Requirement Hindered by Lack of Options
Education Commission of the States (ECS)
September 22, 2004

Parents' ability to transfer their children under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) from chronically low-performing schools to higher-performing ones will be limited without a major effort to expand the number and kind of options available to them, say two new policy briefs by the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

Bryan Hassel and Lucy Steiner of Public Impact examine states' role in expanding the number and increasing the quality of charter schools to help meet the school choice and restructuring requirements of NCLB.

While NCLB places the responsibility for doing so on districts' shoulders, states must create a policy environment that promotes rather than stymies innovation and diversification, they say in "Stimulating the Supply of New Choices for Families in Light of NCLB: The Role of the State."
The brief examines issues ranging from the design of sound chartering and contracting policies to the importance of disciplined, ongoing assessment of statewide needs and priorities.

As for NCLB's requirements on restructuring chronically low-performing schools, one strategy worth considering is to close down such schools and reopen them as charter schools, says Todd Ziebarth of Augenblick, Palaich and Associates in "Closing Low-performing Schools and Reopening Them as Charter Schools: The Role of the State."

This brief examines mechanics of the "close-and- reopen" process, potential benefits and pitfalls, and the role states can and should play in its implementation. Among the issues covered are the establishment of guiding criteria, the creation of RFP and RFQ processes, and the provision of additional resources to school operators.

"NCLB's choice and restructuring requirements pose significant challenges," said ECS President Ted Sanders. "To ensure parents have real choices and that chronically low-performing schools make the difficult changes that are necessary, states need to implement a variety of school reform strategies.
A thoughtful, rigorous approach to chartering schools could be one part of states' strategies."

The two policy briefs are the first in a series titled "Bringing to Life the School Choice and Restructuring Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act." They were produced with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Public Charter Schools Program as part of an ECS project focused on helping states use school chartering as a strategy for meeting NCLB's challenges. Two more papers will be released over the next year.

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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.