Secretary Spellings Offers “Ninth Inning” Regulatory Fixes to NCLB

Acknowledging the reality of the Congressional schedule, and the unlikelihood that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law will be reauthorized before the session ends, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings yesterday proposed major regulatory changes in enforcement of the law. One change will require states to use a single federal formula to calculate and report high school graduation rates. Secretary Spellings also wants to require schools to notify parents of their right to transfer students out of failing schools two weeks before the start of each school year, and to explain more fully to parents the opportunities for federally financed tutoring that are available to students attending troubled schools. The federally financed after-school tutoring program was a hotly debated topic when Congress sought to rewrite the law last year. The Secretary will issue final regulations in November, and they will take effect one month later, just weeks before a new president takes office. Read more about the changes to NCLB.