Board, legislators discuss No Child law

RALEIGH -- The Wake County school board met on Wednesday morning with the county's congressional delegation 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 what they called the unfairness of one provision of the federal law that allows students to transfer out of schools that don't meet the law's academic goals. That forces 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-price lunches have to offer transfers if they don't meet the No Child law's benchmarks.

The transfer process is required every year so 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 that in many cases, it's the students who are performing well who choose to leave the schools.

In the Triangle, hundreds of students left schools this year that didn't meet No Child 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.

U.S. Reps. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, and Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, also attended Wednesday's meeting.

Miller added that 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.