NCLB: I Don't Hear Anything, Do You?

I may be mistaken, but could the date for reauthorizing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have come and gone without Congressional action? NCLB was authorized through fiscal year 2007, and October 1 rang in fiscal year 2008 (oh yeah, happy new year!) with no reauthorization.

Indeed, the arguing is still going on. Diane Ravitch has an op-ed in the October 3 New York Times ["Get Congress Out of the Classroom"] branding NCLB a failure and calling for a serious overhaul that reflects the Madville Times's position that education is best handled at the local level. President Bush is still out extolling the virtues of big government (that's the New Republicanism: NCLB, Patriot Act, and increased military spending forever). Debate rages...

...but the new fiscal year is here. Is NCLB really dead? Oh please, let it be so. My friends in the schools and Department of Education of South Dakota, we have a golden opportunity here. Quick, before Senator Kennedy and President Bush make another deal, let's live it up! Principals, superintendents, cancel those March-April tests! Fire your NCLB data collectors! Plan some field trips and music contests and spring plays for those testing days! Teachers, throw out those test-prep worksheets and go back to the really creative, inspiring lesson plans you know and love. Secretary Melmer, call up Harcourt Assessment, Inc. in Texas and cancel our contract. Send that money back to the local districts to give teachers a raise! (Heck, Dr. Melmer, do this, and I might even support giving you a raise!).

Seriously, let's make the most of Congress's delaying. Call Stephanie, Tim, and John, and urge them to leave No Child Left Behind behind.