House Committee Holds Hearing on Supplemental Education Services

On Wednesday, April 18, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to investigate the effectiveness of supplemental education services (SES) under the No Child Left Behind Act. SES has been a controversial topic as Congress looks to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, and parent involvement appears to be at the heart of the controversy.
Under NCLB, students attending public schools that have not made adequate yearly progress (AYP) for three consecutive years have the right to take advantage of free supplemental educational services, such as private tutoring. However, reports have highlighted a lack of parental awareness regarding these options, meaning eligible students do not have the chance to take advantage of these benefits under the law.
Testifying before the committee, Cornelia Ashby, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues at the Government Accountability Office, said that "part of the problem is parental notification." Parents may not understand what SES is and what it provides, she said, adding that "states need to help districts to better notify parents."
"The SES participation rate increased from 12 to 19 percent of eligible students between school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005," said Ashby. "While districts have provided written information notifying parents of SES and taken other actions to encourage participation, challenges remain, such as notifying parents in a timely and effective manner."
Additionally, Chairman Dale Kildee of Michigan recognized the need to ensure proper funding is given to every school to provide these services and that without such funding, SES will certainly fail. In his opening statement, Kildee stated "We owe it to our children to ensure that their schools have the resources and support to provide them with the education they need and deserve."
The PTA Legislative Initiative for reauthorizing NCLB calls on schools and districts to do a better job in notifying parents about SES services. The law needs to create an incentive for schools to encourage student participation in these support services. Whether it's through a tutoring service or through an afterschool program, supplemental education services need to be widely available and advertised as such so that all students have extra support to achieve academic success.