States with No Child Left Behind waivers will get another month to decide whether they want an extra year to implement a key part of their teacher evaluation systems.

Today was the deadline for states to decide whether they want to postpone using student growth on state tests as a factor in personnel decisions for up to one additional year—until the 2016-17 school year. Originally, the federal guidelines required states do all of this by the 2015-16 school year.

Now, the U.S. Department of Education says states have until Oct. 31 to decide whether to apply for the “waiver waiver.”

Not everyone wanted this additional flexibility in the first place, as some state chiefs felt it slowed their momentum and undermined their authority. So it’s unclear how many folks really wanted the extra time, especially given that the Education Department didn’t even extend the deadline until Sept. 25—five days before the due date.

Regardless, is tomorrow’s looming shutdown to blame for the deadline shift? Stay tuned. We’ve asked.