Provisions of the No Child Left behind Act - Essay Example

Final Exam What are the provisions of the No Child Left behind Act? Why do s regard this as an unfunded man The No Child left behind Act requires states to create adequate yearly progress, or AYP, objectives that are consistent several regulations (Olivert 7). First, states are required to develop measurable objectives statewide for the improvement of achievements by every student and for particular groups like those with limited proficiency in English, the economically underprivileged, and those suffering from disabilities. The AYP must also have its basis on assessments by the state, as well as one additional indicator of academic performance. The objectives also need to be set out with the aim of having all learners gaining at least a proficiency level in the next twelve years, i.e., by the 2013-2014 academic year (Olivert 43). The adequate yearly progress objective also need to be evaluated at the school level, with schools failing to meet the laid down objectives for two years in a row being marked for improvement. The AYP results for the mentioned special groups of children need to be reported as a separate entity, in order to determine whether the student groups were able to meet their objectives for AYP. In addition, at least ninety-five percent of every group needs to participate in these statewide assessments. Finally, states can aggregate their data for up to three years in their determination of AYP. It requires that the states provide for teachers who are highly qualified for all students. Every state also sets its specific standards as to what can be referred to as highly qualified teachers (Olivert 44). The act also requires that states set each of its students one challenging and high standard, although, the curriculum standards need to be applied to all students instead of having varying standards for various students in different areas of the state or other states all together. The Act requires that schools allow military recruiters get contacts for students unless the student does not want to grant access to these recruiters. States also regard this Act as an unfunded mandate because the Act’s main provision requires schools to give standardized tests for the entire state when the year ends (Olivert 69). If schools fail to show any significant improvement in these tests from one year to the subsequent year, they are asked to improve the quality of education that thy offer. This is through hiring highly qualified teachers and providing for private tutoring for the failing students. To continue being the recipients of federal assistance, the states will have to provide plans that show steps being taken to improve education quality in their schools. The Act mandates states to provide funds for the needed improvements and, thereafter, provide appropriate training for the teachers deemed as less qualified (Olivert 69). What are the federal rules regarding Medicaid? How is most Medicaid funding spent? How have states coped with rapid escalation in medical costs? In order to fulfill the statutory purpose of Medicaid in the provision of medical assistance to specific individuals and to participate in the program, all states are required to cover low-income core group individuals (Iritani 34). The minimum eligibility groups have expanded incrementally over time, especially to include pregnant women and children, disabled individuals, the elderly, and parents up to the income levels specified. Another rule requires that the ACA is inclusive of maintenance of effort requirement that keeps CHIP and Medicaid coverage stable until reform expands coverage. The federal government also requires that enrollees to be provided, with a core set of benefits that are mandatory and specific cost sharing protections in order to participate in this program. In addition, the states are largely in charge of determining provider payments within the limits of federal requirements. The federal government requires payments to be consistent with access, quality, economy, efficiency, and to safeguard against unnecessary use (Iritani 35). Additional requirements under this rule vary according to the type of provider. States are required to give methodologies for payment subject to limits for upper payments for institutional providers and nursing facilities. The federal government also requires that one of the purposes of Medicaid be the provision of long-term service support and to support. In order to ensure that this assistance gets to individuals without resources to meet their health needs, the federal government has specific financial requirements that individuals need to meet. For instance, those with significant home equity cannot receive it unless they have a disabled family member living with them (Iritani 35). In the financial year 2010, Medicaid funds were spent at an average of four thousand five hundred and seventy five dollars per individual, one thousand seven hundred and eight dollars for children, ten thousand six hundred and ninety dollars for the elderly, and twelve thousand eight hundred seventy four dollars for those with disabilities (Iritani 50). For the year 2010, the total spending for Medicare was three hundred thirty billion dollars. While a majority of those enrolled in the program is parents are children, most of the funds were spent on the disabled and elderly with sixty-eight percent in 2010. What are the major two formulas for allocating state education aid to localities? What is the difference between adequacy and equity in education funding? The formulas for allocation of state education aid to localities could be either demand driven formulas or resource constrained formulas (Yinger 23). Demand driven formula’s main characteristic is that the allocation of funds is driven by the requirements of different units, for instance, school municipalities, states, or districts. They are mainly used for the stimulation of the recipient governments and are more appropriate for the control of agency behavior rather than agency spending. The resource-constrained formula, on the other hand, places a limit on the available resources for a particular purpose with each unit allocation determined by the percentage of the total appropriation (Yinger 24). This formula is more effective for the containment of spending. Equity refers to fairness while adequacy refers to the least amount that can be said to be enough or sufficient. Equity in education funding means that all communities are taxed similarly, whether poor or rich, and have an equal access to the same amount of this revenue for every student (Yinger 30). However, this does not mean that all school districts receive similar revenue amounts. Some of the schools could require extra funding in order to serve students that have disabilities, provide reduced-price and free lunches, as well as provide bi-lingual education. In this system, all school districts have sufficient funding for the provision of education to every student. Adequacy funding focuses on the definition of a minimum funding level required, for all schools, to teach students (Yinger 31). The problem entails setting the bar too low by providing just enough education instead of excellent education. Every child should be subjected to the best available education. Therefore, inadequate education funding is discriminatory by nature. Works Cited Iritani, Katherine. Medicaid and CHIP. Darby: DIANE Publishing, 2011. Print. Olivert, Damian. No Child Left Behind Act : text, interpretation, and changes. New York : Nova Science Publishers, 2007. Print. Yinger, John. Helping children left behind : State aid and the pursuit of educational equity. Cambridge : MIT press, cop., 2010. Print. Read More