Ed Week Assesses State’s Dependence on Waivers
July 5, 2017
Ed Week’s Andrew Ujifusa writes that the “Every Student Succeeds Act hasn’t been the only time in the last few years that events in Washington led states to rethink their accountability and other education policies.” Ujifusa is referring to the Obama Administration’s waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act, which were given to most states. At the Education Commission of the States conference, Ed Week asked “state chiefs (and a former chief who stepped down last month) whether they were drawing heavily on those waivers from the previously federal K-12 law for their Every Student Succeeds Act plans.” Ed Week found that the “short answer seems to be: They are leaning a fair amount on their waiver plans and other work that was going on when waivers were handed out.” However, “the chiefs were also quick to point out that they are rethinking at least a few high-profile policies, like school improvement, thanks to ESSA’s flexibility for states.”