"No Child Left Behind" Act

On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the sweeping federal education reform initiative that has affected virtually every aspect of K-12 education. The goal of NCLB is to significantly raise student achievement and improve teacher quality in schools nationwide; improvement efforts, and results are closely monitored by the U.S. Department of Education.

The mammoth law has implications for many aspects of teaching, including requirements to certify all teachers as "highly qualified" and to test all students in standards-based subjects.

The following links will assist you in navigating the elements of NCLB with greatest impact for teachers:

Assistance with developing your personal Professional Development Plan: PD Template
Funding professional development under NCLB: PDFunding
Register for the 2008 California Science Education Conference: Conference Homepage
California's NCLB test: NCLB test

The U.S. Department of Education has resources to answer questions and provide guidance to states and local education agencies on the No Child Left Behind act, at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oese/legislation.html#policy.

For the full text of the No Child Left Behind act, see the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html.