Federal Federal File

Lawmakers Worry Struggling Schools Lack NCLB Money

By David J. Hoff — March 28, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Includes updates and/or revisions.

Two senators with their hands on the K-12 purse strings want to make sure that the share of federal Title I money allotted to help struggling schools is spent well.

Citing a new report from the Government Accountability Office, Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., say they will be watching closely to make sure the Department of Education is monitoring how states spend the school improvement dollars available under the No Child Left Behind Act.

“It is critically important that the millions of dollars in federal funds going to school improvement be used as effectively as possible to ensure that our students, teachers, and communities continue to meet state academic goals,” Sen. Harkin said in a statement on the report, which the GAO released this week.

“Senator Harkin and I will continue to work with the Department of Education to ensure that No Child Left Behind’s monitoring process is effective and school improvement funds get to schools most in need of assistance,” Sen. Specter said in the same statement.

Sen. Harkin is the chairman of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. Sen. Specter is the panel’s senior Republican. The GAO conducted the research at their request.

See Also

For more stories on this topic see No Child Left Behind and our Federal News page.

The 6-year-old NCLB law requires states to reserve 4 percent of their grants from the law’s Title I program for disadvantaged students to help poor-performing schools under the NCLB law. In the 2008-09 school year, the money set aside would be $556 million. But states are prohibited from setting that money aside if it would result in districts’ losing money.

Because of that condition, 22 states were unable to spend 4 percent of their Title I grant helping turn around struggling schools, the GAO found in its review of state spending since 2002.

The researchers said the Education Department needs to review states’ spending when it monitors their implementation of Title I programs. Not all states followed the rules, they noted. Department officials said they would do so.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI in Education: Empowering Educators to Tap into the Promise and Steer Clear of Peril
Explore the transformative potential of AI in education and learn how to harness its power to improve student outcomes.
Content provided by Panorama Education
English Learners Webinar Family and Community Engagement: Best Practices for English Learners
Strengthening the bond between schools and families is key to the success of English learners. Learn how to enhance family engagement and support student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
How an Inquiry-Based Approach Transforms Math Learning
Transform math learning with an approach that empowers students to become active, engaged learners.
Content provided by MIND Education

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Opinion A Reminder to America: We Still Agree on More Than We Don’t
In the wake of the election, the education sector has important work ahead to bridge our political differences.
Katy Anthes
4 min read
Hands reach out to each other. Handshake.
<br/>Alona Horkova/iStock + Education Week
Federal Q&A Betsy DeVos' Advice for Trump's Next Education Secretary
DeVos is eager to see a second Trump administration finish what she helped start on school choice and rolling back the federal K-12 role.
6 min read
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks during a briefing at the Department of Education building in Washington on July 8, 2020.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks during a briefing at the Department of Education building in Washington on July 8, 2020.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal Trump's Push to Expand Choice, Nix the Ed. Dept. Takes on New Momentum
Trump’s decisive victory doused accelerant over his plans to dismantle the Education Department and expand school choice.
5 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
President-elect Donald Trump, left, with Vice President-elect JD Vance at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump's education policy priorities of expanding school choice, cutting federal education spending, and abolishing the Education Department have taken on new energy with his decisive victory Tuesday in the presidential election.
Evan Vucci/AP
Federal Opinion What's Really at Stake for Education in This Election?
What a Harris or Trump presidential victory might mean for federal education policy, according to Rick Hess.
5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week