Saturday, February 28, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: No Child Left Behind

But beware: Not all criticism of the new federal law is created equal

A Washoe County teacher union official told lawmakers this week that some veteran educators may quit rather than meet the standards required of them under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Her remarks came as conservative lawmakers in Utah and other states were loudly complaining about several aspects of the law, leading some observers to comment on the unusual political alliances forming to fight the measure.

Nevadans should understand, however, that not all the fussing over No Child Left Behind is created equal.

Those upset that the law marks an unrivaled intrusion by the Washington bureaucracy into an area best left to local and state interests indeed have a legitimate point. Why must states and local school districts launder billions through beltway education functionaries in the first place?

Unfortunately, other loud attacks on the law don't derive from any such principled opposition to the burgeoning federal beast. Instead, complaints about "unfunded mandates" and teachers "teaching to the test" amount to just another thinly veiled effort by the education establishment to shake down taxpayers for more money and to avoid being held accountable for lagging student achievement.

Questioning the federal government's role in education is one thing. Complaining that the law doesn't provide enough funding or is too focused on test scores is quite another.