Ten States Get NCLB Waivers

article by Nancy Swanson | February 10, 2012

Months after President Obama announced that he would issue No Child Left Behind waivers and states began announcing their intentions to apply for them, Obama has announced that 10 of the 11 states that applied for waivers will officially receive NCLB waivers.

“After waiting far too long for Congress to reform No Child Left Behind, my Administration is giving states the opportunity to set higher, more honest standards in exchange for more flexibility,” President Obama said in a statement. “Today, we’re giving 10 states the green light to continue making reforms that are best for them. Because if we’re serious about helping our children reach their potential, the best ideas aren’t going to come from Washington alone. Our job is to harness those ideas, and to hold states and schools accountable for making them work.”

The states receiving waivers—Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee—had to prove that they had a viable alternative to the NCLB requirements.

New Mexico also applied, but was denied. They are still working with the administration to get approval.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all students around the country must be proficient in both math and reading by the year 2014. This is measured by requiring students in the third and eighth grades to annually take standardized tests. If a school does not meet the goals set for 2014, then they would face stiff penalties that include losing funding, having to provide tutoring and support services, replacing staff, and restructuring schools.

These requirements have been soundly criticized by politicians and educators as unreasonable and too rigid. Because of a focus on standardized tests, many, including President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, feel that the act restricts teacher innovation and forces them to teach to the test.

“NCLB has not been as successful as we all hoped it would be,” La Junta Superintendent Carol Noll said to The La Junta Tribune-Democrat. “Whatever process Colorado uses, I hope it's about what's good for children with less standardized testing.”

The waivers make it so states do not have to make the 2014 requirements. However, the states must implement accountability systems that reward high-performing schools and set new targets for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps.

“With the waiver there is now one accountability system in Kentucky,” Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens said The Courier-Journal. “We are encouraged by the fact that the system includes multiple measures to gauge the quality of our schools and will demonstrate how students and schools are moving forward. The waiver provides the flexibility to use federal dollars in ways that we know will make the biggest difference.”

Twenty-eight other states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have announced plans to apply for waivers in the future.

When applying for waivers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will have final say over which states will be granted waivers. However, the Department of Education will also arrange for other peer reviewers and judges to oversee the applications. Ultimately, these waivers are an attempt to bring more control back to local government and educators.

“Rather than dictating educational decisions from Washington, we want state and local educators to decide how to best meet the individual needs of students,” Duncan said in a statement.