Editorial: Not making the grade

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 5:47 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: August 31, 2003

Clark County School District officials thought they had at least another two years to comply with the "dangerous schools" provision of the No Child Left Behind Act. Late last week they learned from the U.S. Education Department that they have to comply immediately. The confusion and the sudden logistical problems the district now faces are typical of this federal legislation.

There is no national standard for what constitutes a dangerous school. States are required to establish their own definitions. Then districts must offer students at schools meeting the definition the option of transferring to another, presumably safer, school. Nevada's definition is based on the number of criminal citations per enrollment issued at each school over the previous three years. The Clark County School District had planned to analyze statistics collected since the 2002-2003 school year and begin offering the transfers no earlier than 2005.

Until the state Board of Education came up with Nevada's definition, criminal citations were simply filed, not tabulated. This means that school officials -- in order to immediately comply with the federal government -- are now poring through files, trying to come up with statistics for all schools going back to 2001. This is a time-consuming and expensive exercise, one that has no bearing on education.

Other states are in even worse shape -- many have not yet even come up with a definition for dangerous schools. When Congress returns this week after its summer break, taking testimony from teachers, principals and school superintendents should be made a priority. From the beginning the No Child Left Behind mandate has been underfunded and badly planned. It should be amended to reflect the many legitimate concerns of school officials around the country.