Millions of at-risk students could fall through the cracks as the Education Department gives states permission to ignore parts of No Child Left Behind, according to a study released Tuesday.
The Education Department has been giving some states waivers from the law’s requirements, including those to collect and publish data about students and then use the results to pinpoint problem schools. The resulting patchwork of rules — from Miami to Seattle — has given states more freedom to carry out plans to boost education but has allowed almost 2,300 schools to shed their label of seriously troubled, according to numbers compiled at the Campaign for High School Equity.
“It appears to us that waivers could lead to fewer students of color receiving the support they need,” said Rufina Hernandez, executive director for the Campaign for High School Equity.
Gainesville Superintendent Merrianne Dyer dismissed the education advocates’ claims, calling them nothing more than a publicity stunt.
“The prediction seems to be politically motivated and not grounded in any real data to support it,” Dyer said. “After all, the federal government approved the waivers, so if they were concerned with states having children ‘fall through the cracks,’ why did they approve the state’s application?”
Dyer said she believes Georgia’s waiver has “high expectations” of student performance and school accountability.
Hall County Superintendent Will Schofield said there is some validity to the reports, but a “one-dimensional focus” on student performance levels has not been working in education.
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