Obama administration stops waiting for Congress, makes changes to education program
While calling No Child Left Behind (NCLB) “a slow-motion train wreck for children, parents and teachers” in July, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warned that the Obama administration might be forced to take unilateral action in revising the law if Congress continued to fail to act. It appears as though Congress’ time is up with the Education Department’s recent announcement that 10 states will be taking on new “bold reforms around standards and accountability” that will give schools flexibility in dealing with what the Obama administration describes as “burdensome mandates” associated with the controversial law.
“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,” said President Barack Obama in a press release announcing the changes to NCLB. “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 10 states being granted flexibility in NCLB by the Obama administration are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee, according to an announcement on the changes. In order to be granted flexibility, states had to lay out plans that would ultimately lead to and adequately prepare students for college. States seeking flexibility in NCLB should also have also detailed plans for career-readiness programs.
States must also have concrete plans and programs to develop teachers and principals, along with academic evaluation systems that go beyond test scores, and systems that will both support and evaluate teachers and their effectiveness.
The nation’s schools chief, Arne Duncan, says changes to NCLB are necessary due its “federally determined, one-size-fits-all interventions” and the fact that it reportedly drives some educators to engage in “wrong behaviors” due to testing standards.
“Rather than dictating educational decisions from Washington, we want state and local educators to decide how to best meet the individual needs of students,” said Duncan in a press release.
Duncan also accused the law of bringing down standards, reducing accountability, and incorrectly labeling too many schools as failing.
In addition to the 10 states being given increased flexibility, Education Department officials say they are working with an 11th state, New Mexico, that requested such privileges as well. Meanwhile, 28 other states have requested NCLB waivers, along with Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
In a White House briefing on the NCLB changes, President Obama encouraged Congress to work across the aisle to make long-term changes to NCLB.
