Petition Tag - reformation of the federal no child left behind act of 2001

We, the undersigned, are in support of reformation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, enacted into law on January 8, 2002.

While we agree in theory with the law’s goal of ensuring that all children have a “fair, equal and adequate opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic standards and state academic assessments”, the real time applications of this law are deeply flawed and in some instances, harmful to the health, welfare and educational pursuits of many children that it seeks to protect.

NCLB, when combined with an interlocking system of state laws and local, district level policies, drives an unjust system of educational accountability that ultimately weighs upon the immature shoulders of children in the classroom.

Furthermore, when the necessities of funding are so intimately linked to student performance and combined an unrealistic goal of 100% AYP compliance set to trigger in the year 2013-2014, we are fostering classroom environments that are not conducive to either student or teacher success nor to the long term and meaningful goals of education.

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