Does No Child Left Behind Place a Fiscal Burden on States? Evidence from Texas
Abstract
The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires
states to establish goals for all students and for groups of
students characterized by race, ethnicity, poverty, disability
and limited English proficiency. The law requires schools to
make annual progress in meeting these goals. In a number of
states, officials have argued that increased federal education
funding is not sufficient to cover these imposed costs. This
paper uses data from Texas to estimate the additional costs of
meeting the new student performance standards and finds that
these costs substantially exceed federal funding.