Massachusetts Takes Action to Fix Federal NCLB Law

Changes/Waivers Requested

Action Type: Official Action

Description of Action: "The U.S. Secretary of Education has granted a waiver to the Boston Public School system which allows it to continue tutoring struggling students, even though the system has failed to meet federal targets for academic achievement.

Under federal law, systems that don't show adequate progress in reading and math for two straight years can't provide tutoring to struggling students. The idea is that students shouldn't be forced to rely on schools that may be failing them for the free tutoring guaranteed under the No Child Left Behind law.

But Education Secretary Margaret Spellings granted Boston a waiver after it accepted several conditions, including agreeing to an annual review by the Education Department, said Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose office announced the waiver."
-Associated Press, November 3, 2005

Status of Action:

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Cost or Participation Study

Action Type: Official Action

Description of Action: On June 23, 2005, MassPartners released a study indicating projecting that 74 percent of Massachusetts schools will fail to reach AYP standards by 2014. The study recommends several changes to No Child Left Behind, including reforming the law's unnecessarily punitive sanctions and creating an accountability system that provides a richer, more accurate evaluation of school and sub-group performance.

Status of Action: Released June 23, 2005

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