No Child Left Behind Waiver Requests

Posted on February 3, 2012 by townsend

• Education Dept.: States seeking waivers should do more to make sure no student is left behind, Associated Press, January 31, 2012, Washington Post: “In its initial review of No Child Left Behind waiver requests, the U.S. Education Department highlighted a similar weakness in nearly every application: States did not do enough to ensure schools would be held accountable for the performance of all students. The Obama administration praised the states for their high academic standards. But nearly every application was criticized for being loose about setting high goals and, when necessary, interventions for all student groups – including minorities, the disabled and low-income – or for failing to create sufficient incentives to close the achievement gap…”
• Eyebrows raised over initial NCLB waiver bids, By Alyson Klein, January 31, 2012, Education Week: “A pair of Democratic education leaders in Congress have raised red flags about the first batch of state applications for waivers that would give states flexibility from some requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The lawmakers-U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, of Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Rep. George Miller, of California, the House education panel’s ranking member-worry that accountability under the law’s current version, the No Child Left Behind Act, will be significantly watered down if many of the applications are approved as submitted. They’re urging U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to adhere to the very high bar he says he’s set for approval, and to work with states to improve their plans…”