Illinois Board Tightens Policy Over Supplemental Service Providers

In the face of growing debate about how to ensure high-quality tutoring under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the Illinois board of education last week adopted rules that impose tougher oversight on the companies offering the tutoring.

State officials hailed the rules, adopted June 16, as a key step in building a sound structure by which providers can be screened and approved by states to work in local districts, and monitored once they are working under contract to those districts.

The rules were intended as a response to the U.S. Department of Education’s ongoing effort to clarify states’ substantial roles...