An OSBA newsletter for school board members on the No Child Left Behind Act — January 2007

Curriculum issues                                                                               by Rob Delane, director of school board development
Free NCLB Pocket Guide available
Want to find out more about the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but don’t have a lot of free time on your hands? Now you can, with the U.S. Department of Education’s new pocket guide titled “A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind.” This easy-to-use resource provides helpful information and budget facts about NCLB. Order your free copy online at: www.edpubs.org. For more information: www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/extracredit/2004/11/1119.html.

There is good news for fourth-graders
Ohio is making progress in educating students, according to the latest data available from the U.S Department of Education. Between 2002 and 2005 Ohio fourth-graders reading proficiency increased by 21%; mathematics proficiency increased by 6%; the black-white achievement gap in reading narrowed by 8% while the black-white achievement gap in fourth-grade mathematics narrowed by 10%. The fourth-grade Hispanic-white achievement gap narrowed by 4% in both in reading and math. For more information, visit: www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/difference/ohio.pdf.

Legislative issues                                                                                     by Fred Pausch, director of legislative services
Autism Act passed by U.S. House
The “Combating Autism Act of 2006,” S. 843, which amends the Public Health Service Act to combat autism through research, screening, intervention and education, passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now on its way to the President. The bill includes references to the U.S. Secretary of Education in different roles in parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The main program in the bill will be implemented through the Secretary of Health and Human Services.