State May Seek Waiver From No Child Left Behind Act
Friday, August 12, 2011
Rhode Island is expected to be among the states applying for a federal waiver to seek relief from key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, the highly-criticized bi-partisan Bush-era legislation that embraced standardized testing for students.
Early this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council at the White House, announced plans to allow states to apply for the opportunity to move away from certain aspects of the law, provided they are willing to embrace education reform.
While the details are still vague about exactly what will be required of states hoping to receive a waiver, it is believed that the requirements will be similar to those in the federal Race To The Top initiative, which granted states millions of dollars based on their plans to enact reform. Rhode Island won $75 million in Race To The Top funds.
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Duncan said the goal is to allow cities and states to help raise student performance as opposed to everything coming from the federal level. He said No Child Left Behind didn’t work because states simply lowered their standards to get by.
In a conference call this week, Duncan said No Child Left Behind is “forcing districts into one-size-fits-all solutions that just don't work. The President understands this and he has directed us to move ahead in providing relief—but only for states and districts that are prepared to address our educational challenges."
He said relief from the law will help states and districts move forward.
"There is no magic bullet for fixing education and the best ideas will always come from the local level—from the hardworking men and women in our schools doing the hard work every day to educate our children," Duncan said. "We're still hopeful that Congress can continue its work this fall. In the meantime, states and districts have an opportunity to move forward."
Gist Group Supports Plan
Until the exact requirements are rolled out, Education Commissioner Deborah Gist could not comment on the state’s plan as it relates to the waiver process.
But the national education group she is a member of, Chiefs for Change, issued a press release supporting the plan to allow states to seek waivers from No Child Left Behind. According to its website, “Chiefs for Change is a coalition of state school chiefs and leaders that share a zeal for education reform. Together, they provide a strong voice for bold reform on the federal, state and local level.”
“Chiefs for Change applauds Secretary Duncan for recognizing the need for strategic waivers that will provide flexibility to states advancing bold education reforms to improve student achievement,” the release said. “As the department develops the waiver application and requirements, we strongly encourage Secretary Duncan to set a high bar for approval. While many education organizations and state leaders will seek regulatory relief, waivers must not allow bureaucrats or administrators to avoid their responsibility to improve the quality of education in their state. Relief must only be granted in exchange for reforms that will advance, strengthen or accelerate a systemic change in education at state and district levels.”
Flexibility For Districts
Barnes said the plan gives states a chance to move the needle on education reform in spite of the fact that Congress has failed to pass a bill reforming No Child Left Behind.
"America's future competitiveness is being decided today, in classrooms across the nation. With no clear path to a bipartisan bill in Congress, the President has directed us to move forward with an administrative process to provide flexibility within the law for states and districts that are willing to embrace reform," she said.
Now We Know Better
Rhode Island Campaign For Achievement Now Executive Director Maryellen Butke said the state took steps in the right direction with No Child Left Behind and now it’s time to move forward with more education reform.
“If it weren’t for No Child Left Behind, we would still be in the dark about how bad Rhode Island’s achievement gap truly is,” Butke said. “Armed with this information, we have begun the transformational change needed in our state to ensure that all Rhode Island children have access to a great public school. Thanks to NCLB, we can no longer sweep under the rug the inequities in our schools and pretend that we are doing well by all of our kids. Because now we know better.”
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