NSBA submits formal comments on NCLB regulations

NSBA has submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on its proposed regulations under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, in its most recent iteration as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Among other things, the regulations would set a uniform national formula for calculating high school graduation rates; set criteria states must meet in order to implement “growth models” for calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP); review state policies that exclude the test scores of students in racial subgroups that are so small the data are deemed statistically unreliable; impose more oversight of outreach efforts on supplemental educational services (SES) like tutoring and SES provider access to school facilities; and require that NAEP testing data be included in state and local report cards. More details and related resources are available starting at the second link below.

NSBA’s comments summarize many of the key proposals and respond to these. While welcoming proposals that address some needed program improvements that will enable states to obtain federal approval to use growth models, NSBA expresses concern over how they deal with ongoing problems with NCLB implementation and objects to several new proposed requirements. Specifically, among other things the comments argue that new requirements for school restructuring ignore the fact that many schools face restructuring as a result of faulty assessments; that the proposal to incorporate graduation rates into AYP determinations misinterprets the National Governors Association recommendations on which it supposedly was based; and that, for a variety of reasons, the inclusion of NAEP data on school and district report cards, while “well intended,” would create inaccurate impressions.

NSBA comments on regulations
NSBA School Law pages on proposed regulations