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July 27, 2006

Overdoing it?

Alexander Russo thinks I’m overreaching a bit here in taking credit for Spellings turning over a new leaf in NCLB enforcement.  In response: As I pointed out in the original post, the timeline kind of speaks for itself: Spellings’s focus on transfer compliance developed not long after our filing in Los Angeles and Compton.  It was NYT reporter Sam Dillon, not me, who said: “That complaint generated considerable news coverage and moved Ms. Spellings to action.”  Hence, the August 15 deadline to California over the transfer requirement and her May 15 letter to the states.  Also, I took particular care to not make our actions appear to have more clout than they do, or to sound like we’re the lone voice crying in the wilderness for stricter NCLB enforcement—hence, acknowledging the criticism from the business community and civil rights groups.  (I try not to be so myopic as to think we’re the only ones with an interest in this thing…)

That said, Russo is right to point that out there’s lots more to NCLB compliance than just the transfer requirement, which is something I failed to acknowledge in any real detail (pressed for time).  My bad. 

(Oh, and he’s right on the money about Mike Petrilli.  Why Fordham hasn’t launched a blog, I have no idea.  They’re 90% of the way there with the Gadfly, after all.)

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