NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee's request for a waiver to use its own reformed education standards to measure schools instead of those mandated by No Child Left Behind is falling in line with a plan by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Duncan said Monday that President Barack Obama has authorized him to grant the waivers because Congress has failed to act on a long-overdue rewrite of the widely criticized law.
Gov. Bill Haslam announced his request last month. State officials said at the time they didn't know what the response would be.
Through the waivers, schools will get some relief from looming deadlines to meet testing goals as long as they agree to embrace other kinds of education reforms such as raising standards, helping teachers and principals improve, and focusing on fixing the lowest performing schools. Details on the waivers will be provided to districts next month.
Haslam said in making his request that Tennessee should be considered for a waiver because its education reforms allowed the state to win $500 million in the national Race to the Top education grant competition.
"Gov. Haslam believes the federal government should trust states such as Tennessee — which has proven in its Race to the Top application that it has the data, performance and strategy to get where it needs to go — to know how best to improve," Haslam spokesman David Smith said Monday in a news release.
Duncan has warned that 82 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled failures next year if No Child Left Behind is not changed. Education experts have questioned that estimate, but state officials report a growing number of schools facing sanctions under the law.
Duncan is scheduled to be in Nashville this week for a roundtable discussion with school administrators in rural counties.