A bipartisan group of seven Virginia state legislators has written U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings seeking responses to state waiver requests under the No Child Left Behind Act before the new school year begins.
State Delegate R. Steven Landes, a Republican and the incoming chairman of the House education committee, said the outcome will affect school decisions on curriculum and testing.
In January, the state requested several changes to how it implements the 3½-year-old law. Some have been granted, but several are pending, including one that would let schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress offer tutoring before allowing students to transfer to another school.
Chad Colby, a spokesman for the U.S. Education Department, said the department would notify Virginia officials of its decision by the end of this month.
