Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act is the largest federally funded program for elementary and secondaryschools. Its purpose is to provide federal funds toschools with high concentrations of children living inpoverty that are not achieving academically well. NCLBstrengthens Title accountability by requiring States toimplement statewide accountability systems covering allpublic schools and students. It also requires States todevelop annual assessments for grades three througheight and once in high school that are aligned withState standards and to use achievement on theseassessments as the measure of district and schoolaccountability. The system is meant to ensure thatdistricts and schools make adequate yearly progress(AYP) toward having all children proficient in readingand mathematics by the 2013 -- 2014 school year. For Title I schools that fail to meet the AYP establishedby each state, the law mandates a set of progressiveconsequences for schools that fail including publicschool choice, supplemental educational services,school restructuring, decentralization of the school,reassigning staff, state takeover, and contracting outservices. In addition, there are more opportunities forparents to become involved including being informedabout the quality of teachers in the school, thedevelopment of district and school parental involvementpolicies, choice of another public school, selection ofan outside entity that would provide supplementaleducation services for students, and participating on aschool action team in the case of a low performing school.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

Title II provides the state education agency and local school districts with money to improve the quality of teaching and principal leadership through recruitment, teacher training and professional development, and class size reduction. In addition, Title II contains eight separate programs that are designed to enhance teacher and principal competency and career development. NCLB Action Briefs, a project of Public Education Network (PEN) and the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE), are designed to keep community and parent leaders up to date on various provisions of NCLB. The action briefs are written in easy-to-use language focused on specific sections of the law and include pertinent regulations, a glossary of terms, action steps, and additional resources.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

NCLB contains provisions designed to discourage the hiring of teachers who lack expertise in their content areas which are defined as "core subject" areas, and to rectify the problem of large numbers of students being taught by teachers with inadequate content knowlege and preparation in the subjects they are teaching. NCLB Action Briefs, a project of Public Education Network (PEN) and the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE), are designed to keep community and parent leaders up to date on various provisions of NCLB. The action briefs are written in easy-to-use language focused on specific sections of the law and include pertinent regulations, a glossary of terms, action steps, and additional resources.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

NCLB requires that each state develop and implement a single, state wide accountability system assuring that each public school district and all public and elementary schools make adequate yearly progress based on the components reviewed in this guide.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

The NCLB state accountability system is based on the development of state content and academic achievement standards which are measured by state assessments and compared to the "adequate yearly progress" expectations. Each state is allowed to develop their own standards, assessments and AYP expectations, with review by the US Department of Education.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

School districts are required to provide ALL parents the opportunity of transferring their children to another public school if their current school, funded with Title I money, has been identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring; or the State has identified their school as persistently dangerous or if their child has been a victim of violent crime on school property. This document provides background and action steps pertaining to school choice.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

This Action Brief is not designed to provide legal answers to Section 9528 provisions. For that, each local community is advised to contact legal counsel in their state and/or local communities. But this Brief is designed to review the major premises as raised by the Section 9528 provisions and related laws, and to provide suggestions for community, parental and student action.

Oct 29, 2006

Public Education Network (PEN); National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education;

AYP is the key measure in determining whether a public school or school district is making "annual progress" towards the academic goals established by each state. Each state is responsible for setting goals that call for "continuous and substantial improvement" of each public school district and public school, with the ultimate outcome that all students must meet the state's standards for proficiency in language arts and math by the year 2014.