An OSBA newsletter for school board members on the No Child Left Behind Act — November 2006

Legislative issues                                                                                               by Fred Pausch, director of legislative services
Resolutions want changes to NCLB
There are pending resolutions in the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate urging President George W. Bush and Congress to amend NCLB. Many boards of education have already voted unanimously to support House Concurrent Resolution 51, sponsored by State Rep. Michael Skindell (D-Lakewood), and Senate Concurrent Resolution 34, sponsored by State Sen. Dale Miller (D-Cleveland). These both call for more flexibility for school districts and to full funding of the appropriations authorized in NCLB. Will your board be next to support these resolutions?

Legislative issues                                                                                               by Hollie F. Reedy, staff attorney
State report card — which analysis are you buying?
The state, district and building report cards released by the Ohio Department of Education in August offer mixed measures of progress. Public school performance has improved in district ratings and performance index scores. While years of data add depth to the analysis, the data being gathered continues to change. In 2005–06, reading and math were tested in grades 3 through 8. Next year, science and social studies will ncome on deck in grades 5 and 8, and writing in grade 7. Graduation rates increased from 85.9% to 86.2%. However, the number of schools meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) is steadily decreasing, down 22.4% since 2003–04. The number of districts making AYP has dropped 32.4%. Why? Well, more grades are being tested, with more nstudents in the disaggregated subgroups, thus raising them over the threshold numbers needed for reporting. Plus, more students being tested reveals more accurately how a larger percentage of the student body is achieving. To download and compare districts, visit: www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcard/default.asp.

Curriculum issues                                                                             by Rob Delane. director of school board development
Flexibility and No Child Left Behind
Under several education laws, states, school districts and other educators now have greater flexibility in how they may use federal program funds to support state and local school improvement efforts. Flexibility initiatives, such as Ed-Flex, waivers and other forms of flexibility, including schoolwide programs and certain provisions in Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act, offer states, school districts and others an opportunity to adapt federal programs in ways that nbest educate children and improve teaching and learning. For more information visit www.ed.gov/nclb/freedom/local/flexibility/index.html.