President Barack Obama will make the announcement Thursday, saying that the states "that have agreed to implement bold reforms around standards and accountability will receive flexibility from the most burdensome mandates of No Child Left Behind," the official said.
They will no longer have to meet 2014 targets set by the law.
"In exchange for this flexibility, states have agreed to raise standards, improve accountability, and undertake essential reforms to improve teacher effectiveness," the official said.
Under the current law, all students must be 100 percent proficient in language arts and math by 2014. A White House official says the waivers will exempt the selected states from that deadline.
However, they will have to set new goals for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps.
New Mexico also requested such flexibility, and the Obama administration is working closely with that state, the official said. Another 28 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have indicated plans to also seek such flexibility, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett released the following statement in response to the waiver:
I applaud the U.S. Department of Education for providing states the flexibility they need to drive academic achievement for all students. Indiana’s commitment to comprehensive reform has enabled us to be among the first states receiving a waiver. This is a tribute to the hard work of so many educators, students, parents, community members and policy makers in our state.
No Child Left Behind was a giant step forward for our nation’s schools. It brought accountability to a system sorely in need of a structure for driving results. However, as new advances in measuring student achievement and educator effectiveness have become available, the need for increased flexibility at the state and local level is more apparent than ever.
Indiana will take advantage of the flexibility we have been granted with this waiver by continuing to pursue policies that produce better academic outcomes for our children.
Governor Mitch Daniels issued the following statement:
I was pleased to learn yesterday from Education Secretary Duncan that Indiana would be one of the first states to receive a waiver. No Child Left Behind was an important step forward, but it needed additional flexibility that Congress hasn’t yet provided. The waiver will make for a fairer system and one that focuses on what matters most: getting the whole system to perform better in terms of student learning.
The Indiana State Teachers Association said they cautiously support the waiver that Indiana received, but only if the waiver is used by state education officials to increase the quality of instruction and to improve student achievement.
"ISTA hopes that Indiana officials do not use this waiver to mandate further education 'reforms' without input from teachers, parents and other public stakeholders," said ISTA President Nate Schnellenberger.
"It's important that the Indiana Department of Education be committed to the spirit of this waiver to bring about real school reform that works for Hoosier students -- access to early education, well-rounded instruction, safe and supportive learning environments and access to caring and qualified teachers," Schnellenberg said.
(CNN Wire/Fox59)
