Raggio urges better information on transferring students

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003 | 9:44 a.m.

The Clark County School District received a scolding Monday from state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who said parents weren't given enough information about the potential benefits of transferring their children from a failing school to a more successful campus.

His comments came at the first meeting of the Legislative Committee on Education for the the 2003-04 interim. The meeting focused primarily on the federal No Child Left Behind Act and its implications for Nevada, including the requirement that Title I schools designated as "needing improvement" offer students the option to transfer. Title I schools receive extra federal dollars based on the high number of students coming from low-income homes.

In letters sent to parents of students at nine Clark County Title I schools earlier this fall, the district highlighted only the potential downsides of exercising the school choice option of the federal law -- such as loss of friendships or an increased commute, Raggio said.

There was no mention of the benefits, such as the possibility that the student could transfer to a newly opened school or one with a more experienced teaching staff.

" I'm not sure why that type of letter was allowed to be sent out,"said Raggio, past chairman of the education committee. "I really think it was an inappropriate way of complying with (the federal law). The Clark County School District was clearly discouraging any exercise in choice."

Craig Kadlub, director of public affairs for the district, assured Raggio that the letter was already being revised before being sent to parents whose children's schools have since been added to the state's "needing improvement" list.

The list of potential drawbacks detailed in the earlier letter were culled from concerns raised by parents whose children took part in the first school choice cycle last year, Kadlub said.

He said that if the letter was perceived as overly negative, the district regrets it. The revised letter is expected to be more balanced, Kadlub said.

Under the law, districts must notify parents prior to the start of the school year if their child's campus is a Title I school in need of improvement and provide parents with at least two alternate schools.

This year's notifications were delayed by several weeks because of scoring errors by the Harcourt Testing Co. Parents of students at nine Clark County Title I campuses identified as needing improvement received letters about a week after the start of the 2003-04 academic year.