House Democrats to Duncan: States are backsliding on help for low achievers
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| J. Scott Applewhite/AP - Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. |
House Democratic leaders are worried that Education Secretary Arne Duncan is not doing enough to hold states accountable for educating public school students who are low-income, minority, disabled or English-language learners.
Rep. George Miller (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the chairs of the black, Asian and Hispanic caucuses wrote to Duncan on Tuesday, expressing concerns that several states are backsliding on their responsibilities to groups that are historically lowachieving.
The lawmakers said they were concerned that the states were not meeting their commitments, made under the Obama administration’s waiver program, to improving achievement for those disadvantaged groups.
Since 2011, the Education Department has been awarding waivers to states to excuse them from the more onerous requirements of No Child Left Behind, the 2002 federal education law.
The law sets conditions and requirements for every public school receiving federal funds to educate poor students and those with special needs. It defines academic progress and sets specific improvement strategies and sanctions for schools that do not measure up. One requirement, that all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014, is now broadly seen as unrealistic.
The law expired in 2007, but Congress has been unable to find consensus on a new version.
With Congress stalled and complaints mounting from governors and school districts that they could not meet the demands of No Child Left Behind, Duncan began issuing waivers, freeing states from the requirements if they agreed to embrace certain education policy changes favored by Obama. To date, 42 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have received two-year waivers, and many are in the process of seeking a one-