Is the tide turning?

DallasNews.Com

Will the No Child act be left behind?
07:57 PM CDT on Monday, April 16, 2007

McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON – Five years ago, President Bush persuaded a Republican-led Congress to pass a landmark law that forces schools to give students more tests.

Now his own party is leading a revolt.

When Congress signed off on the legislation in December 2001, Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, said it represented "a new era" that would benefit students across the country, and he saluted Bush's leadership. Brownback now would be happy if states could just opt out of the federal testing mandates.

Ditto for Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking Republican in the House. After co-sponsoring the 2001 legislation, the minority whip now says that he regrets ever voting for it.

Is No Child Left Behind about to get left behind?

While no one is predicting its immediate demise, discontent with the law's mandates is growing on Capitol Hill, and change appears to be in the offing.

So far, 66 Republicans – 59 in the House and seven in the Senate – have signed on to the A-Plus Act, legislation that would allow states to sidestep the yearly tests. Many Democrats want to alter the testing requirements, giving states more leeway in how they measure progress, especially for disabled students.

Even some strong advocates acknowledge that at least some tweaks – and more money for schools – will be required before the law can be renewed.

In 2001, critics of No Child Left Behind feared the law would give Washington too much power over local schools. Much of the suspicion came from conservative Republicans, who nevertheless bowed to the popular first-term president after he made education a big issue in his 2000 campaign.

Republicans and some Democrats say much the same thing to explain why they want the law changed.

But ironically, some of the strongest backing for No Child Left Behind is now coming from top-ranked Democrats, who charge that Republicans want to abandon testing requirements while still giving federal money to schools.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and the chairman of the Senate education committee, said the Republican plan is an attempt "to turn back the clock on reform." In 2001, he worked closely with the Bush administration to craft the law. He said that it has become "a national commitment" and that it would be wrong to abandon it.

After meeting with business, education and civil rights leaders on Thursday, Bush said that "there is a universal belief" that No Child Left Behind should be renewed and that it will be necessary to keep the United States competitive with other nations.

Members of Congress have been getting an earful in their districts as they prepare for their upcoming deliberations.

Rep. Dennis Moore, a Kansas Democrat, is among them. After conducting a "listening tour" on No Child Left Behind earlier this month, he released a survey that found that 40 percent of the teachers in his district want the law repealed, while 90 percent feel that some subjects – mainly science and social studies – are being shortchanged due to the emphasis on testing.

Moore is the chief sponsor of a separate bill that would allow school districts to suspend the federal testing requirements until Congress approves $55 billion in additional funding.

The Republican A-Plus Act would allow states to opt out of No Child Left Behind in different ways. Under the House bill, states could hold a referendum, or two of three entities – the governor, the legislature and the state's top education officials – could make the decision. Under the Senate bill, states could negotiate a charter with the federal government allowing them to bypass the testing requirements.

Brownback said that schools have made "great strides" under No Child Left Behind but that it's time to give states "the freedom and flexibility" they need to establish their own educational guidelines.