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# "No Child Left Behind"

I have heard from many parents, teachers, and education leaders in the
4th District who are concerned about the challenges presented by No
Child Left Behind (NCLB). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was
reauthorized during the 107^th^ Congress by H.R. 1 \-- the No Child Left
Behind Act \-- and signed into law on January 8, 2002. Under the law,
each school is held accountable for the average score of its students,
plus the average scores of each of nine subgroups in which a school has
40 or more students enrolled. Schools that are doing exceptionally well
in terms of overall performance can still be labeled \"in need of
improvement,\" however, if one or more of the subgroups is below the
overall average score.

Although it is clear that meeting the goals of NCLB will require
additional resources for our schools, President Bush has repeatedly
proposed funding for the program that falls far short of what was
envisioned at the time he signed NCLB into law. The President's Fiscal
Year (FY) 2007 budget, for instance, proposes \$24 billion for
implementing NCLB, which is \$15.4 billion (39 percent) below the amount
authorized by NCLB.

In total, Congress has provided \$40.1 billion less than was promised in
the 2001 for helping schools meet the NCLB requirements. As a result,
school districts are required to achieve increasingly rigorous NCLB
academic standards, administer annual reading and math tests to 3rd
through 8th graders, and fulfill requirements for highly-qualified
teachers with substantially inadequate federal resources.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue
fighting to provide the resources that states and local school districts
need to offer the level of education that all of our teachers and
students deserve.

More information on NCLB can be found
[here.](http://www.house.gov/htbin/leave_site?ln_url=http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml)

For state and congressional district information on funding, go to the
[NEA\'s web
site](http://www.house.gov/htbin/leave_site?ln_url=http://www.nea.org/lac/fy04edfunding/).

*\
**Military Recruiting***

Many parents have contacted me to ask if military recruitment in public
schools is allowed under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB and
the Fiscal Year 2002 National Defense Authorization Act both included
provisions that require public schools that receive federal funding to
give military recruiters the same access to secondary school students
that they provide to postsecondary institutions or to prospective
employers. In addition, these schools must comply with a request by a
military recruiter or an institution of higher education for secondary
students\' \"directory information,\" unless a parent has opted out of
providing such information for their child.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), schools
must provide notice to parents of the types of student information that
it publicly releases. This information, commonly referred to as
\"directory information,\" includes such items as names, addresses, and
telephone numbers. The notice must include an explanation of a parent\'s
right to request that the information not be disclosed without prior
written consent.

As reinforcement to FERPA, NCLB contains a specific requirement that
parents be notified that a school routinely discloses names, addresses,
and telephone numbers to military recruiters upon request, subject to a
parent\'s request not to disclose such information without written
consent. The NCLB law specifies that a single notice provided through a
mailing, student handbook, or other method that is reasonably calculated
to inform parents of the above information is sufficient to satisfy the
parental notification requirements of both FERPA and NCLB. The
notification must advise the parent of how to opt out of the public
disclosure of directory information and the timeline within which to do
so.

For additional information on this topic, please visit [The Department
of
Education](http://www.house.gov/htbin/leave_site?ln_url=http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/hottopics/ht-10-09-02a.html?exp=0.).

***Testing***\
As one who has taught for many years, and as a parent of two children
with contrasting test-taking aptitudes, I understand the concerns many
people have with regard to testing and result measurement. Tests are
imperfect instruments for measuring learning, and there is a danger that
instructors will \"teach to the test\" in order to show the needed
aggregate proficiency rates.

NCLB requires less change in North Carolina than in many other states
because of the annual testing that was already underway in our state. I
continue to hear from students, teachers, and parents, however, who are
concerned about the potential downsides of standardized testing for
teaching and learning. While we have made some advances in test design,
we need to work closely with teachers to ensure that testing does not
distort or dominate their approach in the classroom.