In a 77-page report that was released on February 23, 2005, the National Conference of State Legislatures recommends 43 specific changes to the Federal No Child Left Behind law.

A special task force of the National Conference of State Legislatures released the results of a 10-month study that identified specific areas of the act that need to be changed if states are to guarantee that young people will learn at their full potential.

Key recommendations of the report include:

• Remove obstacles that stifle state innovations and undermine state programs that were proving to work before passage of the act. Federal waivers should be granted and publicized for innovative programs;
• Fully fund the act and provide states the financial flexibility to meet its goals. The federal government funds less than 8 percent of the nation's education program, but the No Child Left Behind Act affects nearly all classroom activity. In addition, states ask for a Government Accountability Office review to determine the act's costs and whether it violates the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act;
• Remove the one-size-fits-all method that measures student performance and encourage more sophisticated and accurate systems that gauge the growth of individual students and not just groups of students. States believe the 100-percent proficiency goal is not statistically achievable and that
  struggling schools need the opportunity to address problems before losing parts of their student populations;
• Recognize that some schools face special challenges, including adequately teaching students with disabilities and English language learners. The law also needs to recognize the differences among rural,
  suburban and urban schools.

The news release and the list of task force members are available on the National Conference of State Legislatures' website.

To request an electronic copy of the report, send an email to
press-room@ncsl.org
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs
of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research,
technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas
on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate
for the interests of the states in the American federal system.