SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced he has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education on proposed regulations to the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The proposed regulations specifically affect Title I that is designed to improve the academic achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged children. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the proposals were designed to clarify and strengthen assessment, accountability, supplemental education services, and public school choice.

"While there are ideas I can support, I am concerned about the impact of these proposed regulations on millions of disadvantaged students," said O'Connell. "The state is asking more and more of our students and schools in the midst of a statewide fiscal budget crisis, and some of these proposed regulations may result in unnecessary expenditures of time and money. I understand the desire to finalize regulations before another school year passes, but I believe the proposals are too hurried and may harm the integrity of No Child Left Behind."

Among the proposed rule making, O'Connell favors the following:

• Expanding the Growth Model pilot program that tracks student progress year after year.
• Formation of the National Technical Advisory Council that would help establish a more transparent process and ensure a broad range of views are publicly considered before the U.S. Department of Education makes decisions. The state also proposes that the Council include members who represent the diverse needs and situations of states, and include representatives of state agencies, school districts, universities and researchers.
• A uniform graduation rate, although O'Connell believes there could be an unintended detrimental impact on schools from which students graduate after more than the traditional four years of high school.

O'Connell has reservations on the following proposed rule making:

• Providing parents with school choice information not later than 14 calendar days before the start of the school year may be unrealistic and unworkable for many states.
• Reporting of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results on local education agency report cards would create confusion for parents and districts because only a portion of California school districts participate in NAEP testing.
• A number of provisions may impose unjustifiable burdens on schools and districts while failing to improve the educational opportunities served by Title I.

For details of the federal Notice of Proposed Rule Making, please visit  Proposed Regulations for Title I [http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/reg/proposal/index.html] (Outside Source). For a copy of O'Connell's comments to U.S. Department of Education, please visit Year 2008 - Letters.