The formal letter from Washington hasn’t arrived, but the verdict has: The federal Department of Education has turned down California’s application for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
“It is disappointing that our state’s request – which enjoyed such strong support from parents, teachers, administrators, and education advocates across California – has apparently been rejected,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a press release Friday.
Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have already received waivers, liberating them from NCLB’s chief demand – 100 percent proficiency of all students in English language arts and math by 2014 – and the sanctions that come with failing to meet it. These states also now have flexibility to spend a portion of federal Title I dollars that had been restricted to NCLB compliance. An additional 10 states have waiver applications pending.
The rejection of California’s application was not unexpected. Gov. Jerry Brown, Torlakson and the State Board of Education had chafed at some of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s requirements, and had filed a waiver request that ignored them. Among their objections: the requirement of a statewide teacher evaluation system that includes the
CA educators reject NRA call for guns in schools - by Kathryn Baron
California educators and Democratic politicians are rebuking the National Rifle Association for suggesting that more guns in schools would keep students, teachers and staff safer. The NRA broke its silence about the massacre of children and teachers last week at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, holding a news conference Friday in Washington, D.C. “The only thing that stops a bad...