How to Make Sure Your Child Is Not Left Behind: A Connecticut Parent's Guide to Advocating for Equal Educational Opportunities

PDFof full report- English

PDFof full report- Spanish

If you would like us to mail you a free printed copy of this guidebook in English or Spanish, please send your name, phone number and address to ron.jarrett@conncan.org or call Ron at 203-772-4017 x 15.  

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a federal law passed in 2002 that aims to close the achievement gaps between low-income and higher-income students and students of color and their white peers. NCLB combines increases in federal support for public schools with greater accountability for results. It introduced new requirements that schools must meet in terms of student achievement, teacher quality, and parental choice.

Because of these new requirements and the higher expectations they set, NCLB has become the 900-pound gorilla sitting in every public school classroom. After five years of operation, many teachers and administrators are frustrated with these requirements, and the public has primarily heard criticism of NCLB without learning about the advantages.

For example, while the tests required by NCLB take time and effort, they also provide an important tool for parents to help monitor what is happening, or not happening, in their children’s schools. NCLB also provides parents and students:

• Free tutoring services;
• The right to transfer to a higher-performing school in the district; and
• A voice in school improvement plans.

This guidebook is designed to empower parents to take control of their children’s educational opportunities and to work to close Connecticut’s over-sized achievement gap. Overall, this guidebook embraces two primary goals:

1. To inform parents about their rights under NCLB.
2. To show parents how to use the tools and resources available under NCLB to become effective advocates for their children.

We hope that Connecticut parents, together with their communities, will use this guidebook over the course of their children’s education to develop the know-how to achieve significant changes in their schools and their children’s futures!