Friday, April 20, 2012

'Secret Meeting' in South Carolina Held to Quash ESEA Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week

'Secret Meeting' in South Carolina Held to Quash ESEA Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week:


'Secret Meeting' in South Carolina Held to Quash ESEA Waiver

From guest blogger Nirvi Shah:
When U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited South Carolina recently, state Superintendent Mick Zais was told the two couldn't talk about a special education spending issue that has been lingering for months. (Zais' request was turned down because of a pending appeal of the special education matter.)
But Zais did walk in on a meeting organized by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat, on behalf of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators, who was trying to convince Duncan not to approve the state'sapplication for a waiver from some of No Child Left Behind's provisions. Also in attendance was former Education Secretary Richard Riley.
The Palmetto State is one of 27 applying for a waiver in the second round of applications.
(Waivers from some provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act have already been granted to several states.)
Duncan was on hand to visit classes and talk about college affordability at South Branch High School in Summerton, S.C., where Clyburn had arranged for the meeting. While Duncan didn't explicitly call for Zais to be invited, when he realized Zais wasn't there he told the group that it's always best to have all parties in the room,