ABSTRACT
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (“NCLB”)—perhaps the largest and most significant educational legislation since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”) of 1965-was signed into law on January 8, 2002 by former President George W. Bush. With bipartisan backing, NCLB reauthorized ESEA and aimed to usher in a renewed focus on quality education for all children throughout the United States. In fact, NCLB’s promise to improve schools for our most marginalized children was perhaps the most appealing element of the legislation, for it was a healthy reminder that educational access was not coterminous with educational outcomes. Indeed, in following the spirit of the original ESEA bill, which provided targeted monies to schools with the greatest educational need, NCLB also sought to “improve the academic achievement of the disadvantaged” by providing funds to improve basic programs at the local level.1
