In January 2001, the President and Congress began a major re-write of federal education aid and proposed significant reforms to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Act encompassed nearly 55 programs totaling an annual investment of $19 billion. This Act traditionally covered supplemental aid for poor and disadvantaged children in K-12 education, but evolved over the years to address other education reform priorities for all children.
Impact on State of Illinois, School Districts and Schools
More Choices for Parents
The NCLB Act significantly increases the choices available to the parents of students attending Title I schools that fail to meet State standards, including immediate relief-beginning with the 2002-03 school year-for students in schools that were previously identified for improvement or corrective action under the 1994 ESEA reauthorization.
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) must give students attending schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring the opportunity to attend a better public school, which may include a public charter school, within the school district (Paul, 2003). The school districts must provide transportation to the new school, and must use at least 5 percent of its Title I funds for this purpose, if needed.
For students attending persistently failing schools (those that have failed to meet Illinois State standards for at least 3 of the 4 preceding years), LEAs must permit low-income students to use Title I funds to obtain supplemental educational services from the public- or private-sector providers selected by the students and their parents (Paul, 2003). Providers must meet Illinois State standards and offer services tailored to help participating students meet challenging State academic standards.
To help ensure that LEAs offer meaningful choices, the new law requires school districts to spend up to 20 percent of their Title I allocations to provide school choice and supplemental educational services to eligible students...........
