No Child Left Behind??

It has been six years since President Bush's landmark bill "No Child Left Behind". And until recently, it has been lost to history. Now, just like health care, public education is once again at the forefront with the new election. And No Child Left Behind is, so far, failing at its goals.

Under the NCLB accountability system, schools in their forth consecutive year of failure must take at least one "corrective action," such as adopting a new curriculum, replacing some staff, or extending the school year. After six year of failure, schools face restructuring.

So far, most schools failing for four years have not been punished or reformed accordingly. This sends a bad message to other schools and the federal power over state schools. Most of these failing schools are in low income and minority districts in New York, Illinois, California, and Michigan. Big surprise there!

It seems the federal government considers funding a war some consider already lost more important than funding the future of America. But there is good news. US House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings are working on a new bill to address the problems with the NCLB bill and a stricter measure of enforcing the bill.