No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, is the federal law governing education in the US for children kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12). The purpose of this law is to ensure that all children receive a high quality education and to close the achievement gap that exists between students who typically perform well and those who do not. In this country, there is a significant gap between the achievement of children from low-income families, racial minorities, children with disabilities, English language learners, and the test scores of other children. No Child Left Behind seeks to close the achievement gap by holding states, local school districts, and schools accountable for improving academic achievement for all children. To achieve this, NCLB is built on four basic principles:
Click here for some helpful resources for Back to School! State Department of Education Reports on: ‘Adequate
Yearly Progress’ Information on
Connecticut's Curriculum Goals and Standards
of Connecticut Schools and Districts under NCLB
- Getting Ready for the 2007 Reauthorization of NCLB -
7 Million Students with Disabilities Need No Child Left Behind
The Advocacy Institute
For too long this nation’s students with disabilities have been overlooked, under taught, and left out. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 shone a bright light on the persistent underachievement of important
sub groups of students and only then did educators begin to focus long needed attention on achievement of students with identified disabilities. To view a copy of the full article please
click here.
NCLB and IDEA: What Parents of Students with Disabilities Need to Know and Do
National Center on Educational Outcomes
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are two
of the nation’s most important federal laws relating to the education of children. While NCLB seeks to improve the education of all children — with an emphasis on children from low-income families — IDEA
focuses on the individual child and seeks to ensure specialized services for children with disabilities so that they may benefit from education. Lately, these two laws have taken on new importance to parents
of students with disabilities. NCLB provisions apply to all students, including those whose disabilities require special education.
So it’s important that parents understand the requirements of NCLB. IDEA, in its latest update by Congress, has been more closely aligned with NCLB, making it equally important that parents become familiar with
the ways the two laws have been positioned to work together to improve academic achievement of students with disabilities. To view a full copy of the article please click here.
New Regulations Announced For More Accurately Assessing Students With Disabilities
US Department of Education
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced new regulations under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) allowing states to test certain students with
disabilities using an alternate assessment that more appropriately aligns with their needs and yields more meaningful results for schools and parents. The new regulations provide states and schools with
greater flexibility by allowing them to more accurately evaluate the students' academic progress and tailor instruction based on their individual needs. For more information on this topic, please
click here.
To obtain more in depth information, please visit the following websites:
US Department of Education - No Child Left Behind Page
Connecticut State Department of Education - No Child Left Behind Page
