President Obama Gives ‘Temporary Relief’ to 10 Schools With No Child Left Behind Waivers
- Posted on February 9, 2012 at 12:00pm by
Liz Klimas
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WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind education law in exchange for promises to improve the way schools teach and evaluate students.
The move is a tacit acknowledgement that the law’s main goal, getting all students up to par in reading and math by 2014, is not within reach.
The first 10 states to receive the waivers are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee, the White House said. The only state that applied for the flexibility and did not get it, New Mexico, is working with the administration to get approval.
Obama said he was acting because Congress had failed to update the law despite widespread agreement it needs to be fixed.
“If we’re serious about helping our children reach their potential, the best ideas aren’t going to come from Washington alone,” Obama said in a statement, released before the official announcement later Thursday. “Our job is to harness those ideas, and to hold states and schools accountable for making them work.”
Watch the Associated Press report:
A total of 28 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have signaled that they, too, plan to seek waivers — a sign of just how vast the law’s burdens have become as the big deadline nears.
No Child Left Behind requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Obama’s action strips away that fundamental requirement for those approved for flexibility, provided they offer a viable plan instead. Under the deal, the states must show they will prepare children for college and careers, set new targets for improving achievement among all students, develop meaningful teacher and principal evaluation systems, reward the best performing schools and focus help on the ones doing the worst.
In September, Obama called President George W. Bush’s most hyped domestic accomplishment an admirable but flawed effort that hurt students instead of helping them. 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. 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 the changes, 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.
Lindsey Burke, a senior policy analyst in domestic policy studies with The Heritage Foundation, writes in an opinion piece on Fox News that the White House, in circumventing Congress, “has demonstrated disregard for the legislative process and determination to further tighten federal control over education:”
Educational control rightly belongs to parents and teachers and to state and local officials responsible for assuring that the children under their care get a get education. If decision-making is to be restored to its proper place, states must resist this latest federal power grab, resisting the siren call of waivers and, instead, demanding genuine relief from Washington.
Kline, speaking at an event at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that in the House there was some bipartisan agreement on how to fix No Child Left Behind, but in many areas there was disagreement. Later, he released Republican-written legislation that he said seeks to restore states’ authority in education.
“The administration’s waiver scheme provides just enough temporary relief to quiet the demand for lasting reform,” Kline said in a statement. “Rest assured, my colleagues and I on the House Education and the Workforce Committee haven’t lost our sense of urgency.”
California Rep. George Miller, the committee’s senior Democrat, has said such partisanship “means the end” to No Child Left Behind reform in this Congress. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate committee on education, has said he believes it “would be difficult to find a path forward” without a bipartisan bill in the House.
A Senate committee last fall passed a bipartisan bill to update the law. The administration expressed concerns with it, and it did not go before the full Senate for a vote.
Updated with video report.
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G-WHIZ
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 11:38amIf government schools quit wasting time with teaching-SEX, teaching revisionistic-history, giving out participant-trophies, passing-on students who donot pay-attention in class so the next“bunch” can fill-up the seats/no-one is allowed to have a failing grade, it’s tooo judgemental. Donot teach them MATH&SCIENCE, it’s tooooooo stressful and they actually have to be exact. Donot teach them english and penmanship…They can’t even fill out a job-app., but theycan stand around in ganges and sell drugs and stolen items. A friend of mine had a young son in public grade school…uppon graduation, he needed private-tutoring in english, math, and other things…even when he had mostly all “A’s”. He finally found out what homework was(2-3pages-total/day for all clases of gradeschool)! It took him about 10min to say a 1min-sentence…y’know-y’know-y’know, it’s-like,its-like,it’s-like, uuuh,uuuh, uum,uum…repeate these several times a minute inbetween the actual words… . After college, he found a REAL job and his “english” changed overnight, fortunately.
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:23pmWhen automakers are unable to meet the new CAFE standards, will they get waivers as well? NCLB does not set particularly high standards. If public schools cut out all the propaganda and irrelevant instruction so as to concentrate on the basics they might be able to meet those standards.
Report Post »Kirsten
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 1:13pmObama is a clear example that you should never even experiment with drugs.
Report Post »Escape_from_NY
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 12:13pmShouldn’t the title of this article read, “10 States,” rather than, “10 Schools?” Anyway, this business of giving out waivers and exemptions to laws to favored states and businesses violates the Constitutional guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.” Of course, “No Child Left Behind” is probably unconstitutional on 10th Amendment grounds anyway… sigh.
Report Post »nanblan
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 3:07pmCould it be that Obama’s giving these particular states a waiver in order to garner favorable opinion, and, ultimately, more votes . . . especially in states that are up for grabs in November?
Report Post »Macman1138
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 8:46amThe public school system in the US is an utter disgrace.
Report Post »rangerp
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 9:11amthe best fix for American Public schools, it take them completely from the hands of the federal government. get rid of the cross town bussing, the gov money, and the gov rules. Put the schools in the hands of local government, parents, and the state.
I have two daughters that are off the charts when tested. Both were home schooled initially, and now attend private Christian school run by our church. The will never be under the influence of Hillary’s village of idiots. My 12 year old is already in 9th grade, and has pulled a 4.0 every semester.
Report Post »flipper1073
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:50amNo Child Left Behind
Turned into No child gets a Failing Grade.
The Federal Department of Education needs to be Abolished.
An the Power an Money sent back to the States An local School Districts.
Also get rid of Teachers Unions Both Federal & State.
They spend more time teaching Global Warming an Other P C Crap.
The Kids need to learn HISTORY,MATH,ENGLISH,READING,Real SCIENCE
Those Man on the Street Shows Tell me The Kids are learning NOTHING
Report Post »in School that they need to SURVIVE ! but they know that polar bears are
going extinct.(they’re not really but it makes a cute picture)
love the kids
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:09amIt’s really funny how the Federal Govt. passes a bill that really “Oversteps” their role, as people argued that when it happened, no, 10 years later, it is showing up as a failure. But all Obama wants to do anymore is pass Overstepping, federal regulations. Any guesses 10 years from now?
Report Post »2theADDLED
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:55amThe way no child left behind should work is testing the teachers the students are bored and unchallenged. Teachers need to be tested I am sure some don’t even know how to turn a computer on but are protected by tenure. I had experience with this most don’t even know the subjects they are supposed to be teaching. Therefore the students are forced to learn on their own or learn at home.
Report Post »I say let the students test the teachers and those that fail be terminated and that goes for college professors as well. There also should be testing on members of Congress such as ethics, Common sense and problem solving this is not a new idea I believe it was suggested by a 8 year old several years back.
love the kids
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:05amI guess Obama is all for Children being left Behind
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:58amWe are becoming a nation of waivers.
Report Post »We need t get to work to elect a Constitutionalist Congress in 2012! It’s every bit as important as the presidency.
SkunkWorks
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:38amWhat will Barry’s plan be?
No Illegal Alien Left Behind the southern border?
Report Post »gb123
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 4:10amThe thing that should be of concern is children from Korea, China, Singapore etc. are far more advanced in the basics and the teachers are accountable. Left behind may be exactly what happens if no standards are put in place.;
Report Post »Flyingfish
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:55amThe school standards really don’t mean much if there are no standards at home. Asian countries are always held up as shining examples of scholastic achievement, but Asian parents, especially Asian mothers, take absolutely no sh|t from their children. They expect respect and if they can’t get that, then fear and self preservation are entirely acceptable.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:14pmOh thank the exalted one for any relief at all, we peasants are forever indebted to your kindness.
Report Post »whereareyourbrains
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:37amHKS……..you said it the way it is happening. The exhaulted one made another decision without congress…………of course after he publicly bashes congress for the last 2 yrs cause the people chose to get rid of democrats who went along with Obama………………………the king is ruling and he need not go to congress because they disagree with him and it is his way or the highway………..vote him out.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 5:11pmMy wife is a middle school spec. ed teacher and to my surprise said NCLB is a great thing. The good teachers have gotten fed up with the lazy, incompetent, gold brickers that stink at their jobs, or just don’t do their jobs and are getting rid of them, by putting them in the spotlight. The new principal and superintendent are doing their part and most should be gone this year. The stories have been great. PS I married her for free lifetime counseling for my 61 years of ADD. I had it before they knew i had it. And shes a looker
Report Post »WashingtonIsMyHero
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:21pmIf the going gets tough what do you do? Get an exepmtion or a waiver. After all, if it looks like you might not succeed why not give up now.
Report Post »Get the government out of our schools.
Bill Rowland
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 7:01amIt’s amazing that I graduated in 1959 with the ability to read and write, use basic math skills, manage a household budget, balance a checkbook and deal with everyday problems, and it was done without the interference of the Fed Government.
I had two caring parents who were not able to graduate from High School during the depression and knew the advantages of a High School diploma. I was also fortunate enough to have teachers who cared about their students and wanted to teach not just draw a paycheck.
Get the Federal Government out of our schools and turn them back over to the states.
OMG
Report Post »Spark
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 4:00pmAnd the dumbing-down of America continues. Why should those poor teachers be subjected to those silly, arbitrary ratings? Why should teachers be held accountable while sucking at the public teat?
Report Post »Teachers, like politicans should be exempt from rules such as, “produce to get paid” and “demonstrate proficiency to get a promotion” shouldn’t they? What folly!
TheBurningTruth
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 3:59pmThe increase in home-schooling highlights what every parent should have been doing, at least in part, for the last 50 years. I recall my mother arguing with the neighbors back in 1964 about federal funds to schools and the fact that once they get you addicted to the (what was originally your own) money, they take control. Without that hook, kids would still be learning math and science instead of why Bobby has two mommies, neither of which is his birth mom.
As for teaching to the test, what’s wrong with that? Whole generations learned that way and look at the advancements in science and technology. What is the alternative, teaching to no standards? Teaching to today’s PC version of the world which will change in a few years? Or it this simply an escape hatch for the very teachers that try to claim credit for any child’s success (remember the Teacher’s Union ads a few years back that claimed responsibility for every child’s success? [No child succeeds alone]).
The final irony here is that when kids fail, they’re given a total pass on it. Progressive Liberals turn around and blame the successful adults for the plight of the failed adults. All programs are judged soley on income and not how one person got to be a success or failure.
And the teacher’s unions reap the benefits.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 3:46pmUpon what Clause of the CONSTITUTION does the ability to Waiver violations of a Law EXIST?
Report Post »justanotherparatrooper
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 5:41amthe “Obama is king ” clause
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 10, 2012 at 2:14pmIf the law itself gives the President the authority to grant waivers, then he can. I haven’t taken enough caffeine to read the law, though.
Report Post »TexBork
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:40pmI’m not surprised Obama wants to leave the children behind. He’s kind of supported that all along anyway. Especially when it comes to newborns.
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:35pmMost schools now will not let the teacher give a failing grade to child – it might hurt his or her feelings.
Report Post »girlnurse
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:25pmIt’s abuse to send your kids to public skool at this point IMO. If I had young ones right now I would be homeschooling….theres no other option!
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:07pmHow about a new program called dumb child left behind. We let those with ability continue and hold those who don’t have the ability back no matter how proficient they are in sports or attendance
Report Post »oldguy49
Posted on February 9, 2012 at 2:14pmall of theses programs are b.s…………schools are not teaching and untill we get rid of teachers that don’t teach and tenur and require teachers to teach it will get worse
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