U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., spoke at the Griffin Regional Welcome Center Monday morning.

He took questions after speaking about the Food Innovation Center at the University of Georgia-Griffin campus and the proposed Atlanta-Lovejoy commuter rail line.

“What changes do you see in the No Child Left Behind?” Barbara Jo Cook, a member of the Griffin-Spalding County Board of Education, asked.

Isakson said the revision of the bill had been delayed by Sen. Ted Kennedy’s illness and death. The changes would appear in four areas.

The first is the method of assessing academic proficiency in special-education students. He said parents and teachers should be able to come up with a metric for measuring special-education students’ achievement, rather than a standard test.

The second reform deals with non-English-speaking students. He said under the current law, non-English-speaking students get a one-year pass before they have to meet federal standards. He said these students should be tested like other students after three years or after they reach English proficiency, whichever comes first.

The third reform deals with special-education teacher certification. He said local boards of education should be able to use alternative means of certifying special-education teachers.

The fourth reform is to ensure the federal government meets its obligations to local school systems. He said at present, the federal government only provides half the funds it is supposed to, making No Child Left Behind an unfunded mandate.

In response to a question by James Westbury, who is also a member of the

Griffin-Spalding County Board of Education, Isakson predicted an increase in the interest rate and inflation. He said buyers of U.S. debt like China will not be willing to continue doing so at low rates of interest. In order to pay off increased debts, he said the United States will print more money, causing inflation. He said if the Democrats’ proposed health-care reform passes, the United States will have unsustainable amounts of debt.