FEINGOLD PUSHES FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Feingold Leads Group of Senators in Pushing for an Examination
of NCLB’s Effects Four Years After Implementation
February 21, 2006
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is calling for
congressional hearings on the implementation of the No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) Act. In the four years since the law was passed, many teachers,
administrators, and parents in Wisconsin and throughout the nation have
raised serious concerns about the law and its effect on students and
teachers. In a letter to the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions
(HELP) Committee, Feingold and nine of his Senate colleagues urged the
Committee to examine these concerns, including the law’s lack
of flexibility, its effects on rural and smaller school districts, inadequate
funding levels for crucial education programs essential to meeting NCLB
standards, and the long-term effects of meeting the one-size-fits-all
requirements placed on students, schools and school districts under
NCLB.
“Four years after No Child Left Behind became the law of the
land, teachers, administrators, and parents are still struggling through
the law’s complicated maze of rules and regulations and continue
to be frustrated with the lack of flexibility allowed by the law,”
Feingold said. “We need to ensure that school districts are given
flexibility to tailor the law’s implementation, while supporting
state and local standards that put schools on the path to closing the
achievement gap and ensuring that all children receive a high-quality
education.”
While the Education Department has introduced some flexibility over
the past year, the modifications made do not address many of the problems
with NCLB’s implementation. With NCLB scheduled for reauthorization
next year, Feingold believes it is important that the HELP Committee
start to hold hearings on implementation issues. Feingold was joined
in writing the letter by Senators Leahy, Dayton, Durbin, Obama, Levin,
Salazar, Dorgan, Johnson, and Stabenow. Feingold originally opposed
the NCLB program when it was introduced in 2001. Since the program’s
inception, Feingold has raised continued concerns regarding the implementation
of NCLB.
“We believe that a full discussion of these and other issues
surrounding implementation of NCLB is warranted, given the importance
of a good public education to our children and to the future of our
nation,” the Senators wrote.
A copy of the letter is available upon request.
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