NSBA Praises U.S. Department of Education for Flexibility

Alexandria, VA – April 7 - In response to the announcement made by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to give states more flexibility and additional alternatives on special education testing, National School Boards Association Executive Director Anne L. Bryant praised the effort as a good first step in a new approach to implementing the No Child Left Behind law.

“This is an excellent signal from the Department of Education that they are listening to local school board members and educators across the country, and are willing to make changes to address the concerns of those on the front lines implementing this complex law,” said Bryant.  

NSBA’s own bill to improve the No Child Left Behind law contains the same recommendation that the Department issued today:  To increase the percentage of special education students allowed to take an alternative assessment to meet the NCLB requirements.  The existing guideline of allowing 1 percent of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities to take an alternative assessment will remain.  In addition, 2 percent of students with persistent academic disabilities who need more time and instruction to make substantial progress toward grade-level achievement will now be allowed to take an alternative assessment. 

“This is exactly the kind of flexibility our school board members said they desired to effectively meet the individual educational needs of these children,” said NSBA President George McShan.  “We urge the Department to continue its progress in improving the No Child Left Behind law as we have outlined in our bill.”

Spellings indicated that the department will be looking at growth models to use in assessing student progress, another NSBA recommendation for change.