Byron Dorgan: “today, I am submitting a Sense of the Senate Resolution that expresses my concerns about the implementation of the No…”

“today, I am submitting a Sense of the Senate Resolution that expresses my concerns about the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. I supported this law when it was passed by the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I still support it. In general, I think it is very appropriate and important for us as a Nation to demand very high standards of performance from our schools and to identify those schools that should be doing better and give them the assistance they need to improve. Having said that, I do have concerns that a lack of adequate funding and a potential lack of flexibility in the implementation of this new law could set out public schools up for failure, and that is wrong. All of us have an obligation, as parents, educators, concerned citizens, and policymakers, to get the implementation of this law right. Nationwide, about 25 percent of public schools are rural. In North Dakota, fully 89 percent of our public school districts are rural.”