Sandy, Ore. ? The homecoming game has been canceled and parents are running out of ways to keep cranky kids entertained because of a teacher strike in which a key sticking point is more than just a local issue: the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

In school districts around the country, the Bush administration’s centerpiece education law is beginning to emerge as an issue at the bargaining table.

In Sandy’s 4,200-student Oregon Trail District, where the strike is in its third week, teachers are afraid they will be replaced, transferred or otherwise penalized if they, their students or their schools fail to measure up under the law, which sets stringent new standards for performance.

While salary and benefits are also stumbling blocks in the dispute, the 216 striking teachers and the school board in this city of 5,400 people about 40 miles from Portland are wrangling over contract language related to No Child Left Behind. Several marathon bargaining sessions have stretched into the wee hours.

“No Child Left Behind is creating issues we didn’t expect four or five years ago,” said Larry Wolf, who leads the Oregon Education Assn., the state teachers union. “The law’s approaching deadlines raise flags for both sides.”

Under No Child Left Behind, schools must bring increasing percentages of children from all backgrounds up to scratch on reading, math and writing tests. Schools that repeatedly fail to make enough progress face a series of sanctions.

Teachers walk the picket line Oct. 25 in front of Sandy High School in Sandy, Ore. In Sandy's 4,200-student Oregon Trail District, where the teacher strike is in its third week, teachers are afraid they will be replaced, transferred or penalized if they, their students or their schools fail to measure up under the No Child Left Behind law.

The law also says that by the end of this school year, teachers must be “highly qualified” in the subject they teach.

Teachers in some places are pushing for contract language to protect themselves.

In Oregon, unions are asking for the right to take part in developing new curriculums required under No Child Left Behind and want assurances that staff members will not be replaced or transferred if a school fails to make enough progress under the law.

In Philadelphia, where the public school system is now run by the state, the teachers union conceded some seniority hiring rights in the latest round of contract talks to give the district more options in hiring teachers to staff schools that are marked as low performers under the federal law.

In Warwick, R.I., teachers and the district have been negotiating a contract for three years without success, in part because of No Child Left Behind.

To meet No Child Left Behind’s requirements, the National School Boards Association is encouraging school systems to consider more aggressive ways of recruiting teachers.

Those include offering higher pay or other incentives to those who agree to teach in hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-fill fields.