Sends Letter of Support for Senator Dodd's NCLB Reform Bill

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has sent a letter to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd in support of Dodd's "No Child Left Behind Reform Act."

In his letter, O'Connell praised the inclusion of language that would allow states the option of using a growth model in determining yearly progress.

"A growth model ... considers the net improvement of individual districts and schools and actually is more congruent with high academic standards and rigorous definitions of student proficiency than the status model mandated by NCLB," O'Connell wrote in his letter to Senator Dodd. "Without dropping the key elements of the accountability provisions of NCLB in order to accommodate a growth model, the U.S. Department of Education should make it clear that the status model in Title I accountability provisions is just that — a model. The Department should offer genuine flexibility by supporting legislation, such as yours, to redefine the relationship between federal and state governments in the implementation of these provisions."

California has been using a growth model of accountability since 1999.

In his letter to Senator Dodd, O'Connell also noted that school chiefs from 16 states including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington agree that flexibility on the use of a growth model is essential to the successful execution of NCLB.

In March, O'Connell was joined by a bipartisan group of his counterparts from 13 states to urge U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige to allow states with strong accountability systems greater flexibility under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. (For more information, please go to Fight for Changes to NCLB.) The school chiefs from Hawaii and New Mexico have since joined the formal call for more flexibility on the option to use a growth model.

Please see the attached letter sent to Senator Dodd.

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Attachment

Letter to Senator Dodd