Spellings to Catholic Schools: Expand Tutoring

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings last week called on the nation’s Roman Catholic schools to become active in providing tutoring to public school students under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

“The president and I hope you will consider becoming providers of supplemental educational services,” Ms. Spellings told the annual congressional-advocacy session of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, held in Washington on Feb. 28. “Thousands of students in our communities could benefit from the knowledge and skill of your teachers.”

Under the law, public schools that fail to meet improvement goals for two consecutive years must provide transportation for students to transfer to another public school if they wish. After a third year of failing to make adequate yearly progress, districts must offer the opportunity...