School Choice and Teacher Shortages Impact Education in 2005

In the coming year, K-12 education will see more parents able to choose the schools their children attend and increases in teacher and administrator shortages, a University of Alabama education expert predicts.

The changes will be driven by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), says Dr. James McLean, dean of the UA College of Education.

NCLB mandates that parents of children enrolled in schools where adequate yearly progress is not made for two years must be notified and have the option of moving their children to different schools, with the school system providing transportation.

“This provision of NCLB is expected to impact thousands of schools nationwide in the next year. Parents whose children attend underperforming schools will have new choices,” said McLean.

In addition, McLean says schools will be impacted by the NCLB provision that all teachers must meet the NCLB definition of a “Highly Qualified Teacher” by 2006.

“Many teachers will be taking additional courses or preparing to take tests to become highly qualified, while others who are eligible for retirement are taking advantage of that alternative rather than address this issue,” said McLean. “Thus, many more educators will be retiring than would normally be expected.”

In addition to teachers, McLean predicts that a large number of school administrators will retire rather than deal with failure to make adequate yearly progress under NCLB.