NCLB School Choice
- on 04.25.07
- Fund The Child, General
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The following are just 2 examples of why school choice provided by NCLB needs to be moved beyond just public schools and why NCLB is an ineffective and unneccessary waste of legislation that should be repealed.
First, the problem is that money does not follow the child so other local public schools can reject the students from failing schools (Daily Herald Opinion Brief):
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Choice. The concept that underpins No Child Left Behind seems simple enough, even within the complex realm of education. If a school isn’t delivering good results, students have the choice to leave. But as East Aurora parents have found out, concept can be outweighed by reality — and money. District 131 has not met NCLB guidelines for more than two consecutive years, meaning its middle and high school students should have a chance to go elsewhere. Unlike the much larger U-46 district based in Elgin, the small district has no in-district alternatives to offer. And surrounding school districts have again said “no thanks†to taking in those student because no funds would accompany them. Proof that “choice†is never simple. Or cheap. |
Secondly, there are not enough good schools available for the students in failing schools to transfer into:
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But the odds aren’t good for getting a slot. There are 8,200 eligible kids who can compete for 500 slots at 97 schools. The slots are available through the No Child Left Behind choice program, which allows transfers from under-performing schools. About 260,000 students in 274 Chicago schools are eligible for transfers under the law — their schools failed to meet testing benchmarks for two years. But Chicago only has 500 spots in higher-performing schools. |
These are just examples that are happening all across the country of the ineffectiveness of NCLB. NCLB is not solving any of the problems it was meant to solve. It is perpetuating them, leaving most children behind. The Federal Government will never be able to legislate accountability into its government run monopoly school system. NCLB should be repealed and control returned to the local level by allowing parents to choose the school of their choice.
Some people believe that school choice should only be allowed within the Public School system. The experience from the examples we see of NCLB school choice prove that choice cannot be limited to the government school monopoly, but be allowed to flourish across all acredited schools. A one size fits all solution never works well and is the same reason a one size fits all government run school monopoly will never work for all students.
