Groups Eye Regulatory Relief Under NCLB

School districts and educators chafing under the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act are hoping to prod the U.S. Department of Education into giving them a reprieve from the provisions they see as most onerous, as the prospects for an overhaul of the law by Congress anytime soon remain cloudy.

The Obama administration and congressional leaders from both parties have long said the law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is inflexible and intrusive. School advocates argue that cash-strapped districts shouldn’t expend resources on requirements that will likely be scrapped in the rewrite of the ESEA, which has been pending since 2007.

Now, organizations such as the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association are gearing up for a renewed push for regulatory relief, including items that have long been...