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June 2, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 12, 2003 Oregon should work with feds on education law In a perfect world, no child would be left behind when it comes to American education. But schools can't be expected to overcome problems overnight. Kids are failing to achieve for a variety of reasons - low funding, poor parenting, bad influences and many factors not entirely in a teacher's control. The federal "No Child Left Behind" school accountability law has come under a lot of fire recently in Oregon. There's been talk about the state suing the Bush administration over the law's tough demands. Yet although the law has its share of flaws, Oregon doesn't need to start suing the federal government over it. The No Child Left Behind law calls for all children, regardless of their background, disability or language skills, to meet grade level standards by 2014. That's a noble goal. But critics have said the law is a big stick with very little carrot attached - schools that receive federal Title I funds can be penalized or even shut down for not meeting goals. In Oregon this year, 330 schools were told they "needed improvement" under the law - 25 percent of state schools. Ten of those were in Douglas County. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden has hosted a series of forums statewide to discuss the law. It's not popular among many Oregon educators. State Superintendent of Schools Susan Castillo has written that the "heavy-handed one-size-fits-all approach calls for serious technical revisions." Is the law too tough? Meeting the mandated standards for special education students has proven a large roadblock for many schools meeting their goal, as one example. If the standards were set too high to be realistic, they should be re-evaluated. The Oregon Education Association has recommended that Gov. Ted Kulongoski sue over the law. The association is an affiliate of the National Education Association, which has been looking for a state to take the federal government on. But that's a bad idea. A lawsuit will cost money and certainly earn little good will from average Oregonians, who will see it as another waste of the state's dwindling resources. We should pick our battles. Unfunded mandates are a big problem. It's easy to say something needs to be improved, but educators say precious little new funding was given to make schools hit their goals. Wyden has done a good job of going out and listening to educators across the state about their concerns. Clearly the rest of Congress and Bush also need to listen to the dissatisfaction that's out there. If the law needs to be amended, it's time to talk about it. Litigation should be a last resort, rather than a negotiation tactic. This law clearly needs some fine-tuning, but a costly lawsuit Oregon cannot afford is not the way to do it. - The (Roseburg) News-Review DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams