Gannett Capital Bureau

BATON ROUGE - Conflicts between federal and state school accountability laws supposedly have been solved, but some education officials are concerned that the "agreement" asks too much.

President George W. Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act at first struck terror among Louisiana education specialists because it appeared they would have to scrap the state plan. Negotiations with federal officials over several months ironed out some of the wrinkles.

The two programs now mesh, somewhat, because the U.S. Education Department allowed some alterations and Louisiana made concessions, state Education Superintendent Cecil Picard said.

"They're learning that one size does not fit all," Picard said, so some changes in No Child Left Behind may be coming.

Even with the concessions, Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Leslie Jacobs is no fan of the federal rules. The gubernatorial appointee who's been labeled the architect of the state's tough accountability program says it harms a program specifically designed to meet Louisiana's needs and expects too much growth too fast.

"I wish it would go away. The goals are unrealistic. No states are going to meet them. A lot of states with good programs are having to change."

Picard agrees that the federal program seeks to "raise the bar so high that the goals are unattainable."

Ross Wiener, policy director of the national watchdog group Education Trust, said good effects of No Child Left Behind are that states are concerned about improving performance and that parents can know if their children's schools are doing what they're supposed to do.

But there are no teeth in the federal program.

"If a state doesn't meet its goals, there are no consequences" from the federal government, Wiener said.

As long as states conduct testing, report the results and try to make improvements, they still receive the same amount of federal funding.

States have until 2005 to begin complying with the federal law. Louisiana is one of a handful of states that already had testing programs that, with a few changes, were accepted by the U.S. Education Department.

No Child Left Behind expects every student to improve yearly in math and language arts so that by 2014, every student will be proficient.

Louisiana's plan called for all schools - not all students - to score 100 (proficient) by 2009. To fit No Child Left Behind, the plan has been changed so schools are expected to score 120 by 2014.