NCLB Outrages

Lest We Forget: The Business Roundtable Is a Big Backer of NCLB

ISSUE: No Child Left Behind

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in January 2002, provides new accountability measures and resources to help raise student achievement in reading and mathematics. The Business Roundtable strongly supported passage of the legislation and is now actively working with states on implementation. The No Child Left Behind Act calls for a closer connection between investments in education and accountability for improving student achievement. It includes annual testing to make sure all students are competent in core subjects and holds schools accountability for helping all groups of students to be proficient in reading and math by the 2013-14 school year. The law focuses on improving the quality of teaching, helping all children learn to read by the third grade, reporting student performance results on a regular basis, assisting schools where student achievement is low, and providing choices for parents if their children’s schools do not improve. The business community has a vital role to play in efforts to implement the law successfully.

PUBLICATIONS
No Child Left Behind Business Leaders Toolkit
Release Date: 1.2.04

Dear Colleague:

In January 2002, the President and Congress finalized reforms of federal education programs. For the first time in the nation's history, federal, state, and community efforts will be aligned toward the same goals to improve academic achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, builds on the work started in the states and provides new accountability measures and resources to help raise the achievement of students nationwide.

The business community has a vital role to play in efforts to implement the reforms. States have great flexibility in how some reforms are accomplished and business leaders should advocate for the priorities that make the most difference. Over the next year, states and local districts will be developing plans, accountability systems, and strategies for improving student achievement that will create opportunities for business involvement.

The attached tool kit is intended to help business leaders seize specific opportunities to partner with educators and political leaders in the next year to implement reforms called for by the legislation. The tool kit gives you specific action steps to help your state successfully implement the key reforms. It includes messages to deliver to public officials, additional details about the requirements of the law, and helpful contacts in each state. This tool kit will be available electronically here, so that it can be updated regularly as the implementation progresses and new information becomes available. It is designed in a format that can be customized to your needs and compiled in a three-ring binder.

State activities over the next year or two provide an exceptional window of opportunity, and the business community must act strategically and with a common voice.

Sincerely,


Susan Traiman
Director - Education Initiative
The Business Roundtable


Christopher E. Goode
Director - Corporate Government Affairs
& Public Policy, EMC Corporation
Chairman, The Business Roundtable
Education & the Workforce Coordinating Committee

— Business Roundtable
No Child Left Behind Business Leaders' Toolkit

2004-01-02
http://www.businessroundtable.org/taskForces/taskforce/document.aspx?qs=6BF5BF159F849514481138A74FA1851159169FEB56C38B3

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INDEX OF NCLB OUTRAGES