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 Obama's announcement could fundamentally affect the education of
tens of millions of children. It will allow states to scrap the
requirement that all children must show they are proficient in
reading and math by 2014 -- a cornerstone of the law -- if states
meet conditions designed to better prepare
And the president took a shot at Congress, saying his executive
action was needed only because lawmakers have not stepped in to
improve the law for years.
"Congress hasn't been able to do it. So I will," Obama said. "Our
kids only get one shot at a decent education."
Under the plan Obama outlined, states can ask the Education
Department to be exempted from some of the law's requirements if
they meet certain conditions, such as imposing standards to prepare
students for college and careers and setting evaluation standards
for teachers and principals.
Despite allowing states to do away with the approaching 2014
deadline, Obama insisted he was not weakening the law, but rather
helping states set higher standards. He said that the current law
was forcing educators to teach to the test, give short shrift to
subjects such as history and science, and lower standards as a way
of avoiding penalties and stigmas.
The law is a signature legacy of President George W. Bush's
administration and was approved with strong bipartisan support
nearly a decade ago. But its popularity tanked as the years went on,
as disputes over money divided Congress, schools said they were
being labeled "failures," and questions soared over the testing and
teacher-quality provisions.
"The goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable, and
President Bush deserves credit for that," Obama said during a
statement from the White House.
"Higher standards are the right goal. Accountability is the right
goal. Closing the achievement gap is the right goal. And we've got
to stay focused on those goals," Obama said. "But experience has
taught us that in its implementation, No Child Left Behind had some
serious flaws that are hurting our children instead of helping
them."
Obama said better education was at the heart of a solid American
economy of middle-class jobs, and that compared with other nations,
the United States was slipping.
Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who chairs the House Education
Committee, has questioned whether the Education Department has the
authority to offer waivers in exchange for changes it supports. He's
said Obama has allowed "an arbitrary timeline" to dictate when
Congress should get the law rewritten and that the committee needs
more time to develop its proposals.
Kline on Thursday called the administration's plan a political
move and said he could not support a process that sets a precedent
by granting the education secretary "sweeping authority to handpick
winners and losers."
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the ranking member on the Senate
committee that oversees education, said the president's plan would
undermine the policymaking authority of Congress.
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Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said the plan would not
undermine efforts in Congress because the waivers could serve as a
bridge until Congress acts.
In Obama's plan, states granted waivers would have more control
over how troubled schools are handled, although to qualify for a
waiver they would have to show they had a plan to help
low-performing schools. A majority of states are expected to apply
for waivers, which will be given to qualified states early next
year.
Critics say the law placed too much emphasis on standardized
tests, raising the stakes so high for school districts that it may
have driven some school officials to cheat. In particular, the
requirement that all students be on grade level in math and reading
by 2014 has been hugely unpopular.
Duncan has warned that 82 percent of schools next year could fail
to reach proficiency requirements and thus be labeled "failures,"
although some experts questioned the figure.
The law has been due for a rewrite since 2007. Obama and Duncan
had asked Congress to overhaul it by the start of this school year
but a growing ideological divide in Congress has complicated efforts
to do so.
The GOP-led House Education Committee has forwarded three bills
that would revamp aspects of the law but has yet to fully tackle
some of the more contentious issues such as teacher effectiveness
and accountability.
[Associated Press]
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