Opinion
Education Opinion

The State of the Union Speech - Why I’m Not Writing About NCLB II

By Marc Dean Millot — January 29, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

In 2001 a new President with great momentum offered the Democrats a grand compromise in federal policy towards public education - demanding standards for a lot more money. Once the Democrats lost control of the Congress, the standards were in place, but the money didn’t quite show up.

Eight years later a lame duck with little bargaining power, quite likely to be replaced by a Democrat, asks for approximately the same deal. Democratic constituencies that care about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) - and have the power to influence votes, know they will get a far more advantageous deal if any Democrat wins the White House, and nothing worse from any Republican.

The 2008 national election exerts enough of a draw on legislators’ energies and the Congress has enough on its plate to push NCLB to the end of its “to do” list. From the perspective of providers and investors in the school improvement industry NCLB I will last to at least the end of the Bush Administration, and NCLB II will be more than marginally less advantageous. Between now and the inaugural, everything NCLB is so much trivia for eduwonks. The question for the industry is how to cope with the next new uncertainty.

The opinions expressed in edbizbuzz are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

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

Education Quiz What is a Project 2025 Author Doing at the Education Department? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 11, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
5 min read
Education Quiz What Is the #1 Factor Boosting Students' STEM Motivation? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: June 4, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read