State of CA against NCLB

The CA state legislators are overwhelmingly against NCLB.

The nascent campaign first surfaced in the state Assembly which overwhelmingly approved a resolution by Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, calling on Congress to revisit the law - President Bush's educational centerpiece - to make right various features that educational leaders throughout the country say are penalizing states that have been working on educational accountability long before the federal government became interested.

The resolution, passed in a 71-1 vote in the Assembly on Monday, is supported by state Superintendent Jack O'Connell, the powerful California Teachers Association, the California School Boards Association and the Small School Districts' Association.

Largely symbolic but nonetheless important because it is the strongest objection to a federal statute available to state lawmakers, the resolution now goes to the influential Senate Education Committee.

This is what they are asking for so far:

The Assembly resolution asked federal lawmakers to excuse California from five requirements of the federal law, including:

- Using the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standard over California's Academic Performance Index to measure academic progress. The AYP assesses schools based on what percentage of students are able to demonstrate proficiency in each subject and at each grade level tested. Every subgroup - including English-language learners and special education students -must meet the federal standards.

- Testing participation rates. The federal law requires a 95 percent participation rate, but the resolution says this standard is too strict.

- The testing of students with disabilities using the same standards that are applied to the general population.

Finally, the resolution asks Congress to fully fund the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.

We'll see how are this gets in the Education Committee but here is still another state coming out against NCLB.