Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Posted: 11:04 AM EDT (1504 GMT) at CNN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A fundamental change in how the Education Department enforces the No Child Left Behind law could affect the education of millions of students as states seek federal approval on everything from teacher quality to the measuring of student progress.
For example, the department plans to give certain states more freedom in how they test hundreds of thousands of children with milder disabilities, Bush administration officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Only states that can prove progress or a strong commitment to improve will be seriously considered for that flexibility, the officials said.
The idea is to get something in return for offering such flexibility, said one official familiar with the changes, such as increased learning and "narrowing the achievement gap." Shrinking the test-score gap between white and minority students is a central goal of the 2001 law, which aims to get all children to grade level in reading and math by 2014.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the policies had not been formally announced. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has invited top school officers from the states to Mount Vernon, Virginia, on Thursday to unveil the enforcement approach and the special education policy. Education Department leaders declined comment until then.
The new enforcement approach is the first significant change under Spellings, who helped write the law as Bush's domestic policy chief in the White House before becoming secretary in January.
Spellings has determined that the Education Department hasn't focused enough on the big picture -- whether students are learning -- when it reviews and approves state education plans. States must get approval if they want changes in how they hold schools accountable.
As examples, the department now plans closer review of the states' progress in graduating students, showing gains in early reading and providing report cards to the public.
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