State education accountability plan approved

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige has approved Alaska's accountability plan to improve primary education in Alaska. According to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Page also approved changes that give the state's rural schools flexibility to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001.

"This is the first step needed to ensure that Alaska is meeting the education reform requirements of No Child Left Behind," said Murkowski on June 10, 2003. "Alaska's accountability plan reflects the reform efforts already underway through the Alaska Quality Schools Initiative. It is the strong involvement and commitment of the community, educators and parents that will make sure that every child in Alaska's school system meets high academic standards."

Murkowski accompanied Paige on a tour of rural Alaska schools in May, showing him the unique problems that the law could cause for isolated schools.

NCLB accountability provisions state that Alaska has to describe how it would close the achievement gap and make sure that all students achieve academic proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year. Schools that do not show proficiency must provide supplemental services, such as free tutoring and after-school assistance. If there is still no adequate progress after five years, the school must make dramatic changes to the way the school is run, possibly bringing in new staff or allowing students to attend other schools.

But many of Alaska's schools are too rural to be able to offer attendance at another school. The U.S. Department of Education has now accepted language in the Alaska plan that states that if a school is too isolated to offer attendance to other schools, that school only has to offer supplemental service. The amount of these services may also be reduced, if there is no one qualified to provide additional education within a 'reasonable distance' of the school.

The government also approved flexibility allowing Alaska to translate benchmark exams, which determine whether students are meeting accountability standards, into Native and foreign languages.

All state accountability plans must be approved by the Department of Education by July 1 in order to continue receiving federal education funds. This approval meet that deadline.