Friday, September 23, 2011

NASBE WELCOMES FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES PURSUING COLLEGE- AND CAREER- READY AGENDA; CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE ESEA/NCLB REAUTHORIZATION

NSBE Press Release | http://bit.ly/p2l9SE

Arlington, VA — The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) welcomed the Administration’s announcement it will waive key requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but also repeated its call for comprehensive reform through legislation passed by Congress.

NASBE Executive Director Brenda Welburn, in attendance at the White House announcement Friday with student members from the District of Columbia and Maryland state boards of education, said the waivers offer flexibility for states that find themselves constrained by unrealistic mandates in the NCLB iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

“We want to thank the Administration for recognizing the hard work that states do under the leadership of their respective state boards of education to help make students college- and career-ready,” Welburn said. “The law passed 10 years ago no longer reflects the progress states have made preparing America’s students for life beyond high school. It is simply unrealistic and unrelated to the work of states today.

“We are pleased the waivers will be limited to two-and-a-half years, which should give Congress sufficient time to adopt a comprehensive new version of ESEA. The adoption of a revised law is critical to the work of state boards as the primary adopters of college- and career-ready standards, accountability systems, and teacher and principal standards in most states. 

“Further, we believe any grants of waivers should be equitable for all states, especially rural and frontier states, and be done in a fair and transparent manner.”

NASBE looks forward to supporting states in securing waivers. 

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The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.

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