Obama Declares 10 States Free From ‘No Child Left Behind’ Law
- Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:00pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday declared that 10 states are free from the No Child Left Behind law, allowing them to scrap some of the most rigorous and unpopular mandates in American education. In exchange, the states are promising higher standards and more creative ways to measure what students are learning.
“We can combine greater freedom with greater accountability,” Obama said from the White House. Plenty more states are bound to take up him up on the offer.
The first 10 states to be declared free from the landmark education law are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The only state that applied for the flexibility and did not get it, New Mexico, is working with the administration to get approval.
A total of 28 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have signaled that they, too, plan to flee the law in favor of their own plans.
Yet the move is a tacit acknowledgement that the law’s main goal, getting all students up to speed in reading and math by 2014, is not within reach.
The states excused from following the law no longer have to meet that deadline. Instead, they had to put forward plans showing they will prepare children for college and careers, set new targets for improving achievement among all students, reward the best performing schools and focus help on the ones doing the worst.
Obama said he was acting because Congress had failed to update the law despite widespread agreement it needs to be fixed.
“We’ve offered every state the same deal,” Obama said. “If you’re willing to set higher, more honest standards than the one ones that were set by No Child Left Behind, then we’re going to give you the flexibility to meet those standards.”
Republicans have charged that by granting waivers, Obama was overreaching his authority.
The executive action by Obama is one of his most prominent in an ongoing campaign to act on his own where Congress is rebuffing him.
Obama called President George W. Bush’s most hyped domestic accomplishment an admirable but flawed effort that hurt students instead of helping them.
No Child Left Behind was primarily designed to help the nation’s poor and minority children and was passed a decade ago with widespread bipartisan support. It has been up for renewal since 2007. But lawmakers have been stymied for years by competing priorities, disagreements over how much of a federal role there should be in schools and, in the recent Congress, partisan gridlock.
For all the cheers that states may have about Obama’s action, the move also reflects the sobering reality that the United States is not close to the law’s original goal: getting children to grade level in reading and math.
Critics today say the 2014 deadline was unrealistic, the law is too rigid and led to teaching to the test, and too many schools feel they are unfairly labeled as “failures.” Under No Child Left Behind, schools that don’t meet requirements for two years or longer face increasingly tough consequences, including busing children to higher-performing schools, offering tutoring and replacing staff.
As the deadline approaches, more schools are failing to meet requirements under the law, with nearly half not doing so last year, according to the Center on Education Policy. Center officials said that’s because some states today have harder tests or have high numbers of immigrant and low-income children, but it’s also because the law requires states to raise the bar each year for how many children must pass the test.
In states granted a waiver, students will still be tested annually. But starting this fall, low-performing schools in those states will no longer face the same prescriptive actions spelled out under No Child Left Behind, but instead will face a variety of interventions determined by the individual states. A school’s performance will also probably be labeled differently.
In Oklahoma, State School Superintendent Janet Barresi said Thursday that teachers in Oklahoma schools will be able to focus more on the growth of individual children.
“In order to be successful under the old system, you focused on getting the students to just pass the tests so the school would show improvement to get their AYP status,” Barresi said. AYP, or adequate yearly progress, is a crucial measurement under No Child Left Behind.
The pressure will probably still be on the lowest-performing schools in states granted a waiver, but mediocre schools that aren’t failing will probably see the most changes because they will feel less pressure and have more flexibility in how they spend federal dollars, said Michael Petrilli, vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank.
While the president’s action marks a change in education policy in America, the reach is limited. The populous states of Pennsylvania, Texas and California are among those that have not said they will seek a waiver, although they could still do so later.
On Tuesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said states without a waiver will be held to the standards of No Child Left Behind because “it’s the law of the land.”
Some conservatives viewed Obama’s plan not as giving more flexibility to states, but as imposing his vision on them. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who chairs the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said Thursday that, “This notion that Congress is sort of an impediment to be bypassed, I find very, very troubling in many, many ways.”
Duncan maintained this week that the administration “desperately” wants Congress to fix the law.
In an election year in a divided Congress, that appears unlikely.
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Comments (122)
cemerius
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:40pmMagic wands and pixie dust galore in the Obama Regime!!! Waves his left handed pen and throws a bone to remove a law I disagreed with but then rewrites the 1st Amendment?
No more Tiranical Monarchs who walk with Karl Marx!!
Vote Obama to the history books in 2012!!
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:00pmAgreed. As bad as NCLB is, it IS the law!
Report Post »We are a nation of LAWS, after all, are we not, Mr. President?
So please explain how you can wave your magic pen and overturn congressionally passed laws?!?!?
The_Jerk
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:51pm’bout time someone tells Buckwheat that he is not king. Good for one, good for all. No exceptions.
Report Post »100 Million Patriots Standing
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:07am“Republicans have charged that by granting waivers, Obama was overreaching his authority.
The executive action by Obama is one of his most prominent in an ongoing campaign to act on his own where Congress is rebuffing him.”
this is merely another test to see how far he can push his boundary violations and to condition us to his declaring everything. Even the Blaze’s primary comments are on the ramifications of the action rather than the executive order Dictatorship this has evolved into and the outright de-balling of congress. What makes me mad is all the un-necessary loss of life and suffering over the last 200+ years by those brave souls meeting their death to protect us from the changes that Obama is leading us into.
After all this time it was really simply a matter of placing into the presidential office a man intent on destroying the Republic….an inside job’ brilliant, effective, efficient, – why was this weakness in our Constitutional system never exploited before?
makes me very sad to watch it un-fold…and dis-integrate daily…
Report Post »Marci
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:52am“If you’re willing to set higher, more honest standards than the one ones that were set by No Child Left Behind, then we’re going to give you the flexibility to meet those standards.”
No—he wants to bypass Congress, and for those who were against the government being involved at state level in schools, this still doesn’t solve that problem. He has basically said– “do what I want, ignore the law and Congress, and I’ll let you skate by”. wink-wink…..
I wonder how many schools have to maintain a file of glorious Obama videos and copies of Rules for Radicals to get his waiver?
Report Post »Nick84
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:52amTomFerrari
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:00pm
“Agreed. As bad as NCLB is, it IS the law!”
—–
So we should just keep all the bad laws?
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:21amExile him from the U.S.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 10:00am@nick…
Report Post »Heck no!!!
But, congress must repeal their own laws. Laws which the President signed.
The President does NOT have the power to say you can just igNore laws because he doesn’t like them.
caleejr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:31pmBizarro World
Requiring Standards for Education: BAD
Report Post »Requiring people to purchase goods and services wether or not they can afford it, and demanding you disobey your god in order to obey your government: Good
nosharia
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:40pmIs this the kind of education we pay for? Dumb students grow up to be dumb voters. Guess who they usually vote for(that is if they can read the ballot)?
Report Post »ConservativesLie
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 6:26amA recent study revealed that dumb voters vote Conservative! You may have read that story right here on The Blaze!
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:44amThis is a combination of testing the limits to which the “messiah” can violate the Constitution, and payback to the teachers unions which now can teach DOWN to any level they prefer in these states.
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:51amTo ProgressiveLiar (aka CONSERVATIVESLIE): it‘s obvious that you’re only here to insult and slander instead of add to an otherwise intelligent conversation…LEAVE!
Report Post »SychinLegacy
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:28pmI didn’t realize the office of the presidency can just declare and undeclare law.
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:57amThe office of the president cannot do this….be prepared for more of this now that he knows he can get away with it though!
Report Post »Mess23
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:24pmHe has spoken…
Report Post »nightlight
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:45amSo true, Mess23. He thinks all he has to do is speak and it shall be done. He tried to impugn Bush’s character, and now is working to destroy any legacy he has left. I don’t know how letting failing schools off the hook (so they do not have to be closed) helps any student. We need privately run schools, we need vouchers so our money goes to education that works and that someone has an actual stake in, As a homeschool mom for 25 years- I can’t believe that I have to pay taxes to support schools where students cannot perform at minimum standards. Twenty Five years is enough. I am tired of seeing kids work to make A’s through school only to find out they are qualified for remedial education at the local junior college. No child left behind was not perfect- but it was an effort. Replace it with nothing by gavel?!!!!!! NO!
Report Post »ValdostaMRA
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:10pmThey just eliminated “0′s” in our grading system, and now if you score below a 70 you get a do over on assignments and tests until you make it. Valdosta, GA
Report Post »richard the lion-hearted
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:17pmAnd so the deliberate ‘dumbing down’ of our future (children) rolls on spare no mind…
Report Post »Let’s give it up for the elitists who by their own supposed knowledge destroy real intelligence with the stoke of a pen. Lord help us!
gm4363
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 9:00amI believe this problem can be solved very easily. They have lowered the unemployment rate by just not counting 2.5 million people that “ are no longer looking”. This same principal can be used in the schools. Don’t count the scores of the students in the back 4 rows because they ate not trying. Class averages will soar and problem solved.
Report Post »phillipwgirard
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:09pmIt’s the only thing 0bama has done that I agree with, though I don’t like his abuse of executive power at all. THAT has to be stopped, there are 3 executive arms of govt. and he is acting like a dictator,,, Imagine how evil he WILL be if he gets re-elected???
Report Post »Amma K
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:48pmI agree – No Child Left Behind is an oxymoron – it left many kids behind. I believe that education should be a state issue and the federal Dept. of Education should go along with his majesty Obama!
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:03amME to…our education system may preform better under state control
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 11:55amYou have identified the primary fear being felt by the vast majority of intelligent Americans. WHAT WILL HE DO WHEN THE GLOVES COME OFF? This is merely a test of power right now. He had NO authority to grant waivers to a legally passed and signed law! Let this one slide and what’s next? Will we be seeing elimination of the 2nd Amendment by Presidential EDICT????
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:52pmOnly 40 more to go! Or is it 47 more to go? If results are the objective, then we need to loosen the reins, giving teachers the ability to fulfill their responsibilities to students to the best of their abilities, not to the letter of the union contract and federal standards.
“When school children start paying union dues, that‘s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:48pmGEE, does this mean that kids will not be mainstreamed???
So the blind autistic kid who SCREAMS the entire day won’t be put into a regular classroom? (Oh, I can just hear the ‘I’m a heartless bigot’ responses.) I volunteer to read at my son’s classroom…trying to read a story and here is this kid just screaming at the top of his lungs and hitting anyone close to him. I got through 3 pages, put the book down, smiled at the teacher, and then said “Is this why my son can’t get help on his math?” Again, this year, there is a kid who literally THROWS DESKS and the teacher does nothing. The teacher can’t…meanwhile my kid has come home with a black eye from a random punch thrown in class…talks with Principal resulted in being told to be “patient and compassionate”.
My response? “Next time my kid gets hurt, I‘m going to kick this kid’s Mom’s azz AND yours.” GEE, is that “PC” enough for y’all????
So back to No CHild Left Behind??? The largest city in my County has implemented Spanish Speaking ENGLISH classes and Algebra WHILE CUTTING FUNDING FOR ART & MUSIC CLASSES. Send in the Special ED students to guarantee funding and then moan about test scores that don’t reflect the “actual student body”. Get FUNDING for migrant worker’s kids and then moan about low test scores????? WTF??????
Report Post »TheGrammarheads
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:40pmYou’re so right, Kangaroojack. I’m a teacher in the public school system, and it’s incredible how badly things are going. People need to wake up and figure out how broken it is, and they need to do it soon. There are some great individuals working in public ed., but the system is completely out of whack. There is absolutely no accountability or standards. And this ruling on NCLB isn’t going to fix anything. As much as it pains me to say, as a system, we’re not truly in it for the kids – we’re in it for ourselves. Thank your teacher’s union for that.
Report Post »The_Big_Z
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:09amActually, KangarooJack, No Child Left Behind has very little to do with mainstreaming special needs kids. That was originally provided for in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. EAHCA has been amended several times and is now covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. All of these laws have had broad bipartisan support. It’s unlikely that special needs children are being placed in classrooms “to guarantee funding” as one of the biggest criticisms of these laws has been that they were underfunded. It is largely due to the lack of funds that the IDEA requirements are poorly implemented in many schools.
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:44pmAgree with the Repubs. — he is pushing/being more bold with his “dictator-in-chief” mandates – forget Congress or the Constitution. That’s because they have calculated that the Repubs. are cowards and all they do is talk and are afraid to do anything…especially in an election year. The Repubs. are hoping that the 2012 election will solve this problem. Probably greatly underestimate the evil of this admin. and/or decided to live in “denial” – they will no doubt stop at nothing to keep their power & probably have some evil plan to disrupt the elections & they’ll have world wide help from fellow Communists/Marxists who have been dreaming & working for this for decades. PRAY !!!!!!!
Report Post »tzion
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:40pmSo wait, what happens if they can’t improve results? Who decides how much improvement is adequate? This whole thing is a charade. If he thought it was a problem he would have asked for it to be repealed or granted unconditional waivers. He’s probably planning on the states failing to improve so he can impose something else.
Report Post »REPUB1
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:47pmwill give ya 1 guess
Report Post »geonj
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:38pmso the unions get another break. teachers won’t be held accountable for failing to teach.
Report Post »REPUB1
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:46pm@geonj
Report Post »are you suprised by this??
CatB
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:52pmYes … that is exactly what it means ..
Report Post »spirited
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:38pmSo, ….em, ….um, ….uhm,
>Now Obama thinks he -really- IS Abraham Lincoln ?^>
Report Post »Apple Bite
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:36pmHe had the chance to repeal the law itself and have the states to decide how to handle it. But no, he missed a chance to make a decent change in the education system to pander for voters….
Report Post »perry1980
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:29pmisnt it funny how he can give exclusions to his mandates and laws to the people who are likely to vote for him.
Report Post »joejoegolfn
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:26pmThe biggest problem with no child left behind was that is was an unfunded mandate. Time to get rid of the federal education department. Give it back to the states. Take the money that is spent on each child and attach it to them. If they go to public school, the money goes there. If they go to a private school, the money goes there. If they are home schooled, the money goes there. Compete for the education dollars and every one wins.
Report Post »FaithfulFriend
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:26pmThe reality of “No Child Left Behind” was “Slow The Good Students Down So The Slow Learners Don’t Look So Bad”.
Report Post »hi
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:52pm“No Child Gets Ahead”
Report Post »M13
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:06pmWhat did you expect from a piece of legislation that has Ted “I didn’t leave that girl behind” Kennedys name on it.
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:21pmWhich republican candidates are in favor of completely removing this law? Two of them voted FOR the darn thing. In fact, there is one candidate who wants to ABOLISH THE ENTIRE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. You know who he is
How much tyranny are we going to suffer before we wake up and realize what needs to be done…
Report Post »Micmac
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:18pmThe bottom line here is that this program is an abject failure and if states opt out now the failures will not be exposed. Another failed utopian-agendized program from the far-left. Anyone remember Transendental Teaching that was pushed down teachers throats back in the mid 70′s? So fail…..
NoBama 2012
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:32pmNCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office. A repube idea that sucked. So I guess it makes sense to shift the blame to the left.
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:56pmTed Kennedy’s idea.
Report Post »M13
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:14pmTed “I didn’t leave that girl behind to drown” Kennedy co wrote that stupid idea. Exrepukesheep is to an idiot.
Report Post »2theADDLED
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 10:34amThe way no child left behind should work is let the students test the teachers. Many students are bored and unchallenged in school. Many teachers and professors do not even know the subjects they are teaching “Hell some don’t even know how to turn a computer on” Let the students test the teachers and terminate those that fail.
Report Post »Also the Congress should be tested on ethics, common sense and problem solving this was suggested by a 8 yr old.
Maximus_Delta
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:18pmHagel Hussein Obama der Führer!!!
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:16pmThis is good. I live in Florida and have not only experienced schools teaching to the test, I have witnessed teachers coaching kids DURING the FCAT!
No child left behind was a mistake from the beginning. The whole DOE is a mistake, control needs to be turned back over to the states.
On this matter I side with Obama.
Report Post »TheObamanation
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:30pmMethinks he’s moving to the center in some ways since the election is not very far away.
Report Post »cykonas
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:39pmTroll, while I agree it‘s a step in the right direction I disagree that it’s turning control back to the States. The States still have to ask permission to have their own programs, and then the Feds get to say yea or nay. And the Feds take and keep the money as long as the DOE exists.
I’m more in favor of just giving the control and the money back..PERIOD, Completely dismantle the DOE the next day. The States can decide from there. And all of the Federal Tax Revenue that had been given to the DOE should flow back to the States and to the citizens from day one of closing the DOE.
As long as the Feds control the dollars stolen from individuals and companies in the form of taxation to fund a DOE they will control the choices and the outcomes ex post facto.
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 10:16pm“Troll, while I agree it‘s a step in the right direction I disagree that it’s turning control back to the States. ”
Didn’t say it was! I said they need to. I agree with you.
I also think it is wrong HOW Obama did this, I am sick of him bypassing congress and the end never justifies the means. He could have scored major political points in an election year had he done this right. It defies all logic that he even stands a small chance in this election…yet he will probably end up winning…
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:15pmWhat happend to equal protection under the law!?!? Why does one state escape while the other is punished? If the federal government makes a law – IT HAS TO BE APPLIED TO ALL THE STATES. Get out of my country
Report Post »trolltrainer
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:25pm“We’ve offered every state the same deal,” Obama said. “If you’re willing to set higher, more honest standards than the one ones that were set by No Child Left Behind, then we’re going to give you the flexibility to meet those standards.”
Report Post »soybomb315
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 9:37amTroll.
Report Post »So are you saying that the no child left behind law prevents states from achieving high standards? Why do they need waivers in order to meet high standards?
glashole
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:14pmCongress is irrelivant, I am king bow to me. You subjects are too stupid to have any input on my rule. Signed; BHO AKA King Barry.
Report Post »Ducky 1
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:06pmIt was Bush’s fault. So why not exempt all the states???
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:55pmAnd Ted Kennedy.
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 9:18pmBushs mistake is letting Ted Kennedy co-write the law.
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:05pmAll I can say is we must relieve this maniacal manchild of his power this November. He is a creep in so many ways and has no business leading anyone or anything. GOP all the way!
Report Post »whereareyourbrains
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 8:05pmHe is making his own laws. He is forcing Americans to swallow his rule…vote him out…….please
Report Post »