This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, January 10th, 2008. I'm Caleb Brown.

No child left behind turns six years old this week. Now that President Bush is about to enter his final

year in office. He's trying very hard to get NCLB reauthorized. But why?

Cato's Neil McCluskey, author of the book Feds in the classroom, suggests that despite

NCLB's failure to achieve its stated purpose, President Bush believes it to be an important

part of his domestic legacy.

The law was supposed to be reauthorized actually last year, but didn't get reauthorized.

And for those people who like No Child Left Behind,

the good news that it carries over automatically

into this year.

One of the people who's leading the charge

to reauthorize it, and it's not much of a charge but

trying to lead a charge reauthorize it is Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts who was

one of the major movers of the law in 2001. And he continues to vow to reauthorize the law but with more flexibility

for states and his big thing, which is a lot more money. Now, NCLB already increased or spending for the programs that fall under it from the previous law by 40%

we're talking about now I think it's around 27 billion we spend on no child left behind

maybe it's 24 billion but a 40 more than 40% increase but Ted Kennedy likes to say

that you can't reform education on a tin cup budget.

And so his promise is that they're going to reauthorize the law with more flexibility and

especially a lot more money.

Most people though don't think that this law has any chance of being authorized.

This year, it's a presidential election year.

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