One of the top officials in the U.S. Department of Education says Democratic presidential candidates are wrong when they criticize President Bush for not spending enough to help schools comply with the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, Susan Sclafani, counselor to Bush’s Education Secretary, says the federal government is providing the money to help states meet the new requirements, such as testing student achievement. Sclafani says it’s not that there aren’t sufficient dollars from the federal government to do what the feds have asked districts to do, it’s because there have been cuts in state and local funding for schools.Sclafani says federal funds are targeted for disabled children through the I-D-E-A program and for “disadvantaged” kids, such as those who live in poverty or don’t speak English fluently.Sclafani was in Iowa yesterday for a news conference focusing on the “No Child Left Behind” law.
