NASBE Addresses NCLB with Legislators
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3/15/2007—At the annual legislative conference of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) today, board of education members from around the country met with federal legislators to express the need to recommend improvements to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
"For the [last] five years, state board members have worked diligently and tirelessly with federal officials and educators within their own states to implement the No Child Left Behind Act. Our efforts have produced a law that is working, and also given us a first-hand knowledge of specific provisions in which changes are needed to make the law work better. We are sharing our expertise and insights with the Congress, the ultimate arbiter of changes to No Child Left Behind, to better coordinate federal and state education reform policies," said Brad Bryant, NASBE President and Georgia State Board of Education member, in a prepared statement.
NASBE is making specific recommendations for changes to NCLB during the reauthorization process, including:
Allowing states to use student growth rates to meet federal accountability requirements;
Building in flexibility in testing requirements, in particular for special needs students;
Adding in the use of "multiple indicators of student achievement and school performance" to evaluate progress; and
Increasing funding for programs that benefit low-income students.
The NASBE-sponsored conference continues through Friday, a day that will include sessions on national standards and teacher effectiveness.
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