Bilbray discusses 'No Child' law with educators

By: STACY BRANDT - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 8, 2007 11:35 PM PDT ∞

SOLANA BEACH -- Local educators told U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray on Wednesday that they realize federal No Child Left Behind rules are here to stay, but think the program needs to be fixed.

Bilbray met at Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach with roughly 30 school board members and administrators from about a dozen districts throughout the county to talk about the federal law, which was established in 2001 and is up for reauthorization.

The White House and Congress are working to retool the law this year.

Bilbray said he wanted to find out what local officials' concerns are with the federal legislation that is aimed at improving education for all students, especially poor and minority children. He will take those comments back to Washington, D.C., when he returns next month.

"You guys are on the front line," Bilbray told the educators. "If I don't know what you're facing, it's going to be tough for me to really give you the logistical support that you need from Washington."

Though most of the educators and trustees said that they think there needs to be changes to the legislation, they also agreed that some good has come from it.

"There's no one in this room who doesn't want accountability," county Superintendent Randy Ward said at the meeting. "None of us want to leave a Latino child, a poor child or a black child in the corner, saying it's OK that they're not succeeding. So, there are many pieces of this bill that we agree with."

Many of the school officials recommended that the federal government create a testing model similar to the state, in which schools are scored more on their growth each year than on a fixed percentage of students proficient in English and math. Schools and districts are now rated based on the percentage of students scoring at or above grade level.

As the law stands now, schools are expected to have all students proficient by 2014, which many educators say is impossible.

Bilbray said he recognized the need to update the scoring system for schools. At the same time, he warned against lowering expectations.

"You can't lower the standards to assure success," he said.

It was important for the educators to show up to the meeting to let Bilbray know what they think of the law and its effect on school districts, said Carol Skiljan, a trustee with the Encinitas Union School District and president of the San Diego County School Boards Association, which hosted the gathering.

"We see this as an opportunity to bring local influence to somebody who's going to cast a vote that's going to make a difference in our kids here," she said.

Also, at the breakfast meeting, Bilbray heard from the school officials about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the 1975 law that set guidelines for special education programs.

Some of the administrators complained that the federal government hasn't been kicking in its share for the services it mandated with the act.

The legislation established guidelines for special education programs and promised to pay 40 percent of districts' special education costs. So far the federal government has only paid about 15 percent of those expenses, school officials have said.

After the meeting, Bilbray said there were no real surprises in the discussion, though he said he was pleased with the turnout and conversations.

"We were all peers," he said. "I happen to be carrying the ball for the local team in Washington, but they were carrying the ball for us in the local community."

-- Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.