As of today, the Obama administration has granted No Child Left Behind waivers to 26 states.

The waivers free the states of the main component of the law, which was championed by former president George W. Bush. Their federal funding will no longer be tied to test scores of public school students.

“To label an improving school a failure is the worst thing you can do,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told The New York Times. “If they’re doing the hard work to get better, it’s like, ‘Why are we killing ourselves to improve if we’re going to get slapped in the face for it?’”

The law applies to schools within the Bureau of Indian Education but the agency is also developing its own flexibility request. The goal is to create a single standard for Indian students.

"This component is critical, because the BIE — unlike the states — lacks a single, coherent accountability system," the summary of the draft request reads. "BIE is required to utilize the respective accountability systems of the 23 states in which its schools are located."

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‘No Child’ Law Whittled Down by White House (The New York Times 7/6)