Congressman Smith Statement on Removal of WA State NCLB Waiver
April 23, 2014
Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) released the following statement after Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that Washington's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver will be removed at the end of the 2014 school year:
"The news that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is ending the NCLB waiver for Washington State is disappointing. NCLB is a broken policy that negatively impacts our schools' ability to succeed, and it needs to be changed. Yet, the U.S. Congress has failed to pass a long-term reauthorization, forcing state education systems to operate under a temporary year to year waiver process. This creates uncertainty for our schools, and now in Washington State, a loss of our NCLB waiver and restrictions on federal funds to address student achievement. Providing a quality education to students is absolutely critical, and the U.S. Congress needs to immediately work to reauthorize our education law and end the deeply flawed requirements of NCLB."
"The news that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is ending the NCLB waiver for Washington State is disappointing. NCLB is a broken policy that negatively impacts our schools' ability to succeed, and it needs to be changed. Yet, the U.S. Congress has failed to pass a long-term reauthorization, forcing state education systems to operate under a temporary year to year waiver process. This creates uncertainty for our schools, and now in Washington State, a loss of our NCLB waiver and restrictions on federal funds to address student achievement. Providing a quality education to students is absolutely critical, and the U.S. Congress needs to immediately work to reauthorize our education law and end the deeply flawed requirements of NCLB."