Enough Already!

NEA Today, Feb 2004

Teachers and paraeducators may be the ones on the front lines, but that certainly hasn't stopped a whole host of other folk from joining the march against the Elementary and secondary Education Act-the so-called No Child Left Behind law. The public already expressed its confusion and angst over the federal education law in one recent poll. Now come principals, superintendents, state governors, and even legislators with the plea: fix it or forget it. Some school districts are so fed up they're now telling the government to keep its money-and the strings that come with it.

According to a survey by Public Agenda, nearly onethird of school principals and superintendents think the law "probably won't work," while the remaining two-thirds think it "will require many adjustments" before it's even palatable. Their biggest problem: the law simply "relies too much on standardized testing."

From Maine to Montana, governors and legislators are expressing the same sentiment, and some are pummeling Secretary of Education Rod Paige with pleas for change, not to mention funds that will help the law work.

"We all want to help our schools succeed," writes Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine. "However,...the [federal] law is focusing public attention on the negative consequences and is punitive in nature, rather than reinforcing and highlighting positive elements of school success."

School districts, meanwhile, are crying out. At least two in Connecticut, and a handful in Vermont, say they're rejecting their Title I funding, while officials in Suffolk County, Virginia, are exploring the idea. Vermont, Utah, and Hawaii even considered turning down their state allotments.

It's not that these bold moves promise to shield schools from the mandates-federal officials still are trying to decide how to react. But it certainly sends a message that states are reaching their limits.

Or are already there.