Chapter 3: Implementing Supplemental Educational Services: Implications for School Districts and Educational Opportunity

Supplemental educational services, along with the public school transfer option, exemplify the core principles that underlie the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).¹ According to federal policymakers (U.S. Department of Education, 2002a), “the choice and supplemental educational services requirements of the law not only help to enhance student achievement but also provide an incentive for low-performing schools to improve” (p.11). Both the transfer option and supplemental educational services are based on the assumption that competition will expand the educational opportunities of students and create incentives for low-performing schools to improve their instructional program. Underlying supplemental services is the assumption that academic instruction provided outside the regular school day by public and private organizations will be able to do what schools could not—raise the achievement of students in consistently poorly performing schools. Supplemental educational services, among the first major provisions districts are required to implement, raises questions about the policy process at the district level and whether the federal law will improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.