In January 2000, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act with great fanfare. The Act had noble intentions and was sold on the guarantee that there would be no student left behind and the strong arm of the government would ensure that the poor would have the same as the rich.

Although the law has noble aims, there is a hug difference between the language and actions of the government. While the law seeks to set high educational standards, the nation’s commitment to wealth to its schools is mediocre. The United States is amongst the least equitable nations when it comes to equality for children. A study by the United Nations Children’s Fund gave the U.S. a low ranking of 21st out of 24 industrialized nations in educational equality. NCLB promised equality for all, but the government has failed to provide funds to meet the cost of turning this promise to reality.

What NCLB has done is that it has raised the standards without providing for the resources. This may have the undesirable effect of setting up many children for failure. While the socio-economic benefits of funding the national educational obligations to the poor and the needy are enormous, the fact is that funding alone will do little to prevent the existing system from randomly denying funds to the schools that need it the most. NCLB holds schools with well educated patents and generous resources and improvised schools to the same standard and does not distinguish between them. The system as it exists today does not recognize that a child with poor parents may not be as focused on education as a child with rich parents.

There are schools that need to make changes in order to improve the performance of their students. Most of these are schools that do not have the resources that other schools in more wealthy communities have. While the schools meeting NCLB receive more funds, the schools which fail are denied the very funds they need to improve. These schools are labeled as failing. Most schools that have been labeled as failing are in poor or diverse neighborhoods.

To improve the education system, the funding must be adequate. There must be new investments, particularly in poor, rural, and inner-city environments not because it is the law but because it is the need of the hour. The major obstacle to funding is not the lack of funds but the lack of political will. As things stand today – tax cuts, sluggish economy, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – the federal government is unlikely to provide funds for improving the education system. From a legal perspective, the federal government cannot be sued to provide adequate funds under NCLB.

NCLB is therefore nothing but a very good example of a law passed with noble intent but not followed in its spirits to achieve its goals.