Reading First Update

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Federal legislation, the The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110, HR1) was signed into law on January 8, 2002. This act reforms the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was first enacted in 1965. Its goal is to reduce the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. It is based on four basic principles: 1) stronger accountability for results; 2) increased flexibility and local control; 3) expanded options for parents; and 4) an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. It includes the nine sections, called Title I, Title II. etc. Some information about each title follows:

Title I

Local Improvement Grants (Title I Section 1003 (g))

This section authorizes $500 Million for grants that are allocated to states on a formula basis. States then award this money to local education agencies (LEAs — in most states, district and county offices of education are the LEAs) to support school improvement activities consistent with section 1116 of Part A of Title I. Grants must be large enough to provide between $50,000 and $500,000 per participating school, and LEAs may receive up to three years of assistance. Priority goes to low-achieving schools that can demonstrate need for the funds as well as a commitment to meeting school improvement goals.

Reading First State Grants (Title I, Part B, Subpart 1, or I-B-1)

Reading First replaces the Reading Excellence Act. The purpose is to help states and LEAs implement comprehensive, research-based reading instruction for children in grades K through 3. It authorizes an increase in federal funding for reading from $300 million in FY 2001 to more than $900 million in FY 2002. Grants to states would be for six years, and states would award the funds to LEAs on a competitive basis. LEAs are required to:

Select and administer reading assessments to identify students at risk of reading failure;

Provide professional development for K-3 teachers and special education teachers in grades K-12 on the essential components of reading instruction.

The federal government will contract with an independent organization to conduct a five-year evaluation of the effectiveness of the Reading First grant program.

Priority for the funds goes to LEAs with at least 15 percent or 6,500 students from families with incomes below the poverty line.

Early Reading First grants (Title I, Part B, Subpart 2, or I-B-2)

Early Reading First provides competitive awards to LEAs to support local efforts to enhance the early language, literacy and prereading development of preschool-age children, particularly those from low-income families.

Other programs in Title I include:

Even Start (I-B-3)

Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (I-B-4)

Education of Migratory Children (I-C)

Neglected and Delinquent Children (I-D)

Title I Evaluation and Demonstrations (I-E-1501-1503)

Close-Up Fellowships (I-E-1504)

Comprehensive School Reform (I-F)

Advanced Placement (I-G)

School Dropout Prevention (I-H)

Additional Titles are:

Title II: targets teacher quality and initiatives in writing, civics, history and technology

Title III: relates to language instruction for English Learners

Title IV: the Safe-and Drug Free-School initiative

Title V: includes initiatives for Charter Schools, Gifted and Talented Education, and a variety of additional programs

Title VI: the assessment portion of the act

Title VII: relates to the education of Native Americans

Title VIII: impact aid

Title IX: general provisions

Some of the more interesting provisions of the act include:

The creation or use of assessments in each state that measure what children know and learn every year in reading and math in grades 3-8. The data will be available to parents in annual report cards and statewide reports. Information will be available about the quality of schools, qualifications of teachers, and children's progress in key subjects;

A reduction in the overall number of ESEA programs from 55 to 45;

The freedom to transfer up to 50% of the federal dollars they receive from the federal government among selected ESEA programs without advance approval;

An option for some schools and states to exchange accountability for higher academic performance for additional flexibility in the use of the funds;

Additional options for parents whose children attend failing schools;

An emphasis on ensuring that every teacher is qualified;

Participation of a small group of students in each state in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), which is designed to help measure the achievement of students in reading and mathematics;

Consolidation of the U.S. Department of Education's bilingual and immigrant education programs. The new act will focus on enabling all English learners to learn English as quickly as possible.

Further Information

No Child Left Behind
Click here to reach the USOE No Child Left Behind and Reading First Web Site.
http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=mr

No Child Left Behind/Federal Education Reforms in California
Click here to reach the California Department of Education Reading First Application.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/

Grants and Funding
Information about funding sources for purchasing Houghton Mifflin products and general information about grant opportunities and grant writing are just a click away.
http://www.eduplace.com/grants/

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