A newly released Web-based technology product is aimed at making the federal No Child Left Behind Act easier to understand.
The commercially developed software, called NCLB Query Master, was created by Frameweld, a software and technology-consulting company based in Douglaston, N.Y.
NCLB Query Master aims to make the 4-year-old law easier to understand by bringing together in one place the full legislation along with U.S. Department of Education regulations and guidance on carrying it out.
“The intended audience is anyone and everyone connected to NCLB law: policymakers, Title I administrators, state education agencies, school district officials,” said Ashish N. Shah, a co-founder and senior partner at Frameweld.
The documents are cross-referenced with relevant links and information placed around them. For instance, references in the federal law to other parts of the legislation are linked online to those parts. The software also allows users to insert their own notes in the margins of documents.
NCLB Query Master is currently available through monthly or yearly subscriptions, and will be available as a CD-ROM soon, company officials say. The company offers a free, one-week trial.
“[The No Child Left Behind law] is complex; there are so many changes,” Mr. Shah said. “It’s hard for the Department of Education to inform people of all these changes, so we took it upon ourselves to inform all those people who need to know.”
