School leaders, legislators discuss transfer policy

The Wake County school board met this morning with the county’s congressional delegates to discuss the challenges facing the state’s largest district with the federal No Child Left Behind Law and other education issues.

During the meeting, board members stressed the unfairness of one provision of the federal law that allows students to transfer out of schools that don’t meet the law’s goals, forcing administrators to provide space at schools designated to accept such transfers.

"That’s a tough sanction," said school board member Lori Millberg.

Under the law, schools that receive federal money to help students with at least 35 percent of students receiving free or reduced priced lunches have to offer transfers.

The transfer process is required every year so that students don't get stuck at historically poor, low-performing schools. The transfer kicks in at schools that failed to meet expected academic progress two years in a row.

But Millberg said in many cases, it's the higher performing students who choose to leave the schools.

In the Triangle, hundreds of students fled schools this year that didn’t meet NCLB goals.

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, told board members that some changes could come in the reauthorization of the law.

"I believe strongly in accountability, but it has to be fair," he said.

Etheridge and U.S. Reps. David Price from Chapel Hill and Brad Miller from Raleigh attended Wednesday’s meeting.

Miller added reauthorization of the law could include making sure the law is fully funded, additional steps to help low performing schools and more support for teachers and principals.

Among other issues discussed Wednesday were bus safety issues. A national study is underway that looks at the safety efforts school districts have in place on school buses and the need for more innovative programs to retain and recruit more teachers and bus safety issues.

School leaders pointed out Wake’s new Teach Up initiative, a federally funded program which gives school employees such as teacher assistants, guidance assistants and school secretaries with undergraduate degrees the chance to go back to school and get their teaching certificates.

Wednesday’s meeting is part of the board’s goal to meet with leaders on education issues, said school board chairwoman Rosa Gill.

"We want them to hear some of our viewpoints and to hear how policies are impacting us," she said.