Nearly eight years overdue, No Child Left Behind has finally been replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed into law by President Obama last week. Now, education reformers have turned their attention to ensuring the law is implemented as smoothly as possible.

Burdened by almost 14 years of federal prescriptions and waiver requests, school districts will gain increased flexibility in their policies as the law is implemented. The challenge for the Department of Education lies in trying to release definitions and clarifications of federal rules while complying with new limitations.