The US Department of Education will conduct five regional meetings to educate the public about the No Child Left Behind Act and to invite public comment on new rules for standards, assessments and academic progress under the new law. The meetings will include public comment as well as presentations by policymakers and experts in standards and assessment.

A one-day meeting has been scheduled for May 13, 2002, at the Westgage Hotel in San Diego.

The public may register to attend or view the current draft of the rules on the US Department of Education web site.

US Conference of Catholic Bishops staff will conduct a series of training sessions across the country on private school participation in programs under the No Child Left Behind Act. The sessions, which are open to representatives of all private schools, will include information on the services, funding, eligibility requirements, and application process for NCLB programs.

There will be two meetings in California:

   June 18—Los Angeles
   June 20—San Francisco

Additional information and registration materials are available at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops web site.

An excellent and authoritative overview of the No Child Left Behind Act with emphasis devoted to those provisions that are relevant to private schools can be found on the US Department of Education web site. The information is organized in a particularly useful manner.