Duncan Denies Kansas' AYP Waiver
Your Education Road Map
Politics K-12®
ESSA. Congress. State chiefs. School spending. Elections. Education Week reporters keep watch on education policy and politics in the nation's capital and in the states. Read more from this blog.
By Michele McNeil — May 13, 2011 1 min read
While Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been issuing a ton of waivers from No Child Left Behind requirements, he's stopping short of offering the big one.
And by that we mean a waiver of the requirement that all students reach proficiency in math and reading by 2014. This elusive 100 percent goal is proving to be a key selling point for Duncan as he tries to get Congress to move on reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He's been declaring that if Congress doesn't act, up to 82 percent of schools this year could be labeled "failing" (that's his word) this year under the law.
Today, the Kansas Department of Education announced that, in a phone call, the federal department has denied its AYP waiver.
The Kansas press release said: "In a phone call to Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Diane DeBacker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education Michael Yudin said that while there was great appreciation for the hard work Kansas was undertaking in education reform efforts, it was the feeling of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan that the best way to assist states in those efforts was through timely reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)."
Michele McNeil
Michele McNeil was an assistant editor and reporter for Education Week and co-author of the Politics K-12 blog.
Arne Duncan
Protesters gather for the March For Our Lives rally in Detroit, among the demonstrations against gun violence held on the heels of recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.
KT Kanazawich for Education Week
Federal What Educators Need to Know About Senators' Bipartisan Deal on Guns, School Safety
Evie Blad, June 13, 2022
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, is seen during a White House event on April 27. The following day, he defended the Biden administration's budget proposal on Capitol Hill.
Federal Lawmakers, Education Secretary Clash Over Charter School Rules
Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2022
President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, with Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in attendance.
Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times via AP
Federal 7 Takeaways for Educators From Biden's State of the Union
Evie Blad, March 2, 2022
Teachers from Seattle Public Schools picket outside Roosevelt High School on what was supposed to be the first day of classes, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Seattle. The first day of classes at Seattle Public Schools was cancelled and teachers are on strike over issues that include pay, mental health support, and staffing ratios for special education and multilingual students.
Jason Redmond/AP
Federal What's Behind the Push for a $60K Base Teacher Salary