States Eye Looser Rein on Districts

More operating leeway seen as spurring local improvement.

The push to give school districts greater operating flexibility—a grassroots rallying cry eclipsed in recent years by the charter school movement—is seeing a resurgence, as states seek to spur innovation that will help raise student achievement.

In Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue is proposing “performance contracts” that would free administrators in 15 districts from some regulatory strictures as early as next fall, if they agreed to meet achievement targets in the next three years.

California is granting significant operating leeway to two large districts, Fresno Unified and Long Beach Unified, in exchange for their agreeing to work toward student-achievement goals in three areas. And Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons envisions “empowerment schools” statewide—if the state...