When it was first passed, the No Child Left Behind Act was heralded as a bipartisan giant leap forward for public education. Democrats like Senator Ted Kennedy got behind it, echoing President Bush’s call to “end the soft bigotry of low expectations” and establish nationwide standards that would be used to judge all students and schools.
But now, four years after its passage, many states are saying what started as an exercise in accountability has turned into a morass of rules, regulations, and requirements that demands schools do more, with less.
Several of school districts now are suing the federal government for setting standards without providing the resources to achieve those standards and state legislators are looking for ways out.
Guests:
David Shreve, Education Advisor to the National Conference of State Legislatures
Kati Haycock, Director of The Education Trust
and TBA
Randall Iglehart teacher at the Twain Middle School in San Antonio, TX;Duane Bordeaux, State Repressentative from Utah and Director of Runs Colors of Success