The Bush administration is planning to make changes to the way public schools are required to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act.

Education Secretary Rod Paige announced the first change yesterday. Testing requirements for students with a limited knowledge of English are being relaxed. Paige said a future change will affect the requirement that all students be assigned a "fully qualified teacher."

States across the nation have become increasingly critical of NCLB. Officials in Alaska, which has a large number of Alaska Native children, want exemptions.

Get the Story:
'No Child' Tests for Schools Relaxed (The Washington Post 2/20)
Changes Made in Test Rules of School Law (The New York Times 2/20)
pwnyt
Secretary Paige Announces New Policies to Help English Language Learners (Ed.Gov 2/19)

Relevant Links:
Office of Indian Education Programs, BIA - http://www.oiep.bia.edu
Indian School Report Cards, BIA - http://www.oiep.bia.edu/school_report_cards.htm
National Indian Education Association - http://www.niea.org

Related Stories:
In Alaska, taught in Yupik but tested in English (01/27)
Feature: Are Indian students being left behind? (1/26)
Bush education official pays visit to N.M. school (01/09)
Report card shows Native students falling behind (06/23)
Paige advancing Indian issues at Ed. Dept. (6/16)
Tribal-federal effort targets Indian education (11/15)
Controversial BIA school proposal dropped (05/16)
Leave no Indian child behind (5/15)
Court to decide limits of trust duty (4/23)
Bush school proposal faces tribal debate (3/19)
McCaleb: Bush helping education (3/7)
Bush proposal strips BIA of education (2/5)
Bush school proposal criticized (2/5)
GAO report finds failing BIA schools (10/29)
Final BIA school goes online (8/24)
Norton, McCaleb to address Indian educators (7/23)
Norton pushes Indian school construction, reform (7/17)
Norton to visit Indian school (7/16)
Norton to visit Indian Country (4/25)
Tribal Schools on Priority List (2/16)