No Child Left Behind Act

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
Long titleAn act to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind.
Acronyms (colloquial)NCLB
Enacted bythe 107th United States Congress
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 107–110 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large115 Stat. 1425
Codification
Acts amended
List
Titles amended15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
20 U.S.C.: Education
42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
47 U.S.C.: Telegraphy
U.S.C. sections amended15 U.S.C. ch. 53, subch. I §§ 2601–2629
20 U.S.C. ch. 28 § 1001 et seq.
20 U.S.C. ch. 70
42 U.S.C. ch. 119 § 11301 et seq.
47 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. VI § 609
47 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. II § 251 et seq.
47 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. I § 151 et seq.
47 U.S.C. ch. 5, subch. II § 271 et seq.
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 1 by John Boehner (R-OH) on March 22, 2001
  • Committee consideration by Education and the Workforce and Judiciary
  • Passed the United States House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 (384–45)
  • Passed the United States Senate on June 14, 2001 (91–8)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on December 13, 2001; agreed to by the United States House of Representatives on December 13, 2001 (381–41) and by the United States Senate on December 18, 2001 (87–10)
  • Signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002
Major amendments
Repealed on December 10, 2015. Replaced with Every Student Succeeds Act

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a 2002 United States Act of Congress promoted by the presidential administration of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It mandated standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. To receive school funding from the federal government, U.S. states had to create and give assessments to all students at select grade levels.

The act did not set national achievement standards. Instead, each state developed its own standards. NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through further emphasis on annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, and teacher qualifications, as well as significant changes in funding. While the bill faced challenges from both Democratic Party and Republican Party politicians, it passed in both chambers of the U.S. Congress with significant bipartisan support.

Many of its provisions were highly controversial. By 2015, bipartisan criticism had increased so much that a bipartisan Congress stripped away the national features of NCLB. Its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act, turned the remnants over to state governments.