This guide examines the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and its effect on the education of students in America's public schools. This guide describes the legal structure of the law, the purpose of the law, and examines important principles of the law relevant to states, school districts and schools. Because each state will have its own ways of addressing the requirements of the law, discussion questions throughout each section require the reader to seek information about their state's interpretation of NCLB.