[esoxmagnum]

If you have a mentally retarded kid in a standard first grade class, the problem is not with NCLB. The problem is with your district and your administrators. There should be special classes for retarded kids.

In many districts this is not financially feasible, because so much goes towards admin salaries, teachers benefits, teachers salaries, admin benefits, retirements, blah blah blah.

In our district, it costs about 14k to educate 1 child per school year. With 40 kids in a class, thats a gross revenue of over a half a million dollars per class.

You mean to tell me you want to toss MORE money at the problem? You mean to tell me that for half a million a year, these kids can't be taught?

Thats bull hockey. A retarded kid could be put with a couple other retarded kids and have their own class room.

Contact your school board, vote them out, and start challenging every single gub'mint administrator on this issue. Its shameful, but its not the NCLB that makes it a sham, its those who profit off of our kids.

[theothercheek]

Gee, I would have thought you would have been equally - or more - angry at illegal aliens who have to be educated on your dime. First taught English, then taught to read, write and do math at grade level. NCLB has pages and pages of mandates for these kids. If our tax dollars weren't spent educating the citizens of other countries, maybe there would be enough money to adequately educate special needs kids and make them productive members of society, and to educate high IQ kids so they can be the innovators and leaders our country will need in the future. Before we start educating illegals, we should make sure that no American child has been left behind.