Education Law

NCLB Plan B: stop the sanctions

Email, write, call, fax . . .

NSBA is asking grassroots advocates to urge their congressional Represntatives to cosponsor HR. 6239, which would freeze NCLB sanctions on schools and school districts for a year until Congress reauthorizes the law. Click here to read the rationale and talking points for HR. 6239, sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves, R-MO, and cosponsored by Rep. Tim Walz, D-MN.

In the absence of congressional action on NCLB, NSBA endorsed the bipartisan bill because it will offer temporary relief for schools while giving Congress some extra time to fix the law. The focus now is to drum up the bipartisan support for HR. 6239 through cosponsorship so that it raises enough concerns to move the bill forward.

Some civil rights groups have opposed the bill, see Charlie Barone's blog here, saying it would eliminate accountability for public schools. But HR. 6239 is an interim solution, not a replacement for reauthorization. It would not erase any current identification of schools and interventions. Like these civil rights groups, NSBA supports what NCLB intends to do with accountability, but also recognizes the current stature is not the right tool to achieve the desired results.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 18, 2008 (boomark / email).