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No Educator Left Behind:
Federal Role in Education

No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department of Education to questions about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how it will affect educators. If you have a question about No Child Left Behind, send an e-mail to Ellen Delisio, and we will submit your question to the Department of Education.

QUESTION:

Does NCLB federalize education?

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

No. State flexibility is a key element within the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Each individual state is given the flexibility to determine a variety of factors, including the definition of proficiency, the starting point for progress measurement, and the amount of progress that must be made from year to year. States also have the flexibility to develop their own test to determine if existing teachers should be deemed highly qualified.

Read previous questions and answers in our No Educator Left Behind archive.