Rising Number of Schools Face Penalties

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Rising Number of Schools Face Penalties
By BEN FELLER

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060509%2F1629508808.htm&sc=1110

WASHINGTON (AP) - Falling short of requirements under President Bush's education law, about 1,750 U.S. schools have been ordered into radical ``restructuring,'' subject to mass firings, closure, state takeover or other moves aimed at wiping their slates clean.

Many are finding resolutions short of such drastic measures. But there is growing concern that the number of schools in serious trouble under the No Child Left Behind law is rising sharply - up 44 percent over the past year alone - and is expected to swell by thousands in the next few years.

Schools make the list by falling short in math or reading for at least five straight years.

In perspective, the total amounts to 3 percent of roughly 53,000 schools that get federal poverty aid and face penalties under the No Child Left Behind law.
``It's just a matter of time before we see upwards of 10,000 schools in restructuring,'' said Michael Petrilli, a former enforcement official at the Education Department.

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