NCLB Renewal Status

The No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is the federal government's largest investment in K-12 education. The Act provides financial assistance to schools educating low-income students. ESEA also provides funding for teacher recruitment and professional development, educational technology, after-school programs, and other purposes.

Major federal bills, like ESEA/NCLB are reconsidered by Congress every few years during a process called reauthorization. The original ESEA was signed into law in 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. When the ESEA was last reauthorized by Congress in 2002, the bill that passed was named the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The time has come again for Congress to go through the process of determining how to improve the ESEA. The reauthorization process is the best opportunity to make substantial changes to improve the law and provide every student in America with the opportunity to obtain a quality public education.

During the reauthorization process, both the U.S. House and Senate will have the opportunity to hold hearings to:

• Learn how the current law is working
• Solicit ideas about how to improve the law from parents, students, teachers, community leaders and others
• Debate how to best help students and schools

The decisions that Congress will make when they reauthorize ESEA will affect the quality of public schools for years to come. It is vital that elected lawmakers understand your views about what is working in the current law and what needs to be improved so that all children graduate from school fully prepared for their future.