As more states opt out of federal education funds-

the real purpose of "No Child Left Behind" becomes crystal clear.
repugs have always despised the department of education, and since they can't just out and out cut it, they'll make it irrelevant(just like they want to do to social security).
since so many schools in so many states cannot possibly meet the rigid requirements of the NCLB bill, they are choosing instead to opt out of it, and therefore opting out of federal funding- funding that has to be made up at the state/local level...and school referendums in many places rarely get passed, since older childless voters come out enmass to vote them down.

and there it is- the real purpose of NCLB is to make the department of education irrelevant, and therefore 'cut-able'.

is to free up $$ for vouchers.

take over, subsidized by the vouchers (the new "Company Store").

and if states opt out of federal funding, there'll be a lot less money to fund any voucher programs.

but by taking federal funds away from schools, they free up some $$$.

so if the schools opt out of NCLB, and by doing so forfeit federal money- they'll have that much less to spend on vouchers. the money that's saved at the federal level will probably end up being spent non-educationally.

I think the feds will come up with a voucher program before the states will.

of any future bill. I hear the rustling of paper as they unwrap the new "faith based" voucher program! Anybody else hear it?

I have been hearing it for a couple years now.

This has clearly been part of the agenda from the beginning, along with privatization. Some of us have been saying so, loudly and often, for more than 4 years, and hearing only crickets respond.

I'm thankful that it's finally becoming clear to a few more; better late than never. Still, public ed is still not on the general public radar as an issue in need of immediate and forceful attention and action. Most people are still shaking their heads and complaining about the tests, and then turning their time and energy to other issues.

I always thought that it was mainly going to be a way to steer students into for-profit 'charter' schools, and that may yet be Phase II...but if they can succeed in abolishing the dept. of education at the federal level they would choose that over instituting a federal voucher system.