Feds backtrack on No Child Left Behind

Following an outpouring of concern expressed by the nation's educators and parents, the U.S. Department of Education released new policies on March 15 regarding the "highly qualified teacher" provisions of the so-called No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The department has slightly eased provisions to help rural teachers seeking to demonstrate that they are highly qualified under NCLB.

Rural teachers undoubtedly will welcome the much-needed time and flexibility the new provisions offer. Unfortunately, the concerns of urban, middle school, and special education teachers have gone largely unheeded - for now. MEA-MFT and our national affiliates, NEA and AFT, will continue working to bring sanity and sense to the law.

Read what Superintendent Linda McCulloch says about what the changes mean specifically for Montana.

Read more about the new provisions in this New York Times article.