Reaction Pours in on NCLB Waiver Announcement

This from Politics K-12:

The reviews are pouring in on the administration's announcement this morning that it will definitely offer states wiggle room in meeting parts of the No Child Left Behind Act—in exchange for embracing certain reforms-to-be-named-later.


The administration didn't release any new details on just what those waivers would look like. Still, states are beginning to line up. On the heels of the announcement, Minnesota and South Carolina officials said they planned to ask for waivers. (Tennessee, Kentucky, and Michigan have already submitted plans.)

• A joint letter from The Education Trust, the National Council of La Raza, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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  The nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, thinks conditional waivers are the wrong way to go.
• Over at Flypaper, Mike Petrilli warns that requiring states to adopt the Common Core State Standards as part of the waiver process could put a federal stamp on the standards and cause a major backlash against them.
• The Brookings Institute, Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst questions whether the administration has the authority to put conditions on the waivers. 

Duncan indicated states could get a gold star for plans-in-progress. "As long as they're moving forward in the right direction we want to support that work," he said.