NCLB Remains as Popular as Lord Voldemort
Now that the national nominating conventions are over (and my professional life is back to normal), I'm going to be posting here again.
If you've read the the work my Ed Week colleagues and I produced out of Denver and St. Paul, you'll notice that Republicans and Democrats alike are not inclined to utter four words: No Child Left Behind.
When Laura Bush addressed Republican delegates, she said that President Bush led "the most important education reforms in a generation, holding schools accountable and boosting funds for reading instruction." But she didn't mention NCLB by name.
Indeed, when I interviewed Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., in Denver, he talked hopefully about reauthorizing the law next year. He believes that its next version will keep accountability and add some form of pay for performance for teachers. But that bill is unlikely to pass under the name the No Child Left Behind Act.
“I’ve always said you get 100 votes if you change the name,” he told me.
With that as a background, I promise to keep this blog going in the next few months. Posting won't be as frequent because most of my reporting will focus on what the presidential candidates are saying.
But I'm sure there will plenty to report about what the Bush administration is doing in its final months and what the next administration may do in the coming years.
Comments
In one of the Sunday morning news prgrams Senator McCain stated that everyone should get vouchers. The federal level rhetoric can make all of the promises it wants, but I know in Georgia there is one little process that is likely to "take precedence over a vague federal law." It is the Georgia Constitution, which gives local superintendents and LBOEs the power to manage the day to day operations of education. The federal government is committed to "local flexibility" and therefore I believe it is highly unlikely that vouchers will be an option for the majority of our children. There are just too many discrepancies in our schools ranging from the brick amd mortar to the curriculum. We all know the process is NOT equitable, and therefore the school system will avoid vouchers because parents would flee certain schools in our local district.
Posted by: Kathy | September 8, 2008 3:19 PM