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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: March 16, 2004 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ?-g <br />SUBJECT: Potential Impacts of Federal "No Child Left Behind" Legislation <br />DEPARTMENT: County Manager <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />NCACC 2004 Congressional Issue Paper <br />NCASA Recommendations <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />John Link or Rod Visser, ext 2300 <br />Shirley Carraway, OCS Superintendent, <br />732-8126 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To receive an assessment from the County's two school systems of the potential <br />impacts of "No Child Left Behind". <br />BACKGROUND: In 2002, Congress enacted and President Bush signed into law the "No <br />Child Left Behind" Act, designed to ensure that every child in the United States receives an <br />excellent education and will graduate with the skills necessary to compete successfully in an <br />increasingly interconnected global economy. This law requires that school systems throughout <br />the country must be able to meet certain performance levels in standardized testing across a <br />variety of demographic groups by 2013-2014. Schools that do not meet these tests of <br />performance will face various sanctions, including the potential loss of federal funding. <br />During recent months, there have been growing misgivings about some of the potentially <br />adverse unintended consequences that may result from what is generally accepted as a well- <br />intentioned federal law. A number of state legislatures have taken action directing local school <br />systems not to pursue compliance, at least for the present, with the law's provisions. <br />The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners recently prepared a Congressional <br />Issue Paper that encourages Congress to fully fund the requirements of the legislation and to <br />reconsider whether it may produce unintended adverse consequences. The North Carolina <br />Association of School Administrators has produced a document that identifies a number of <br />areas of concern about the legislation as currently written, with some recommended <br />modifications. Copies of both these documents are provided as background information in <br />attachments to this abstract. <br />Orange County Commissioners recently requested that both school systems in Orange County <br />provide an assessment of how No Child Left Behind will affect education in each system, and