No Child Left Behind

News you can use -- with continual updates

President Bush's so-called "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) has lofty goals, but it's full of unrealistic, heavy-handed, unfunded mandates that have sent shock waves through the nation's public schools.

MEA-MFT staff and leaders are helping educators find ways to cope with the law. We are also working with our national affilliates, NEA and AFT, and Montana's congressional delegation for common-sense changes to the law. Fix it and fund it!

News articles:

New flexibility in NCLB? 3-19-08.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announces that 10 states, and 10 states only, may apply for the ability to implement “differentiated accountability” for schools that fail to meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements.

Most Americans want No Child law left behind. 4-31-07. Politics/Government. Two-thirds of Americans surveyed want the law rewritten or repealed.

Minnesota Rep. wants to repeal NCLB. 4-13-07 Minnesota Monitor. Rep. Keith Ellison is the latest member of the U.S. Congress to assail No Child Left Behind.

Bush Defends No Child Left Behind Act. 4-13-07 Assoc. Press. “President Bush, acknowledging public frustration over his No Child Left Behind Act, said the point of the law is not to punish schools that fall short, but to help them. Bush suggested the White House and its allies must do a better job of explaining the goal of holding schools accountable.”

NCLB taking joy out of teaching. 3-21-07 Wichita Eagle. The education profession has long been known for low pay but high job satisfaction. Lately, the job satisfaction seems to have left the classroom. Unfortunately, much of this development can be attributed to the No Child Left Behind law.

Views of AFT, NEA on reauthorization getting closer. 3-21-07 Education Week. After five years of following separate paths, the two national teachers’ unions are now taking a unified position on accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act.

No Child Left Behind losing steam. Christian Science Monitor 3-21-07. Support for No Child Left Behind – President Bush's signature education reform – is fraying as it heads into reauthorization this year. The heaviest criticism is coming from within his own party.

Tribal leaders voice concern over No Child Left Behind. 10-31-05. American Indian leaders argued Monday that the No Child Left Behind Act is too rigid and has forced rural schools to cut tribal culture and language classes. The leaders attending the meeting of the National Congress of American Indians also said President Bush's school reform law makes it difficult for rural districts to recruit and retain qualified teachers.

New web site for states' rebellion. 7-27-05
New organization aims to show that dissatisfaction with NCLB is nation wide.

Nevada legislators threaten to defy NCLB. 5-27-05

The national rebellion continues.
NEA files suit against "No Child." Maine, Wyoming, other states explore joining the suit. 5-10-05

Minnesota may pull out of NCLB. State legislature is close to passing a bill that would require the feds to fix the law or the state won't participate. 3-23-05

Mandate puts red "F" on schools
The reality of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Ironically, some of the most intense criticism of No Child Left Behind is coming from Republican America. 3-15-05

NEA's bimonthly NCLB update
Key Republicans raise questions about NCLB; strange bedfellows in Utah, and more: 2-14-05

New coalition fights to fix NCLB
NEA plays major role: 10-21-04

Trends in "No Child"
Analysis by NEA, 9-04

No Child Left Behind changes educational climate
Two years after the passage of the No Child Left Behind legislation, educators are continuing to grapple with the law's strict requirements and performance benchmarks. 8-12-04

Critics float "No Child" revisions
Critics of the No Child Left Behind Act have begun to circulate proposals for fixing what they view as major flaws in its accountability provisions. 8-11-04

Wisconsin rules against ESEA
Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager has ruled that Wisconsin might have no legal obligation to implement No Child Left Behind. The Wisconsin ruling potentially has major implications for the rest of the nation. 5-13-04

Feds ease testing requirements
For the fourth time in four months, the Bush Administration has eased some restrictions on NCLB. 3-30-04

Feds backtrack, easing some provisions of NCLB
Following a storm of concern, "highly qualified teacher" provisions modified to help rural teachers 3-15-04. What it means for Montana: 3-19-04

Rebellion stirring
From Virginia to Utah, states are opting out of "No Child." Various articles.

The rising stakes for public education
NCLB signals a huge shift of power in educational policy from states to the federal government and is another federal mandate, like special education, that is grossly under funded. Sun Newspapers 3-25-04

Helping members survive NCLB
MEA-MFT helps paraprofessionals through ER&D course

Teachers are the solution
No Child Left Behind did not come from educators!

Education reform law needs reform
San Jose (CA) Mercury News editorial, 3-15-04

Montana's Jon Runnalls national poster child for NCLB insanity
Washington Post article, 3-14-04

Montana schools put to the test by NCLB
Great Falls Tribune article, 3-14-04

Built to fail
Minnesota's City Pages says, "The federal No Child Left Behind law is threatening to wreck public education in Minnesota and elsewhere. That's what it was designed to do."

Fund it and fix it!
What your union is doing about ESEA/'No Child Left Behind'

No teacher left standing
Comic relief. If we can't laugh, we're sunk!

Montana Teachers of the Year not "highly qualified"??
Alyson Mike, Jon Runnalls, Judie Woodhouse become poster children for the insanity of "No Child Left Behind"

Resources from NEA, AFT, MEA-MFT

What Governor Martz says about ESEA/NCLB
Rural states are not the same as urban states; one size doesn't fit all.

Americans skeptical of "No Child"
The more people know about the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB), the less they like it according to recent poll.

Montana's definition of "highly qualified teacher"
State Superintendent Linda McCulloch declares MT's certification system sets the standard; promises to "take it to the White House" if necessary.

MEA-MFT helps parapros pass muster
Parapro Glenna Scott was worried last spring. Everyone was talking about new federal requirements for paraprofessionals, but nobody had many answers. Until MEA-MFT came up with an answer, and AFT helped.

MEA-MFT's response to "annual yearly progress" report cards
Schools should not be judged on one test, says President Eric Feaver. Bozeman Chronicle agrees.

'It was a lie'
"No Child Left Behind" modeled after a fraud, says Fresno Bee. Oct. 13, 2003, opinion.