Federal Government Eases Special Education Assessment Rules Under ESEA

The federal government has eased regulations for assessing the academic progress of special education students under the new federal education law.

The change already has affected the status at least three Wisconsin schools which previously were cited for failing to meet annual performance standards under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), often referred to as the No Child Left Behind law.

Germantown and Greenfield Middle Schools, as well as Webster Middle School in Milwaukee, have been removed from the list of schools that are failing. The schools had been placed on the list because their special education students were not meeting the earlier standards, which tested special education students on equal footing with regular education students.

Under the new rules, states and school districts can develop alternative assessments for special education students, affecting up to 1% of students in a grade level.

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Posted December 23, 2003