WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia has been granted a waiver from key requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Law.
The Education Department announced Thursday that the district and six states had been granted waivers, bringing the total number of waivers to 33.
The waiver means the district will be freed from the No Child Left Behind requirement that all students achieve proficiency in math and science by 2014. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has argued that such rigid requirements need to be changed for meaningful education reform to be enacted.
The district will now aim to cut its proficiency gap in reading and math in half within six years. The department also praised the district for its aggressive plan to turn around its lowest-performing schools.
