Civil Rights Commission Releases Report On No Child Left Behind Program Progress

WASHINGTON,  -- The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced that it has released "Supplemental Educational Services Under the No Child Left Behind Act," its report on school districts' implementation of supplementary education services (SES) to students under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The NCLB Act, among other things, provides for individual services including additional tutoring in school districts that fail to make adequate yearly progress three years in a row.

Expert witnesses testified that many eligible students were not receiving these services, information consistent with a 2006 GAO report. The Commission's report recommends a number of steps that school districts could take to improve delivery of services, including providing parents of SES-eligible children with timely notification of SES availability, developing individualized strategies that take into account the socioeconomic demographics of student families, and modeling services on the best practices of successful school districts. Most importantly, the Commission recommends that school districts take steps to ensure that parents are free to choose the best SES provider for their children, and not pressured to choose district providers over private ones.

Copies of this and other Commission reports are available through the agency's Robert S. Rankin National Civil Rights Library -- (202) 376-8110; TTY: (202) 376-8116 -- and online at www.usccr.gov under "Recent Briefing Reports."

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with monitoring federal civil rights enforcement. Members include Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds, Vice Chair Abigail Thernstrom, Commissioners Todd Gaziano, Gail Heriot, Peter N. Kirsanow, Arlan D. Melendez, Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., and Michael Yaki. Martin Dannenfelser is the Staff Director. Commission meetings are open to the general public. The Commission's website is http://www.usccr.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights