Michel and Fellow Lawmakers Introduce Resolution Urging Congress to Refrain from Expanding No Child Left Behind to High Schools
Minnesota’s World Class Education System Will Suffer Under Burdensome Federal Mandates, Say Senators

(St. Paul) Three west metro legislators have drafted and introduced a Senate resolution urging the United States Congress to refrain from expanding requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to Minnesota high schools.

State Senators Geoff Michel (R-Edina), David Hann (R-Eden Prairie), and David Gaither (R-Plymouth) are concerned that many elements of the federal law passed in 2002 are proving far too costly to implement in terms of both dollars and personnel time, and that the loss of local control of curriculum and testing will potentially do more to harm than help Minnesota’s public education system.

The resolution introduced by Michel, Hann and Gaither comes in response to recent proposals at the federal level to expand No Child Left Behind to grades nine through twelve. NCLB, under current law, is designed to establish basic competencies by the 2013-14 school year in the areas of English, math, and science, with a primary focus on grades one through eight.

“For decades Minnesota has lead the nation in academic excellence and student achievement, accomplishments that could very well erode before our eyes if we are to fully adopt the cookie-cutter approach to public education that is offered by No Child Left Behind,” said Michel. 

“While we all applaud President Bush for his efforts to address the achievement gap and ensure every child has the opportunity to receive a good education, we are strongly against recent proposals to expand this program while the effects of the original law are still being interpreted and implemented. Local control has been critical to ensuring Minnesota has a system of public education that is second-to-none, and we think it would be a great mistake to cede too much power to the federal government in this area without careful consideration.”

Third District Congressman Jim Ramstad supports the resolution and said, “The federal government needs to back off and allow our parents, teachers and school boards to play the lead role in education.” Ramstad will be working with other members of Congress to prevent or slow down the expansion of NCLB.

According to a comprehensive report released by the state’s Legislative Auditor in March 2004, a great number of Minnesota school district superintendents believe that NCLB is costly, unrealistic, and punitive. The report predicts that even if Minnesota students’ math and reading test scores improve significantly in coming years, more than 80 percent of the state’s public elementary schools would not meet adequate yearly progress standards by 2014, and many would face the prospect of restructuring or other serious sanctions.

Additionally, the report outlines the state and local fiscal impacts of NCLB. While these costs cannot be estimated with complete precision, the Legislative Auditor’s office believes it is quite possible that the costs of implementing NCLB will outweigh any increase in revenues under the program.

If approved by the Legislature, the resolution will be delivered to President Bush, the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and the ten members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation.