In 2001 Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act by a large bipartisan majority. Its goal is to ensure that every child in America has the basic skills necessary to function in today's society. To achieve it, we as a nation must discard any methods of mediocrity we may have used in the past and embrace a strategy that will promote excellence in education. Wyoming is ahead of the curve and only has to decide how much more every child will be challenged.
Success will require Wyoming's educators to work together with administrators, parents and the U.S. Department of Education. It will require hard work. It will require change. But, contrary to what I've been reading in some Wyoming newspapers, there are a few changes that the No Child Left Behind Act won't require.
The No Child Left Behind Act does not require school districts and states to dig between the couch cushions to find extra cash to pay for requirements under the law. Since 1995, Congress has been prohibited from passing any legislation that contains unfunded mandates. Accordingly, the Wyoming Department of Education should not expect to need significant budget increases from the Legislature due to the act. The education reforms contained in No Child Left Behind were coupled with an historic increase in K-12 funding for Wyoming. Compared to last year, Wyoming received an increase of about 21 percent in overall K-12 federal funding this year with schools that have higher populations of disadvantaged students receiving 30 to 40 percent increases. Wyoming will receive more than $70 million for implementation of the act this year.
The No Child Left Behind Act does not do away with local control. It maintains educational flexibility for the states and local school boards. Under the act every school district in Wyoming will now have greater flexibility to spend federal funds on local priorities and initiatives than ever before. Local school administrators are the ones who will make important spending decisions that previously would have been made by the U.S. Department of Education. School districts also remain solely responsible for curriculum decisions and the content areas stressed by parents and teachers.
Wyoming teachers are not required to have a degree in every subject they teach under the new law. A teacher responsible for multiple subjects will have to demonstrate a mastery of these subjects, but a college degree is just one option prescribed in the law. Other options can be determined by the state, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education. Unlike many states, Wyoming already has strong teacher certification requirements.
Most of the requirements included in No Child Left Behind have yet to be implemented, while those that are being phased in have included a great deal of flexibility. The U.S. Department of Education has already demonstrated that it will work with each state to meet its particular needs.
As co-chair and founder of the Senate Rural Education Caucus, as well as the father of a teacher in Wyoming, I am keenly aware of the needs of rural schools. I have personally worked with people in the U.S. Department of Education, the Administration, the Wyoming Department of Education, individual schools and my colleagues to help Wyoming schools meet the standards. I helped write the act with the unique needs of Wyoming's small districts in mind and I will continue this dedicated effort as more provisions of No Child Left Behind are implemented.
The fact is that Wyoming is ahead of the curve regarding compliance with No Child Left Behind. The Wyoming Department of Education has already achieved most of what is required for data collection and public reports under the Act. I encourage members of the Wyoming education community to continue their work as national leaders in education and to look ahead to ensure that no Wyoming child is left behind.
U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He can be contacted through his web page (enzi.senate.gov).
