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States offered waivers for No Child Left Behind

The Obama administration will provide qualifying states a waiver from No Child Left Behind after Congress failed to act on reforming the program, the Department of Education said on Monday.
Arne Duncan
Student Faith Brown, left, listens as U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan speak to students in April during a tour of the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis. Michael Conroy / AP
/ Source: msnbc.com staff and news service reports

The Obama administration will provide qualifying states a waiver from No Child Left Behind after Congress failed to act on reforming the program, the Department of Education said on Monday.

President Barack Obama had called for reform to the federal education law before the start of the school year, but Congress has yet to pass any legislation, according to a Department of Education statement.

Critics say the law's benchmarks are unrealistic and brand schools as failures even if they make progress. Schools and districts where too few kids pass the tests for several years are subject to sanctions that can include firing teachers or closing the school entirely.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that the current NCLB law is "forcing districts into one-size-fits-all solutions that just don't work."

The plan to offer waivers to all 50 states, as long as they meet other school reform requirements, comes at the request of Obama, Duncan said. More details on the waivers will come in September, he said.

"The President understands this and he has directed us to move ahead in providing relief," Duncan stated. "We're still hopeful that Congress can continue its work this fall. In the meantime, states and districts have an opportunity to move forward."

The waivers will give states the ability to avoid the NCLB 2014 deadline to achieve 100 percent proficiency on standardized reading and math tests, reported. Around 80 percent of U.S. schools could be labeled as failing if the law isn't amended.

The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said he understands why it was time for the administration to take action.

"This Congress faces real challenges reaching bipartisan, bicameral agreement on anything," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, in a written statement. "Given the ill-advised and partisan bills that the House majority has chosen to move, I understand Secretary Duncan's decision to proceed with a waiver package to provide some interim relief while Congress finishes its work."

Harkin said he remains committed to keep working toward a bipartisan solution to reform the federal education law.