In the first quarter of the 2004 legislative sessions, some states continued to amend existing laws to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, while others began to move beyond compliance to improve the means by which they intend to leverage greater student achievement. Still others addressed health issues, fiscal officers,…

Compares state policies with accountability provisions of the newly reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (PKP)

Legislators often try to identify barriers through committee hearings in which they seek the advice of those closest to a problem. For example, they might ask several superintendents to come before the committee to talk about barriers related to dealing with high school truancy. Or they might hear from district business officials about the…

Describes what the states of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and Illinois are doing to comply with No Child Left Behind Act requirement for reporting adequate yearly progress for students in several subgroups, including students with disabilities, low-income students, ethnic and racial minorities, and English learners. (PKP)

Summarizes 2 state initiatives to address the achievement gap: North Carolina's report by the Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps, containing an 11-point strategy, and Kentucky's legislation putting in place 10 specific processes. The North Carolina report is available at www.dpi.state.nc.us.closingthegap; Kentucky's…

Plenty of state policies have been noteworthy in 2004, but one that had major impact went into effect in Illinois, where the governance of education was significantly restructured. S.B. 3000 (the Education Reform and Accountability Act of 2004) gives the governor greater influence over education through his or her control of the state board of…

There's parent involvement and then there's parent involvement. There's the kind that has parents volunteering their time in schools, making costumes, or organizing and staffing the school carnival fund-raiser. This is helpful activity by any measure--helpful in the service of kids and not to be minimized. But there are other levels of involvement…

Discusses issues related to Congress's reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act in 2002. (PKP)

Describes research reports dealing with child nutrition and efforts to improve it through state and federal sponsorship of school breakfast and lunch programs for poor children, the reduction of fat and sugar in school lunches, and banning the sale of "junk food" at school. (PKP)

Differences in how states calculate AYP (adequate yearly progress) abound. Does that make one state better than another? Worse? Or is each state doing its best to be "normal"? States make decisions based on the information at hand, and then they move ahead, trying to make the best of those decisions. Under the No Child Left Behind Act,…

Discusses state and federal efforts to improve the skills and knowledge of special-needs students, including opportunities to move to postsecondary education. Describes accommodations, measuring and reporting yearly progress, transitions, and cost. (PKP)

Describes findings and recommendations of the first annual report of the Massachusetts Education Reform Review Commission, which focused on standards and assessments, accountability, district and teacher capacity, and funding. (PKP)

This article summarizes the efforts of legislators in studying up on what they might do to affect how well kids learn after the summer break. Some of the legislators' work leaned toward improving students' health, while some targeted dropouts or civic education. Most of the capitol-dome work appears to have matched the typical garden: a few…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement that states prepare and disseminate an annual state report card became effective at the beginning of the 2002-03 school year. Each state agency must also ensure that each local district collects appropriate data, both at the district level and for each school, and includes such data in its annual…

It is difficult to find a person who unabashedly admires each and every detail of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. However, amid all the howls and moans about the implementation of NCLB, the flywheel has been whirring, catching, and turning. In some places, it has turned more than in others, but no matter what the underlying philosophy or…