No Child Left Behind Regulations Don't Go Far Enough, Says La Raza

Washington, DC-NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, today released an analysis of the U.S. Department of Education's latest regulations of Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The analysis,Strengthening Accountability to Ensure Latino Success: An Analysis of NCLB Title I Regulations, finds that while necessary, the new rules do not sufficiently improve the law to help Latino students. NCLR urges the 111th Congress and the Obama administration to reauthorize NCLB as soon as possible to further improve the law.

"NCLR recognizes the value of the No Child Left Behind Act because of its promise to help improve education for Latinos and English language learners," said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "Public schools today cannot be effective unless they make it a priority to help all students succeed, and that is at the heart of what NCLB is intended to achieve."

This new analysis shows that the Department of Education's 2008 regulations provide necessary refinements of NCLB. Among other things, the regulations offer much-needed clarity on how graduation rates are measured and ensure that Latinos have greater access to tutoring services required under the law. These changes will improve the law's implementation for Hispanic students, who currently represent 20% of public school enrollment, and nearly 40% of whom are English language learners. However, sufficient refinements of NCLB can only be made through its reauthorization. NCLR will work with Congress to increase supports for teachers, bolster instructional services, improve assessments for English language learners, and strengthen accountability measures for all student subgroups.

"Every child deserves a quality education, and improving NCLB is a critical step toward achieving that goal," concluded Murguía. "We are encouraged by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's statement last week that he plans to reenergize the debate around reauthorization of NCLB this fall and urge Congress to begin work on renewing this law."