Thursday, February 09, 2012

10 states get flexibility in No Child Left Behind; officials schedule conference call for 2:45 p.m.

The White House announced this morning that the federal government is giving 10 states much greater leeway in meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, which many rural school districts have found difficult to meet.

The states are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Three of the waivers were conditional, depending on changes in their plans, but those states were not immediately specified.

"The administration is continuing to work closely with New Mexico, the 11th state" that met the application deadline for the first round, a White House press release said. "Twenty-eight other states along with D.C. and Puerto Rico have indicated their intent to seek waivers."

In exchange for the waivers, "States have to agree to adopt 'college- and career-ready' standards, such as the Common Core State Standards approved by 46 states and the District of Columbia; put in place new systems for evaluating teachers and principals; and come up with aggressive plans to improve the performance of low-performing schools," Sean Cavanagh of Education Week reports.

President Obama is to make the formal announcement at 1:55 p.m. EST. At 2:45, the director of his Domestic Policy Council, Cecilia Munoz, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will hold a conference call to discuss it. Journalists should call 800-230-1096 and ask to join the White House call. No passcode is necessary.

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