The chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education plans to use his new position on a federal policy committee to advocate for practical changes to education legislation, including allowing states more resources and flexibility under No Child Left Behind.
Jesse Ruiz, a Chicago attorney and former law student of President Obama's at the University of Chicago, sat down with the Daily Herald recently to talk about his work on the National Association of School Boards Government Affairs Committee - the group responsible for education policy recommendations and getting lawmakers up to snuff on the priorities of various states.
Q. President Obama recently announced that he is asking for a 6 percent increase for education in his 2011 budget - a $4.5 billion increase in discretionary spending. Much of this is contingent on renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (known as No Child Left Behind). Coming from a state that saw more schools than ever fail to meet rising benchmarks this year, what kinds of changes will you be suggesting?
A. Frankly, (states) need latitude and more resources. Some of this stuff is not rocket science. States need more authority to step in, when districts are not performing as they should be. NCLB was good in theory ... but it was always heavy on stick and light on carrot. Hopefully with that increase, we need to provide a little more carrot and resources. We can.