No Child Left Behind

Working Draft on Private School Student and Educator Participation in ESEA/NCLB Programs
(Updated Version)

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as re-authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), provides educational services and benefits to private school students and educational personnel, including those in religiously affiliated schools. These services are meant to provide assistance to students and educators, not to the private schools themselves. The re-authorized ESEA requires the equitable participation of private school students and educational personnel in some of its major programs. Many of the requirements are the same as those in the prior legislation. However, in some areas there have been changes.

The attached document contains explanations of some of the law's provisions, brief summaries of each program, and questions and answers regarding the participation of private school students and educational personnel in the programs. Information is also provided on the transfer of funds from one program to another. Much of the information in this document has been drawn from federal guidance documents posted on the United States Department of Education (USED) website: www.ed.gov.

Since the USED is still issuing guidance on these programs, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will keep this document in "working draft" form until all related federal guidance has been finalized. The Department compiled this information to provide assistance to public and private schools as they work together on implementing the equitable participation requirements of the federal programs. I would appreciate receiving your feedback on the usefulness of this document and on ways it could be made more "user friendly."

Should you wish further information, please feel free to contact my office at 781-338-3309 or Carole Thomson, Associate Commissioner, at 781-338-6201.