Superintendent wants permanent fix for No Child Left Behind
Aug 9, 2011, 9:19 AM | Updated: Oct 10, 2012, 7:28 am
The Obama administration has unveiled plans to give school districts a break from the stringent testing mandates in the No Child Left Behind Law, as long as they pursue other reform efforts, but Washington State’s Superintendent of Public Instruction wants a more permanent solution.
“No Child Left Behind is a flawed bill. It had good intent, but it’s flawed,” said Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on Monday that President Barack Obama is authorizing him to grant waivers because Congress has failed to act.
Dorn said this is just a Band-Aid, and Congress needs a permanent fix for No Child Left Behind.
“If all they’re going to do is give waivers for a year or two years, and the law is going to stay on the books, what good does that do?” Dorn asked.
Critics call the law’s benchmarks unrealistic and say they brand schools as failures even if they’re making progress. Duncan told reporters the law is filled with “perverse incentives” and schools are “begging” for relief.
The federal law, which requires every student to be proficient in science and math by 2014, is four years past due for re-authorization. The mandate has become mired in the increasingly bipartisan debate on Capitol Hill, despite repeated calls from President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan calling for changes before the school year starts.
“There was a group of states getting together and saying, ‘Look, we need waivers, we’re not going to go by the rules.’ There was a threat of a number of schools not even going by the rules and just thumbing their noses at Washington D.C.” said Dorn. “Now, they’ve come to the conclusion, ‘Well maybe it’s a time to give states waivers until we can get our act together and actually fix the bill.'”
Duncan noted Obama sent lawmakers an overhaul proposal 16 months ago, but they haven’t managed to agree. Duncan added, “We can’t afford to wait” – and said the administration will provide districts waiver details next month.
Dorn said he wants a more permanent solution quickly.
“I really would like to see Congress bring it up and not put a Band-Aid on it, not make a temporary fix, but make a permanent fix so we can go forward, and not just be in this temporary fix arena.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
