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NCLB rebellion brewing anew?

Remember a few years back (4 to be exact) when several state legislatures (27 rings a bell) threatened to go nuclear over NCLB? Of course ultimately it didn't happen after the Feds took notice and offered up a little (we do mean little) flexibility here and there. Are we on the cusp of another revolt? Today's Washington Post editorial board is exercised over the possibility that Virginia may opt out of NCLB if the Feds don't give ground on additional flexibility. BoardBuzz can't help but ask: Is this what federal inaction on NCLB / ESEA reauthorization has wrought? With no needed improvements looming, states are saying enough is enough. Could Virginia's frustration open the door to other states taking action? Maybe. The same editorial notes that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine opposes the opt-out legislation and the session is nearly over anyway, so it probably ends up more as a message piece than anything else. UPDATE: BoardBuzz readers send this along. Apparently Utah's still steamed. How telling though that 4 years after states made much noise about NCLB's flaws that similar legislative threats are back. Kinda begs the question: with so many problems identified by so many different states and districts so long ago why are schools and students still suffering under the same old broken, underfunded NCLB with no reauthorization on the immediate horizon? We know. It's an election year. Congress and the Administration have a lot on their plates and can't get on the same page on an issue as complicated and divisive as NCLB. There's no money. A new administration and Congress can take care of this. Just wait. And on. And on. And on. As BoardBuzz keeps asking, in whose interest is prolonging the status quo of NCLB for one, two, three or more years? Not students. Not teachers. Not parents. Not taxpayers. You can get involved in pressuring Congress to fix NCLB.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).