States openly defying NCLB
A growing number of states have said they plan to ignore at least parts of the federal government's accountability standards, according to Education Week . As we get closer to 2014, the date by which all students in the nation are expected to be proficient in reading and math, more schools are failing which means that they would be due for an overhaul. Duncan estimates that 80 percent of the schools in the nation would be considered failing by then, a figure he said that does not reflect reality. He has announced that if Congress does not act this fall to rewrite the law, he will offer states that are engaged in certain reforms waivers. Despite that statement, however, USDE is not offering waivers right now to states that say they aren't going to play the game anymore.
Today, Tennessee's governor asked for a waiver. If the experience of other states holds true, even this state, one of the first to win a Race to The Top grant, still may be denied a waiver.
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
As a Tennessean, I don’t believe we should be excused from these National Standards. It is simply embarrassing that our new maverick Governor is asking for an exemption because our state has failed to raise the bar on education. Bill Haslam is passing a slew of laws in our state to infringe on Civil Liberties and First Amendment Rights with the Don’t Say Gay bill and making it Illegal to post offensive images to the internet. As an artist, I was compelled to react to Bill’s railroading of the Constitution and ignorance of standards set forth by our Government. You can see my portrait of our Governor which shows another side of his politics at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/07/potentially-offensive-portrait-governor.html
Posted by: Brandt Hardin | August 9, 2011 8:31 PM