No Child Left Behind law uncertain

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Six years after becoming U.S. law, the fate of No Child Left Behind is uncertain.

No Child Left Behind, the school accountability measure enthusiastically championed by President George Bush, is aimed at improving the nation's public school systems and bringing all U.S. students up to proficiency by 2014 in math, reading and writing, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Sunday.

"I think the chances for reauthorization in 2008 are slim and none," said Mike Petrilli, a former Bush administration education official now with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. "The bases of both parties hate the law."

There is consensus that the law will be scrapped once Bush leaves office since the policy is so closely associated with the president.

"School people have lived with the law for six years -- they know the defects in it," said Jack Jennings, president of the Center for Education Policy, a Washington group that advocates for public education. "Unlike most laws, this law has not been amended for six years. The lid has been held tight, and that's caused resentment."