The Daily Times (Delaware County, PA)
July 6, 2011
Headline: Haverford School Board seeking NCLB relief

By Lois Puglionesi

HAVERFORD - Haverford School Board directors recently approved a resolution requesting regulatory relief from what they described as "unfair and overly burdensome" provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Introducing the resolution school Director, legislative liaison and Keystone State Education Coalition co-Chairman Larry Feinberg said reauthorization of NCLB, signed into law in 2002, is currently three years overdue.

If the law isn't changed, 75 percent of all public schools in the nation will soon be labeled as failing or in need of improvement, Feinberg said, which could result in impositions of penalties ranging from mandatory school choice to chartering and privatization.

Of primary concerns is NCLB's requirement for schools to achieve 100 percent student proficiency on standardized tests in reading and math by 2014.

Echoing language in a joint resolution issued by the American Association of School Administrators and National School Boards Association, the district's resolution states that such measures drastically misrepresent accomplishments of American public schools.

Additionally, implementing NCLB's complex requirements has caused school districts to expend financial and human resources at the expense of teaching and learning, the resolution states.

Absent congressional reauthorization, school officials advocate "immediate regulatory relief for the 2011-12 school year, and any efforts to rescind or modify current regulations and alleviate undue pressure on the nation's schools. We urge the Department of Education to exercise its regulatory authority to relieve school districts from the constraints of current statutes, keeping schools from being held hostage while Congress moves forward with complete reauthorization."

The resolution also asks for "straight regulatory relief" rather than waivers, and suspension of additional sanctions under current adequate yearly progress requirements.

Feinberg said the state of Idaho has notified the federal government that it's not going to comply with the law next year.

Although U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has promised to grant states waivers to some of the law's provisions, House Education Committee Chairman John Kline has questioned Duncan's authority to do so.

Feinberg said he would send copies of the resolution to U.S. Sens. Patrick Toomey and Robert Casey, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby, and the National School Boards Association.

In other matters, officials announced that Newsweek recently ranked Haverford High School among the nation's top 500 high schools.

Rankings were based on graduation rates, college matriculation rates, average SAT scores, Advanced Placement Tests and Advanced Placement courses offered.

Only 18 schools from Pennsylvania made the list, including Radnor in Delaware County.