On July 24, Secretary Rod Paige sent a letter to state and local education leaders throughout the nation outlining the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. No Child Left Behind requires that each child and each group of children (broken out by race, income level, special education status, and English proficiency) have their progress measured every year. Results will be reported to parents for each child and to the public for each group. The new law will ensure that schools are held accountable for the achievement of all students. It sets a new standard for measuring achievement and has real consequences for schools that fail to make progress over time.

"Ensuring that schools are held accountable for all students meeting state standards is central to this bipartisan law's goal of ensuring that no child is left behind," said Paige. "Under this historic law, schools must measure and report on overall student performance and the achievement of various groups of students. With this level of diagnosis and the valuable information state and local leaders, parents and others will soon have, we can all work together to ensure that all students succeed and that the achievement gap is closed, once and for all."

The new law gives states and school districts significant flexibility in how they tailor resources and interventions to the needs of schools in need of improvement. "States do not have to start from square one; this law builds upon the accountability systems that states have been developing since, or before, the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," said Paige. "NCLB sets the minimum requirements for statewide accountability systems, and states will be able to build upon the new requirements to enhance their current systems."

The new definition of AYP will help states and districts accurately identify which schools need improvement and where they should focus their resources beginning in the 2003-04 school year.

For a complete copy of the Secretary's clarification letter, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/News/Letters/020724.html.

The Department expects to issue draft regulations in the very near future and also related guidance that will help states and school districts implement NCLB. Existing regulations and guidance may be viewed at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/asst.html.

"Adequate Yearly Progress" is the phrase used to describe an individual state's measure of yearly progress toward achieving state academic standards. AYP is the minimum level of improvement that states, school districts, and schools must achieve each year. Under No Child Left Behind, there are consequences for schools and schools districts that continually fail to make progress. When a school does not make AYP . . .

• for two years, then the school will be identified before the beginning of the next school year as needing school improvement. The school will develop a two-year plan for improvement, and school officials will receive help and technical assistance. Every student assigned to the school will be given the option to transfer to a better public school in the district or a public charter school.

• for three years, then the school remains in school improvement status and the district must continue to offer public school choice to all students. The school must also provide supplemental education services to disadvantaged children who remain at the school. Parents can choose the services their child needs from a list of approved providers.

• for four years, then the district must implement certain corrective actions to improve the school, such as replacing certain staff or fully implementing a new curriculum, while continuing to offer public school choice and pay for supplemental services.

• for five years, then the school will be identified for restructuring. First, the school will develop a plan and make the necessary arrangements to implement significant alternative governance actions, such as state takeover, the hiring of a private management contractor, converting to a charter school, or significant staff restructuring.

In October, 2002, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education will host a series of four regional meetings as part of its work to ensure the effective implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. The governor and chief state school officer of each state will be asked to nominate teams of 10-15 state and district level education leaders to participate.

The conferences will be held in Orlando, Florida; Washington, DC; Denver, Colorado; and Chicago, Illinois.

To read more about the conferences, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/conference.html

On July 12, Secretary Rod Paige discussed technology and e-learning at the No Child Left Behind Forum on E-Learning at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The forum brought together experts from business, government and education to discuss how the Internet and information technology can be used to increase student achievement. As part of the forum, Paige and the other participants saw presentations of e-learning in action from students at the Jeffco Net Academy and the Colorado Virtual Academy. To read the press release about this trip, please visit: http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/media/news/071202.html.

On July 22, Secretary Rod Paige continued his tour across America with a visit to Carson Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Paige was joined by U.S. Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald, Los Angeles School Superintendent Roy Romer, students, teachers, parents, and other local leaders. To read the press release about this visit, please visit: http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/media/news/072202a.html.

Secretary Paige kicked of his tour across America in Albuquerque, N.M., in April 2002, to inform parents, educators, community and business leaders and other stakeholders about the most sweeping change in education policy in three decades—and to ask for their help in strengthening our schools and leaving no child behind.

To read more about these stops on the "Tour Across America," please visit: http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/media/news/index.html

The unsafe school choice option in No Child Left Behind requires that each state receiving funds under the law establish and implement a statewide policy that requires that students attending a persistently dangerous public school, or students who become victims of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of a public school, be allowed to attend another public school that is safe. As a condition of receiving funds, each state must certify in writing to the Secretary that it is in compliance with these requirements. The Department of Education intends to develop regulations concerning implementation of the safe school choice option in the near future, but, in the meantime, the draft guidance outlining the recommended approach to implementing the law can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/unsafeschoolchoice.doc

On Monday, August 5, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education will host a briefing for parents and parent groups at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. Senior education officials and practitioners will be on hand to highlight the opportunities for schools and families to come together to ensure success for all children. For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN.