Assembly
asks more aid, and leeway, on school
law
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 • BY
JOHN • Star-Ledger Staff
A bill that pushes for more funding and
flexibility in the federal No Child Left Behind Act was
approved by the Assembly yesterday.
Though largely symbolic, the bill --
titled the No School Left Behind Act -- demands the state
Department of Education to press the federal government for
more leeway in the landmark school reform
legislation.
The 2001 law requires greater testing in
schools and accountability for students' scores, and has led
to nearly 1,000 public schools in New Jersey being marked as
failing to meet a variety of prescribed achievement
levels.
But those levels are largely left to the
state to set, and the chief sponsor of the bill said he
hopes to prod the state and federal governments to give
districts both more flexibility and resources in meeting the
mandates.
"There are many laudable goals (to the
law), but it needs fine-tuning, it needs flexibility, it
needs additional time, and it needs money," said Assemblyman
Douglas Fisher (D-Cumberland).
The bill's vote yesterday was greeted by
Republican lawmakers who quizzed Fisher on his proposal and
questioned its merits.
Assemblyman Guy Gregg (R-Sussex) asked
why the state was seeking more federal money when he said it
was underfunding schools itself. "When we cap schools at 2.5
percent (increases) and then say the federal government is
underfunding schools, we look like hypocrites," he
said.
Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Bergen) said
the bill would only hurt the children that the federal law
seeks to help. "We haven't even begun to help these children
left behind, and now we want to subvert the law," he said.
"This bill basically prolongs the agony."
The bill passed 47-25 along largely
partisan lines.
The matter next moves to the Senate,
where an identical bill is sponsored by State Sen. Shirley
Turner (D-Mercer).
If ultimately approved and signed into
law, New Jersey would join a growing list of states that
have spoken out against the school law, including
Connecticut's lawsuit against the measure. A nonbinding
resolution urging New Jersey to join Connecticut's lawsuit
remains pending in the Assembly.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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