Editorial: No child left unfunded

The Sun

May 15, 2006 01:28 pm

— The theory behind the Administration’s “No Child Left Behind” education program was a good one. The execution, though, has left something to be desired.
Signed into law by President George Bush in January 2002, the program was designed to level the playing field for public school students by requiring youngsters in all schools to pass standardized tests. Those tests were supposed to ensure that every student received the same basic education, regardless of geographical or fiscal constraints.
What has dogged the program from the beginning, however, is a lack of federal funding to help local school districts improve curriculum, facilities and teachers in order to reach the lofty goals set out by NCLB. This is somewhat understandable. The costs of cleaning up after the 9/11 attacks and the start of the War on Terror, coupled with a severe economic recession, meant less federal funds for just about everything except entitlements like Social Security and national defense.
But the requirements laid out by the act remained the same, leaving states and school districts to come up with their own funding to fully implement needed changes. The fact that most of those states and districts were experiencing funding crunches at the same time for many of the same reasons did not faze the Administration or the federal Department of Education.
Educating our children is probably the number one priority for Americans. Education is the key to future success, not just for individuals, but the nation as a whole. That means the NCLB is not unwelcome by any stretch of the imagination.
But when the federal Congress earmarks hundreds of millions of dollars for Alaskan bridges that lead to nowhere or new museums glorifying certain Congressmen, Americans have a right to demand better. Congress should be required to either fully fund the NCLB or ease off on the restrictions and penalties placed on states and school districts for failure to comply.