Word about NCLB transfer options may finally be getting out

It’s been a provision of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) since the bill was enacted back in late 2001. If a child attends a school that fails to make Adequate Yearly Progress for two years or more in a row, that child has the right to transfer to a better performing school.

For years, parents seemed reluctant to take advantage of this opportunity to get a better education for their children. Could this be changing?

In Bullitt County, the Courier-Journal reports several local schools saw far larger enrollment growth than officials expected. One of the causes cited – parents taking advantage of their child’s rights under NCLB.

In one school, NCLB transfers accounted for a 50 student increase in enrollment. In the past, the school district says that there were usually only around 12 NCLB-based transfer requests total in the entire system.

The article does indicate that some of the NCLB activity may be related to parents being unhappy with rezoning of the school district. That rezoning moved their children out of a better performing school into one that was failing under NCLB.

Never the less, the activity in Bullitt County shows that more Kentucky parents are willing to act on their rights when the bureaucracy places their kids in under-performing schools.

One other note: At the end of the article, there is a short discussion of busing issues. It is clear that Bullitt County wants school bus rides to be under 45 minutes, preferably no more than 30 minutes.



Jefferson County, are you listening?