WASHINGTON – The expected reworking of the No Child Left Behind Act along with a significant infusion of funding for the Education Department present an opportunity to develop policies and programs to ensure Black boys, in particular, have a better chance of succeeding, educators said at a conference Friday on Capitol Hill.

The forum, “Breaking Barriers: The Obama Administration, the 111th Congress & the Future of School-age Black Males,” co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc., sought to follow up on a report on Black males that it released last year.

The findings in Breaking Barriers: Plotting the Path to Academic Success for School-age African-American Males detailed the factors in underachievement and offered recommendations for initiatives to foster academic success. Organizers, including the Howard University School of Education and the Open Society Institute, brought in educators and experts to recommend policy that can be undertaken in this historic era of opportunity and funding.

“This meeting is not designed to start and end,” said Dr. Ivory Toldson, the CBC Foundation’s senior research analyst and author of Breaking Barriers, in welcoming the approximately 150 guests with a call to action.

“It is designed to start a movement. It’s going to take everyone in the administration and beyond to conceptualize policies different from the ones we saw in No Child Left Behind,” said Toldson.

Under President Obama’s administration, the budget for the Department of Education is expected to nearly double next year, leaving the question of where the money will be spent. The panels discussed new pieces of legislation as well as the revision of No Child Left Behind and how the legislation will affect young Black males in schools. Each panelist made recommendations for what should be included in these policies, as well as where the funds should be directed.