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The Executive Viewpoint: Department of Education says welcome back waivers - TheHill.com

The Executive Viewpoint: Department of Education says welcome back waivers - TheHill.com

The Executive Viewpoint: Department of Education says welcome back waivers

By Margaret Spellings - 06/16/11 06:28 PM ET

In the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” about a teacher who returns to his old high school to teach a group of kids who call themselves “sweat hogs,” character Vinnie Barbarino routinely brought in excuses for his absences. Read aloud by Mr. Kotter, they always concluded with: “Signed, Vinnie’s mother.”

With the Obama administration suggesting they will consider waiver requests if Congress doesn’t pass a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, I guarantee Vinnie’s mother will be signing a lot of notes to the Education Department this fall.

During my tenure at the helm of the Education Department, I received countless requests for waivers, many bordering on the ridiculous. Despite the law’s requirement that each state set targets and educate all of its students to grade level in reading and math by 2014 — a 12-year window in which to