After dozens of hearings and months of negotiations, the reauthorization of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act has reached a standstill, despite numerous assurances from members of Congress that changes would be made to the law before the end of the year.

NCLB, which was passed with bipartisan support in 2001, holds schools and school districts accountable for students’ test scores. The law has drawn harsh criticism from teachers and school administrators as being unreasonable and unrealistic, prompting the education committees in the House and Senate to start work on a new version of the law.

Until congressional action is taken, NCLB will remain in effect as it is currently written.

Leaders of the education committees, who previously set a goal of unveiling a revised measure this month, said time has run out for reauthorization this year. Some legislators say reauthorization during 2008 — a presidential election year, in which little legislative work traditionally gets done — may be equally unlikely.

So far, neither the House nor the Senate has produced a bill that would start the reauthorization process. Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. — who is chairman of the Senate Education Committee — said legislators have “run up against the calendar” for this year.

However, she said, the committee is “committed to moving forward with a reauthorization bill this Congress. We have additional work to do on key issues, but are confident that we can put forth a responsible package for consideration early in the new year that will enjoy strong support of the Senate.”

But President Bush’s recent veto of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill — which would provide for a 9 percent increase in funds for implementation of NCLB — makes a 2008 reauthorization unlikely, said Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

“By saying he will veto additional funding for America’s schools, President Bush sharply reduced the prospects for good faith bipartisan negotiation over the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind,” said Miller, one of the leading advocates in Congress for reforms sought by teachers.

Much of the controversy turns on federal funding for NCLB mandates, but other areas of concern include adjustments to the tests and accountability standards imposed by the measure.

Rep. Mike Thompson said prospects for moving ahead with reauthorization of NCLB during Bush’s presidency are unlikely. The reauthorization process “fell apart,” he said, because “the White House has been very difficult to deal with on a lot of these issues.”

“The President has made all kinds of promises and then didn’t fund the bill,” said Thompson. “No one is interested in passing another bill that they’re not going to fund. If he can’t make a commitment on the funding, I just don’t think we can go ahead with this.”

“There are a lot of important policy issues out there that are not going to be resolved until there is a new occupant of the White House,” he said. “It may be that No Child Left Behind falls into that category.”

In Napa, educators are frustrated with NCLB and the lack of Congressional action.

“I can’t say how critical it is and how frustrated I would be if they failed to take action this year,” said Napa Valley Unified School District Superintendent John Glaser. Inaction, he said, is ““a luxury they don’t give us. We teachers and principals and other staff members are working (our) hearts and souls out to meet the spirit of this law, and to have politicians not step up the plate and fix things that are so badly flawed is, I think, a slap in the face to the people who are working so hard.”

Napa County Office of Education Superintendent Barbara Nemko — who refers to reauthorization of NCLB as “that dead thing that isn’t going to happen” — said, “What’s frustrating is that we’re held accountable for our actions. Who holds them accountable for their actions?”

“I think we’re looking at 2009” for reauthorization, said Nemko. “The only hope that I had earlier was that there was talk that they had tried to do it this year so they could get it done before the election. Having failed to do it this year, I don’t think they’re going to do it next year.”

The wait is “discouraging,” she said, and schools suffer in the meantime. “They’ve had plenty of testimony,” said Nemko. “We’ve written and we’ve lobbied and we’ve done our part. Now, it’s time for them to step up and do their part.”