10 States to Receive NCLB Waivers

The Obama Administration will announce today the ten states that will receive No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers. These waivers are the administration’s response to the need to reform NCLB – a policy that Education Secretary Arne Duncan said “drives down standards, weakens accountability, causes narrowing of the curriculum and labels too many schools as failing,” according to a statement released by the Department of Education (DOE). These waivers will provide states with flexibility from NCLB and its guidelines so long as the states adopt and have plans to implement college and career-ready standards. In addition, states must also create plans that address teacher and principal development and evaluation using information beyond test scores, such as student and parent feedback. The ten states that have received flexibility are:

• Colorado 
• Florida 
• Georgia 
• Indiana 
• Kentucky 
• Massachusetts 
• Minnesota 
• New Jersey 
• Oklahoma 
• Tennessee 

According to DOE, the administration is working with New Mexico, the eleventh state that requested flexibility, to adjust the state’s plans. This month, DOE will begin reviewing waiver requests from 28 additional states.

Stay tuned to our blog for updates about NCLB.


February 15th Update:
DOE announced today that New Mexico's plan to adopt reforms and implement college and career-ready standards has been approved, making it the 11th state to receive flexibility from the NCLB waivers.