Well, it's actually untrue that there are no repercussions or standards for teachers. For one thing, teachers must always continue to take classes in order to renew their license. Also, most teachers are contracted a certain amount of time at a school, for example 1-3 years, and at the end of their contract they can be let go or rehired. In addition, most schools have standards for their teachers, but since most education laws are state mandated and not federally mandated, this can vary from state to state and district to district.

The one really big exception to the fact that most laws are not federally mandated is IDEA. This is a federal law which requires students with disabilities to be educated in the "least restrictive environment." In many cases, this means in the general classroom some of the time while being pulled out (thereby reducing valuable instruction time) for special services (such as speech therapy, meeting with a special education teacher, etc.). So, it is not uncommon in some schools to have a classroom which is comprised of mostly students who are ESL and have a learning disability (BTW, ESL is not considered a learning disability, though it is very possible to have a student who is ESL and has an LD).

I personally feel that one really big problem with our education system is the fact that much of the prime formative years are ignored by the education system. A lot of research indicates that the preschool years are very important for creating good academic habits later in life. I feel every child should be required to attend a free, high quality preschool for at least 1-2 years before entering kindergarten. It's something I hope to study while I'm working on my PhD so I will get back to you with my results.