In an effort to further help states implement the provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the U.S. Education Department today added a new page to its Web site that provides links to more than 50 policy letters that help explain the law. The policy documents explain and clarify a variety of topics and are designed to help parents, educators, and administrators better understand the two-year-old law that promises a quality education to all students in America.

"We want to ensure that the public has access to the information that is used to implement the historic education reforms in the No Child Left Behind law," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. "The public can now have access to the guidance the Department of Education is providing their states, and can learn from similar issues in other states. State and local education agencies can learn from each other as they seek to explore NCLB's flexibility in their efforts to improve education for all their children."

No Child Left Behind represents the most sweeping overhaul of K-12 education since the inception of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Its new provisions allow for the expansion of parent options through public school choice and supplemental services, require more rigorous accountability measures, champion educational practices based on sound, scientific research, and give states more flexibility in using federal funds and programs.

The decision to provide the public with even easier access to important information on how to implement the provisions of NCLB follows a concerted effort by the department to explain the nuances and intricacies of the new legislation.

Assistant Secretary Ray Simon and other senior officials in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education wrote the policy letters. Among the material now accessible are links to: decisions on state accountability plans; questions about determining adequate yearly progress; local and state flexibility issues; and information on highly qualified teachers.

"We hope that these policy letters will show how receptive we are to providing states and local school districts even more flexibility in implementing the provisions of NCLB," Paige said. "I am sure that this will prove to be helpful to educators across the country who want to share their information with others who might be dealing with the same issue."

To view the policy letters, visit http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/stateletters/index.html.

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