Pennsylvania’s request to ignore parts of the federal “No Child Left Behind” law is approved by the U.S. Dept. of Education. The wavier abolishes the dreaded adequate yearly progress designation for each school building and school district. In its place will be the School Performance Profile that will be used to measure the academic progress of all public schools.
Pennsylvania joins 40 other states that have been granted a waiver.
“This is welcome news for students, parents, taxpayers educators and public schools across the state, said Gov. Tom Corbett. “This waiver allows Pennsylvania to focus on improving schools by directing resources to areas that help students academically succeed. We now have a better way of guiding improvement efforts in schools by establishing ambitious, yet attainable goals”.
The “No Child Left Behind” law actually expired in 2007. The U.S. House and U.S. Senate have separate rewrites of the law. The House rewrite was passed, but the Senate has yet to vote on its version.