~ No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) ~

The No Child Left Behind Act is landmark education reform designed to improve student achievement and change the culture of America’s schools.

The act has four key principles:

1. Stronger accountability for results;
2. Greater flexibility for states, school districts and schools in the use of federal funds;
3. More choices for parents of children from disadvantaged backgrounds; and
4. Emphasis on teaching methods that have been demonstrated to work.

Testing
The law requires that every school, school district and state "break out" or disaggregate the test results for certain groups of students. Those groups include:

• Major racial and ethnic groups:
• African-American
• Asian Pacific Islander
• Hispanic
• Native American
• Caucasian
• Students living in poverty (qualifying for free or reduced lunch)
• Students with disabilities (qualifying for special education services)
• Students with limited English proficiency

The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that all schools and every subgroup of students make "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) toward 100% of the students being proficient in reading and math by 2013-14. It is also intended to underscore the relative achievement levels of these subgroups and to hold schools accountable for closing the achievement gap.

States have until 2014 to move every school and every subgroup (100% of the students) to a benchmark set by each state for proficiency in math and reading.

The "Needs Improvement" Designation
Every school where the student body as a whole or any of the identified subgroups of students fails to have the required percentage of students reach state performance objectives will be labeled "Needs Improvement." Those schools must submit a plan to improve the percentage of students reaching proficiency levels (i.e. for the school or any of its subgroups).

95% of all students enrolled in a school must take the tests, and 95% of each subgroup must also take the tests; if not, the school is automatically designated as "Needs Improvement," regardless of student performance.

An 80% graduation rate for high schools and a 90% attendance rate for elementary and junior high schools are other indicators of success. If these rates are not met, the schools will be automatically designated as "Needs Improvement," regardless of student performance.

Corrective Action in Title I Schools
Title I is a federal program that provides funds to schools with a concentration of students living in poverty.

Any students attending a Title I school that has been designated as "Needs Improvement" for two consecutive years will have the option to transfer to another public school in the district, using 5-10% of district Title I dollars for transportation.

After a school's third consecutive year of failure, low-income, low-achieving students in that Title I school are eligible to receive supplemental educational services, in addition to transportation, provided by the school district or by an outside state-approved group/company up to 20% of district Title I dollars for these services.

After the fourth consecutive year, the school must change its staffing or make some other fundamental change.

After the fifth consecutive year, the governance of the failing Title I school must change. This could mean converting it to a charter school, turning it over to a private management company, or having the state take over the school.

Teacher Qualifications

• All Title I teachers must be fully certified or licensed and show competency.
• All teachers must be fully certified or licensed, have a bachelor's degree and show competency in subject knowledge and teaching skills.

Note: Parents have a right to request information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers. You can check a teacher’s professional qualifications on the Minnesota Department of Education Web site.

Paraprofessional Qualifications

• All instructional paraprofessionals supported by Title I funds must have at least two years of college.
• All instructional paraprofessionals supported by Title I funds must complete at least two years of college or meet a rigorous standard of quality, as determined by a test and portfolio.

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