No Child Left Behind renewal challenged as lawmakers, states rebel

Halimah Abdullah
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Five years after President Bush's signature education program became law, No Child Left Behind is at a crossroads.

Proposals that could drastically alter how children in the nation's public schools are educated have stalled for months in the Senate and House of Representatives education committees. The wrangling over the law, which demands that every child be "proficient" — working at grade level in reading and math — by 2014, has grown so rancorous that Congress is unlikely to reauthorize or change the program this year. NCLB will renew automatically if Congress fails to act.

But as the 2008 political campaign intensifies, education changes are likely to be eclipsed by debates over the economy, health care and the Iraq war — and by more partisan political posturing.

There's bipartisan agreement, however, that No Child Left Behind is due for an overhaul.

"All across the country, teachers, school administrators, school board members and parents are voicing their concerns with the law," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. "They don't think it makes sense to stay the course. They don't think it makes sense to preserve the status quo. They think the law needs significant improvements, and they are right. Unfortunately, the president couldn't see it more differently. He thinks the law is nearly perfect."

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