President offers states an opt-out from NCLB — in exchange for more federal control of education

by Tina Korbe
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The president today announced his plan to allow states to opt out of the most onerous requirements of No Child Left Behind, the most sweeping and comprehensive education legislation in the country. What he didn’t mention is what states will have to give up to qualify for a waiver.
States will receive a waiver if and only if they agree to certain conditions set by the Education Secretary. CNN calls those conditions “credible commitments to close lingering achievement gaps.” Conservatives call those conditions “strings attached” and “legislating through the executive branch.”
Chief among the administration’s stipulations for a waiver: The adoption of college-and-career-ready standards (a.k.a. national standards). National standards and tests might sound sensible in theory, but, in reality, they would strengthen federal power over education and weaken schools’ direct accountability to parents and taxpayers. Moreover, they would most likely lead to the standardization of mediocrity rather than the standardization of excellence.
But national standards are a favored policy proposal within the Obama Department of Education — and, again, with today’s move to introduce a qualified opt-out from NCLB, the president has found a way to circumvent Congress to push through this policy preference and other preferred “reforms.”
“What the administration is doing by attaching stipulations to a waiver is forcing states to adopt the administration’s proposals,” said Lindsey Burke, an education policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation. “Among conservatives there has rightly been a lot of skepticism because this is putting a lot of power into the hands of the Secretary. If he can single-handedly dismiss No Child Left Behind and push through his policy preferences just through waivers, that sets a dangerous precedent.”
The administration is already saying 45 states are likely to seek waivers — but Burke cautioned state leaders to think before they do.