107th Congress

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
P.L. 107-110 (H.R. 1)

Impact of Public Law

Public Law (P.L.) 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (P.L. 89-10), the main source of Federal legislation regarding education and public schools. P.L. 107-110 is considered the most significant revision of Federal education policy since 1965. It revises, reauthorizes, and consolidates various programs and extends authorizations of appropriations for ESEA programs through fiscal year 2007. Of relevance to the National Institutes of Health is Section 1061, a provision addressing survey research conducted in public schools.

Section 1061 amends the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232h[b]) to require that local educational agencies (an elementary school, secondary school, school district, or local board of education) develop a policy concerning student privacy and parental access to information, unless a policy was in place before enactment of the law. Specifically, the legislation directs any local educational agency, in consultation with parents, to develop and adopt policies regarding 1) the right of a parent or student to inspect a survey before it is administered or distributed by the school, 2) procedures for granting a request by a parent for reasonable access in a reasonable period of time, and 3) arrangements to protect student privacy when a survey contains one or more of the following topics:

• Political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student's parent
• Mental or psychological problems of the student or the student's family
• Sex behavior or attitudes
• Illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior
• Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships
• Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers
• Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student's parent Income.

In addition, schools will be required to notify parents of the policy at least once a year and to provide an opportunity for parents to choose not to have their students participate in a survey. Schools also must notify parents of the specific or approximate dates during the school year when a survey is scheduled or is expected to be scheduled.

Provision 1061 is a modified version of an amendment offered by Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) that would have required a written consent standard for school-based research. Although the legislation does not impose this strict standard, a proliferation of local policies may make it more difficult for multisite research studies to be conducted.

Legislative History

An overhaul of Federal education policy was a centerpiece of President Bush's 2000 election campaign and a top legislative priority for his first year in office. The core of his plan was to force improvements in the Nation's schools by measuring students' progress through annual tests and penalizing States and schools if low test scores did not improve.

On March 22, 2001, Representative John Boehner (R-OH) introduced H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. House committee hearings were held in March, and multiple amendments were considered and adopted throughout May. On May 23, 2001, the House passed H.R. 1 and filed House Report 107-63. The Senate passed H.R. 1, as amended, on June 14 and filed Senate Report 107-7. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, many doubted that this legislation would pass in 2001, but a conference committee that had met in July and August continued to meet in October and November. On December 13, 2001, the House adopted Conference Report-House Report 107-334, and the Senate passed the Conference Report on December 18, 2001. The measure was presented to the President on January 4, 2002, and it was signed into law on January 8, 2002.