NCLB: Act II

The week before Election Day, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings put the Bush administration's final stamp on NCLB by publishing new Title I rules. Among other things, the wide-ranging set of rules require states to set a uniform graduation rate and use it to hold high schools accountable; force schools to complete a series of administrative tasks before they redirect money away from tutoring and school choice; and create a minimum "n" size for the number of students in a subgroup needed for that group to be include under NCLB's accountability rules.

At the time, key lawmakers endorsed the rules and critics complained that Spellings was using the rule-making process to accomplish many of her goals for reauthorization. (For the complete story, see here.)

Yesterday, the Education Department indicated it will publish new Title I rules on Tuesday. He gave no hint of what will be in them. But the rules will be tea leaves to read for the current administration's priorities for reauthorization.