – deals with the registration of births of children.

South Africa ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on 16 June 1995. (It was the first international treaty that the new democratic government ratified.) The UNCRC became the first legally binding international convention to affirm human rights for all children. Article 3 of the UNCRC deals specifically with the principle of non-discrimination by stating that:

“1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or family members.”

Regional Human Rights Instruments

African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR)

Article two of the ACHPR states as follows:

“Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC)

South Africa is in addition, a signatory to the ACRWC, a regional commitment advancing the rights of children in Africa. Article 3 states the following:

“Every child shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in this Charter irrespective of the child’s or his/her parents’ or legal guardians’ race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”

What is the "No Child Left Behind" Law?

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a federal law that provides money for extra educational assistance for poor children in return for improvements in their academic progress. NCLB is the most recent version of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( NCLB) was an Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. ... The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. The No Child Left Behind Act ( NCLB) is a federal law that provides money for extra educational assistance for poor children in return for improvements in their academic progress. NCLB is the most recent version of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

States set educational proficiency level

Under the U. S. constitution, states have the primary responsibility for public education. However, if states want to receive federal NCLB funds, they must agree to the law's requirements to:

• establish learning standards, that is, statements of what children in that state should know and be able to do in reading, math and other subjects, at various grade levels;
• create annual assessments (standardized tests, in most states) to measure student progress in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high schools;
• set a level (cut-off score) at which students are considered proficient in tested areas; and
• report to the public on what percentage of students are proficient, with the information broken down by race, income, disability, language proficiency, and gender subgroups.

Schools, districts & states must make "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP)

The goal of the law is that all students will score at the "proficient" level in reading and math by 2014. States set annual targets for the percentage of students scoring proficient with the final goal of 100% proficiency by 2014. Each year, students in every subgroup must reach the target.

Schools and districts which fail to meet these targets are subject to the following consequences:

1. After one year, schools failing to make annual yearly progress (AYP) are placed on a "school improvement" list.
2. Students attending schools that do not make AYP for two years in a row will be given the option to transfer to another school.
3. Schools on the list for 3 consecutive years must provide supplemental services for their students, such as tutoring or after school programs.
4. After four years on the list, schools must, in addition to the above, do at least one of the following: replace school staff, use new curriculum, decrease school management authority, appoint outside experts, extend school year/day, or restructure.
5. After 5 consecutive years, schools face restructuring, such as firing staff, privatization, charter school management, state takeover, or other comparable changes; districts face similar sanctions.

No Child Left Behind ( NCLB) was the main law for K–12 general education in the United States from 2002–2015. The law held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved. The law was controversial in part because it penalized schools that didn't show improvement.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): What You Need to Know

At a Glance

• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the main law for K–12 general education in the United States from 2002–2015.
• The law held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved.
• The law was controversial in part because it penalized schools that didn’t show improvement.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was in effect from 2002–2015. It was a version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). NCLB was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.

When NCLB was the law, it affected every public school in the United States. Its goal was to level the playing field for students who are disadvantaged, including:

• Students in poverty
• Minorities
• Students receiving special education services
• Those who speak and understand limited or no English

NCLB was controversial. Here’s an overview of how the law affected students with learning and attention issues.

NCLB: Holding Schools Accountable

The goal of NCLB was to provide equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.

NCLB was different from previous versions of ESEA. It held schools accountable for how kids learn and achieve in several ways:

Annual testing: Schools had to give students statewide math and reading tests every year in grades 3–8 and once in grades 10–12. Parents had the right to get individual test results for their children. Schools had to publicly report school and “subgroup” results. For example, schools had to report how students in special education were performing on reading and math tests.

Academic progress: States had to bring all students, including those in special education, up to the “proficient” level on tests. They had to set targets for improvement, called adequate yearly progress (AYP). Schools essentially got a report card from the state on how they were performing. The school had to share that information with parents of their students. If a school didn’t meet AYP, it could be labeled as “needing improvement.”

Penalties: Schools with many low-income students were called “Title I schools.” If a Title I school didn’t meet AYP, NCLB allowed the state to change the school’s leadership team or even close the school. If a school repeatedly failed to meet AYP, parents had the option to move their children to another school.

AYP goals and sanctions were supposed to push schools to improve services and instruction for struggling students, including children in special education. These penalties didn’t apply to non–Title I schools.

Accommodations on Statewide Tests

Children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans often have accommodations to help them learn in school. NCLB said that reasonable accommodations also had to be provided to them for statewide tests.

NCLB said that all students must take state tests. To have AYP, schools had to test at least 95 percent of children in “subgroups.” This includes students in poverty, minorities and those receiving special education services.

Other NCLB Improvements

• NCLB gave more flexibility to states in how they spent federal funding, as long as schools were improving.
• NCLB said all teachers must be “highly qualified” in the subject they teach. Special education teachers had to be certified and demonstrate knowledge in every subject they teach.
• NCLB said that schools must use science- and research-based instruction and teaching methods.

Pros and Cons of NCLB for Students With Learning and Attention Issues

On the positive side, NCLB led to inclusion. Before NCLB, many schools didn’t measure the progress of students with learning and attention issues. These students were often shut out of the general education curriculum and left out of state tests.

NCLB also set the expectation that struggling students learn alongside their peers. By making schools report their results by subgroup, NCLB shined a light on students receiving special education services. Schools were pushed to give struggling students more attention, support and help.

And they did. The graduation rate for students with specific learning disabilities increased from 57 percent in 2002 to 68 percent in 2011.

On the negative side, some say that NCLB focused too much on standardized testing. Some schools end up “teaching to the test”—focusing only on what students were tested on. This left little time for anything else the kids may have needed or wanted to learn.

Certain penalties, such as requiring school improvement plans, were reasonable, critics said. Others could be very harsh, such as firing school staff or closing a school that’s struggling. Critics linked several cheating scandals to NCLB, citing the pressure on teachers and educators to perform.

Some argued that NCLB’s standards-based accountability was inconsistent with special education, which focuses on meeting a child’s individual needs.

Despite the controversy, most people supported parts of NCLB—especially requirements for highly qualified teachers, research-based instruction and basic reporting on school results.

NCLB: Replaced With ESSA in 2015

Most federal laws are not meant to be permanent. They need to be reauthorized every few years. NCLB spent many years in limbo, waiting for reauthorization. When the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) became law, it kept some parts of NCLB and repealed others.

Read up on other laws important to parents of children who have learning and attention issues, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If your child has an IEP, you may also want to explore standards-based IEPs as well as types of accommodations that are available for test taking.

Key Takeaways

• Your child may be entitled to accommodations on state tests.
• NCLB was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015.
• Understanding current education laws can help you advocate for your child.

What the No Child Left Behind law means for your child. ... Since the No Child Left Behind ( NCLB) law took effect in 2002, it has had a sweeping impact on public school classrooms. It affects what students are taught, the tests they take, the training of their teachers and the way money is spent on education.

What the No Child Left Behind law means for your child

Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law took effect in 2002, it has had a sweeping impact on U.S. public school classrooms. It affects what students are taught, the tests they take, the training of their teachers and the way money is spent on education.

Debate rages over whether the law is an effective way to improve academic achievement. Congress was scheduled to decide whether to renew it in 2007. But efforts stalled amid criticism of the law from both Democrats and Republicans, and arguments over how to change it.

The latest estimates, according to . Deputy Secretary of Education Ray Simon, are that NCLB will probably not be reauthorized until 2010. In the meantime, in October 2008, the Department of Education added new regulations to the law which include requiring schools to provide a uniform calculation for high school graduation rates, and enhancing a parent’s ability to access school choice and tutoring options for their children by requiring schools (and providing them with funds) to communicate to parents about their options in a timely and clear way.

The focus of the debate

NCLB’s advocates say the landmark law holds schools accountable, empowers parents and is helping to close the achievement gap in America’s schools.

Many critics, including those who agree with the law’s goals, argue that it is a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education that overemphasizes testing and doesn’t provide enough money to schools to achieve success.

As stricter testing requirements and penalties have taken effect, several states have rebelled, challenging the law in legislatures and the courts. In response, the U.S. Department of Education has given greater latitude to some districts and states in satisfying the law’s provisions. That, in turn, has drawn criticism that the federal government has gone too far and weakened the law so much that it can’t achieve its goals.

For parents trying to figure out how NCLB affects their children, it can be tough to keep up with the fast-moving developments. Here’s a primer:

NCLB, your child and your school

The law may help your child in two ways:

• Your child may be eligible to move to a better school or could receive free tutoring.
• Your school could qualify for grants to use toward attracting top-notch teachers or other school programs.

But your child and your school may not receive the full benefits if you don’t ask for them. The U.S. Department of Education has neither the personnel nor the budget to make sure that all of the nation’s public schools comply with NCLB’s complicated regulations. Education officials have said from the start that the key to enforcement would be parents who pressure schools to give their children the options provided by the federal law.

The law’s goals and what it says

Philosophy:

The law, which was passed with bipartisan support, was designed to introduce national standards to a system in which students in some demographic groups were more likely to succeed and others likely to be left behind. But it allows states to determine how success is measured.

Targets:

States are required to set targets for overall achievement and for specific categories of students, such as English language learners or economically disadvantaged students. These targets determine whether the school makes “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP, as measured by state standardized tests. A school can fail – even if it is making substantial progress for most of its students – if one category of students cannot meet the standards. The goal is for every student in public school to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Testing:

Students must be tested annually in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and at least once in grades 10 through 12. Students must be tested in science in at least one grade in elementary, middle and high school. Schools that don’t meet goals for their overall student bodies or specific categories of students are sanctioned.

Affected schools:

The law applies to schools that receive Title I money from the federal government. Schools that get Title I funds are generally those in which at least 35% of students are from low-income families. More than half of all public schools are Title I schools.

How the law affects teachers

Teachers must be “highly qualified” to teach core academic subjects in every classroom. Specifically, an elementary school teacher must have a bachelor’s degree and pass a rigorous test in core curriculum areas. Middle and high school teachers must show they’re competent in the subjects they teach by passing a test or by completing an academic major, graduate degree or comparable coursework.

Research, including a 2006 study of three states by the think tank Education Trust, shows that students in schools with a large percentage of minority and low-income students are more likely to be taught by teachers who are inexperienced and lack a major or minor in the subjects they teach. The teacher qualification provisions of NCLB are aimed at insuring that schools where students tend to need the most help employ teachers who are qualified to provide it. States have struggled to meet this goal.

The law covers other teaching staff, too. Most teachers’ aides and other “paraprofessionals” are now required to complete two years of college or an equivalent type of training.

Reading instruction

NCLB also requires teachers in kindergarten through third grade to teach reading based on “scientifically based” research. Schools may be eligible for “Reading First” grants to assist with improving reading instruction. Although this program has shown initial signs of effectiveness in helping to boost reading instruction, it came under scrutiny in September 2006 when a scathing report (PDF) by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education revealed that several members of the panel who award Reading First grants may have had conflicts of interest because they had ties to publishing companies which promoted specific reading materials with a specifc philosophy.

Unsafe schools

States must have an “Unsafe School Choice Option”-that is, a plan that allows students to transfer to a safe school if they attend a school designated as a persistently dangerous school or if they become victims of violent crime.

Sanctions

Those that haven’t met “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) for two consecutive school years are identified as “in need of improvement.” Every student in the school will be given the option to transfer to a better-performing school in the district, with free transportation included. However, NLCB requires that priority in providing school choice be given to low-achieving children from low-income families.

School districts may not use lack of space as a reason to deny a transfer, but they have some flexibility in meeting this requirement. School districts may restrict which schools are available for transfer and when transfers may occur. They may sign contracts with neighboring districts to accept students from failing schools, contract with online schools, create schools within schools, offer supplemental services a year early, hire more teachers, add portables or build new classrooms at more successful schools. If a school continues to fail to meet AYP, these sanctions take effect:

After three consecutive years, the school must also provide “supplemental education services,” or SES, to children who remain at the school. Those services can include tutoring, remedial classes, after-school services and summer school programs.

The federal government has allowed some districts to switch the order of sanctions. Students would be eligible for free tutoring if these schools fail to meet their goals for two years in a row and would then get the option to transfer if the school misses its goals a third time.

After four consecutive years of failing to meet annual goals, the district must take action to improve the school, such as replacing certain staff or implementing a new curriculum.

After five years, the school is identified for restructuring and arrangements must be made to run it differently. These can include a state takeover, the hiring of a private management contractor, conversion to a charter school or significant staff restructuring.

How schools can benefit

There are rewards for schools that close achievement gaps between groups of students or exceed academic achievement goals. States can use federal funds to pay teachers bonuses, and they can designate schools that have made the greatest achievement gains as “Distinguished Schools.”

Other benefits of No Child Left Behind include:

• Grants for teacher training. Parents should be aware that districts have flexibility in how they can spend federal funds designed to find and retain quality teachers, including alternative certification, merit pay and bonuses for teachers of high-need subjects such as math and science.
• Grants for reading instruction. The goal of the Reading First program is to help every child learn to read using “scientifically based” research. States may apply for these grants for their reading programs.
• Flexibility in spending federal funds. School districts have considerable leeway in spending up to 50% of their non-Title I funds in categories such as teacher quality, technology, after-school learning, and Safe and Drug-Free schools. For example, a district may decide to spend 50% of its federal technology funds on recruiting quality teachers instead of technology.New regulations issued in October 2008 make it easier for schools to use Title I funds for outreach to parents to make them aware of their school choice and free tutoring options.

What schools must tell parents

All schools and districts are required to make annual report cards available to the public. The report cards must include details on:

• Student academic achievement for all student groups
• A comparison of students at the basic, proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement within the school district and compared to other students statewide
• High school graduation rates and dropout rates
• The professional qualifications of teachers
• The percentage of students not tested
• The names of schools identified as “in need of improvement”

The Department of Education also requires states to participate in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math assessments of fourth- and eighth-grade students every two years. These tests allow parents to compare how students are performing in different states. The NAEP results must also be included on school and district report cards.

What parents can do

The No Child Left Behind law was designed to hold schools more accountable and empower parents. Here are some steps you can take to make the law work for your child:

• Find out how your school is performing. You don’t need to wait for the school report card to be issued; you can discover a great deal about your school by reading its school profile on GreatSchools.org. You can compare your school’s performance to other schools by using our Compare Schools feature.
• If you suspect your school may be a failing school, ask your principal or superintendent to clarify its status. If it is a failing school, thoroughly investigate your options for tutoring help or transfer.
• Ask your school principal what the school is doing to help close any achievement gaps between different groups of students. For example, if the test results of English language learners significantly lag other groups in the school, your school should have a plan designed to give those students extra help. Your school will be judged on the performance of students in all groups, not just schoolwide results.
• Ask what your school is doing to attract, train and keep well-qualified teachers.
• Find out if your district has applied for a “Reading First” grant and how it intends to spend the money.
• Ask about your state’s Unsafe School Choice Option and whether state officials have certified in writing to the U.S. Secretary of Education that your state is in compliance with this provision as a condition of receiving funds under No Child Left Behind.

How the law is working

The nonprofit, independent Center on Education Policy releases annual report cards on NCLB. The organization, which advocates for public schools, surveyed education officials in 50 states and gave the law a mixed report card in 2006. The center concluded that as a result of the law:

• Districts are better aligning classroom teaching with state academic standards.
• Principals and teachers are making better use of test results to improve teaching.
• Scores on states tests are higher in a large majority of states and school districts.
• Teachers report high stress levels and poor staff morale because of the pressure to improve scores.
• Most school districts are cutting back on social studies, science, art or other subjects to make more time for reading and math, the subjects that are tested.
• The effect on achievement gaps between groups of students of different races or ethnicities is unclear. While most states and districts reported that the achievement gap in test results had narrowed or stayed the same, the center’s own case studies did not find the same results. As a result, the study concluded, it is “impossible to reach an overall conclusion about achievement gaps.”

In a harsher report, the The Civil Rights Project, formerly known as the Harvard Civil Rights Project, concluded in 2006 that NCLB is failing to close the achievement gap, won’t make its 2014 goals and has not significantly improved reading and math achievement.

Federal education officials dispute these conclusions.

Few students take advantage of school choice, tutoring

Only about 1.6% of students eligible to transfer from low-performing schools did so in 2005-2006, a percentage that hasn’t changed much since 2002-2003 when the option was first offered. The Center for Education Policy survey suggested that families didn’t choose to change because they were satisfied with their current schools, wanted to go to schools in their neighborhoods or were discouraged by long commutes.

But others have accused school districts of failing to notify parents of their option to transfer. School choice advocates took legal action on these complaints and sued the Los Angeles and Compton, California, school districts in 2006.

Only 20% of students eligible for free tutoring are getting it. School districts and for-profit tutoring companies are sparring over the reasons why. Some tutoring companies say districts have failed to inform families in a clear and timely way that students are eligible for tutoring. Some school officials have pointed to the lack of oversight of tutoring companies and say the quality of services has been wildly uneven.

In an attempt to increase the number of students getting tutoring, the federal government changed the rules in 2006 for 23 school districts in Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia. In these districts, students in schools that have failed to meet goals for two years are eligible for free services and don’t have to wait for their schools to fail a third time.

NCLB prompts protests, revolts

As the increasingly strict provisions and penalties of the law have taken effect, protests over the law have grown in scores of states, where officials complain that the law requires them to spend dollars they don’t have.

The single biggest criticism is that the federal government has not fully funded the law, a charge the Bush administration counters by saying that the law is a partnership between the government and the states.

The New York Times reported in 2006 that the Bush administration has increased education spending since the Clinton era, but the money for No Child Left Behind stayed at 24.5 billion in 2004 and 2005. The administration cut funding for 2006 to 23.5 billion, the Times reported.

Others argue that the law imposes a rigid solution to problems historically better solved at the state and local levels. Utah decided in 2005 to forfeit federal money rather than follow the law. Other districts and states have filed legal challenges or are contemplating them.

While praising the law’s goals, the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures has called for more flexibility and more money.

In response to the criticisms, the federal government has loosened some of the rules for some states. But critics, on the left and right, say the law creates a number of other problems:

• Officials can “game” the system because each state sets its own criteria for meeting many of the law’s requirements. States can make tests easier so that more students can meet proficiency standards. Critics argue that this is exactly what has happened in some cases. And despite a requirement in the law that parents be allowed to transfer children out of unsafe schools, not a single one of California’s more than 9,000 schools has ever been classified as “persistently dangerous,” a conclusion questioned by federal auditors.
• The law jeopardizes privacy rights. The U.S. military has the right to obtain lists from high schools of students’ names, addresses and phone numbers for recruiting purposes, and must be granted the same access to schools that is given to college and business recruiters. Parents who oppose this practice may “opt out,” but schools have not always made this provision clear.
• NCLB conflicts with another federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. This law entitles students with learning disabilities to an education that meets their needs. The federal government has given states more leeway in measuring student progress in response to protests from parents of children with special needs. But critics say the government hasn’t gone far enough. The law’s advocates respond that it is this very accountability requirement that will ultimately improve instruction for learning-disabled students.

We Should Keep It

• "No Child Left Behind" is one of the best things to happen to education in the past few years. It shows commitment to students and helping them do as best as they can to finish the grade they are in. Why would we get rid of it? If we did, we'd be saying that we give up on some kids and that other things are more important that a child's education. When it comes to developmentally challenged children, the child left behind act is great for their education. I feel if government can enact the "no child left behind act" then we should also establish an act for children that are advanced so they can better succeed in school!