School district awaiting education reform guidelines

Friday, April 26, 2002 | 10:19 a.m.

President Bush's education reform is supposed to take effect for Las Vegas Valley students in August, but Clark County School District officials said Thursday they have yet to receive the federal guidelines needed to implement the new programs.

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by Bush in January, calls for new standards for reading and mathematics, a national proficiency exam to monitor progress, and more teacher training. Parents of students at failing schools will be allowed to have their child transferred to another school.

But while the basics of the plan have been outlined, the specific guidelines for school districts have not yet been sent out by the U.S. Department of Education.

Superintendent Carlos Garcia called the federal government's timeline for the act's implementation unrealistic, given the fact that the new school year starts in four months.

Mark Lange, director of the School District's English Language Learner, grants and Title I compliance division, told Garcia he expected every school in the district would be following the new rules by August.

"We have no choice, it's the law," Lange said.

Board members had plenty of questions at their meeting Thursday about the act's implementation, including whether schools will be required to accept the transferred students and whether the federal funds could be for additional teachers and classrooms.

The School District expects to get about $6 million to cover some of the act's required services, including transportation for students who opt to attend schools outside their area, and another $2 million for the schools themselves, said Susan Wright of the district's Student Support Services division. The money can only be used to improve "core programs," Wright said.

"No Child Left Behind really means no funding, and local control is being taken away more and more," said Board Member Susan Brager-Wellman.

Schools with the most students signed up for free lunches will get the most money under the federal program's formula. Parents who have in the past been reluctant to accept such assistance must be encouraged to sign up their children, Board President Sheila Moulton said.