Obama Offers Waivers From Key Provisions of NCLB

President Barack Obama stands with educators and students in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 23 as he speaks about details to give states waivers from requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

—Charles Dharapak/AP

Plan waives cornerstone provisions of law

By Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein

The Obama administration will waive cornerstone requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, including the 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient in math and reading/language arts, and will give states the freedom to set their own student-achievement goals and design their own interventions for failing schools.

In exchange for that flexibility, the administration will require states to adopt standards for college and career readiness, focus improvement efforts on 15 percent of the most troubled schools, and create guidelines for teacher evaluations based in part on student performance.

With reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act stalled in Congress, President Barack Obama unveiled details of the long-awaited NCLB waiver plan at a White House event on Sept. 23. No Child Left Behind is the current version of the ESEA,...