NCLB Legislative Update
Pam Bachilla, ACOE Legislative Advocate

In a recent speech delivered to the National Press Club, Congressman George Miller (D-California 9th Congressional District), Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, announced that he will introduce a measure in September to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which is due to expire September 30th. Miller declared his intent to make important changes to the law. Although he did not offer specific details on the proposed changes, he outlined six guiding principles that will shape his September legislation.

Congressman Miller’s NCLB legislation will provide fairness and flexibility in measures of student success. His legislation will contain a growth model that gives credit to states and schools for the progress that their students make over time. It will also allow states to use more than their reading and math test results to determine how well schools and students are doing. In order to promote strong instruction in history, art, social studies, music, and physical education, he suggests including these in measures of student performance, along with math and reading. The legislation will increase federal resources given to states to help them develop better tests that more accurately measure what students have learned and to broaden their measures of student success, including adding graduation rates to measures of high school success. Miller’s goal is to develop flexible measures that are more useful to teachers and drive richer classroom instruction.

The proposed NCLB legislation will provide states with incentives and assistance to encourage a rich and challenging learning environment that prepares students for the universities and jobs of the future. Miller’s September legislation will ask employers and colleges to come together as stakeholders with the states to jointly develop more rigorous standards that meet the demands of both, and reward states like California that are already taking this step. States will be encouraged to develop measures of student success that reflect critical thinking skills and the ability to apply knowledge to new challenges.

The legislation will support teachers and principals. Congressman Miller’s proposed legislation will provide for teacher career ladders, improved working conditions, and performance pay for principals and teachers based on teacher mentoring, with the goal of including teachers and principals as critical partners in the education system and ensuring that poor and minority students are taught by expert teachers. Miller’s proposed legislation will seek to bring top teacher talent into the classrooms that need it the most.

The proposed legislation will continue to hold schools accountable for students’ progress. The bill will continue to hold schools accountable for all students, including minority and low-income students, students learning English and those with disabilities. However, Miller intends to scrap the one-size-fits-all approach to accountability in favor of distinguishing among different schools and the challenges facing them, as well as their needs for addressing those challenges. His proposed legislation will allow schools with problems in specific areas to use instructional interventions that are appropriate to their needs, while high priority schools will be given more intensive support and assistance. The House Appropriations Committee has already committed new funding for this purpose next year.

Congressman Miller’s proposed legislation will support states’ effort to improve low-performing middle schools and high schools and to improve graduation rates. The bill will include uniform standards for measuring graduation rates that are fair, accurate, and reliable, and will do more to keep students in school. The September legislation will also include comprehensive steps to improve low-performing middle schools and high schools intended to support and strengthen state and local efforts at improvement.

Most importantly, Congressman Miller’s proposed NCLB reform bill will invest in our schools. Miller’s proposed legislation will be accompanied by increased education funding in the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. The House Committee on Education and Labor is now urging President Bush to sign the appropriations bill to fund NCLB and the reforms contained in Congressman Miller’s proposed legislation.