69ý

Federal

Spellings: Education Law Needs Only a Soft Scrub

By Alyson Klein — September 06, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

As Congress gears up for the scheduled reauthorization next year of the No Child Left Behind Act, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who played a backstage role in crafting the law five years ago while serving in the White House, says she doesn’t see much need for substantial change.

“I like to talk about No Child Left Behind as Ivory soap. It’s 99.9 percent pure,” Ms. Spellings told reporters over coffee on Aug. 30, alluding to the classic ad campaign declaring the product “99 and forty-four one-hundredths percent pure.”

See Also

“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” she said of the 4½-year-old law, which she credited with focusing attention on groups of students that were often lost in the shuffle, such as racial minorities and students in special education.

“What I see as my job in reauthorization is to bring forth other approaches, other data” for those in Congress and other education policymakers to consider, Ms. Spellings said. Some of the flexibility the Department of Education has offered states in recent years will help illuminate how best to meet the law’s goal of getting every student to proficiency by 2014, she said.

The secretary cited a pilot project allowing two states, North Carolina and Tennessee, to adopt so-called growth models, under which schools get credit for improving individual student performance, even if the schools do not meet proficiency standards. And she cited the department’s decision to permit some states to give students in low-performing schools access to tutoring before allowing them to transfer to other schools, a reversal of the order of those sanctions spelled out in the No Child Left Behind law.

She said that if those ideas prove successful, Congress might decide to incorporate them into the renewal of the education law.

The secretary also said it was time for states, working with the Education Department, to determine how to deal with schools that repeatedly fail to make adequate progress and need to be restructured.“What happens when you get to the end of the line?” Ms. Spellings said.

A version of this article appeared in the September 06, 2006 edition of Education Week as Spellings: Education Law Needs Only a Soft Scrub

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates—and detractors—see a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump's Education Secretary Pick Is Linda McMahon, Former WWE CEO
McMahon led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term and is co-chair of the president-elect's transition team.
6 min read
Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019.
Then-SBA Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump has tapped McMahon to serve as education secretary in his second term.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal What Could RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Mean for School Vaccine Requirements?
The vaccine skeptic in line to lead the mammoth federal agency could influence schools' vaccine rules, even though they're set by states.
6 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. Trump has selected Kennedy to serve as secretary of health and human services in his second term.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Can Trump Force 69ý to Change Their Curricula?
Trump's bid to take money from schools that teach "critical race theory" or pass policies for transgender kids raises legal complexities.
9 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP