Help Write Your State’s
ESEA Waiver Application
VOICES CARRY
By Hilary Goldmann
Hilary Goldmann,
ISTE’s senior government affairs officer, has
more than 20 years of
experience in public
policy and advocacy. Her
column appears in every
other issue of L&L.
T he Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility package that President Obama announced in October provides ISTE
members and state affiliates with an opportunity
to help shape the waiver applications submitted by their respective states. The guidance that
the U.S. Department of Education published
requires state education agencies to consult with
diverse stakeholders when developing applications. The state agency must provide a description of how it solicited input from teachers,
students, parents, community-based organizations, civil-rights organizations, and business
organizations, among others.
When announcing the waiver package, President Obama said, “To help states, districts, and
schools that are ready to move forward with education reform, our administration will provide
flexibility from the law in exchange for a real
commitment to undertake change. The purpose
is not to give states and districts a reprieve from
accountability, but to unleash energy to improve
our schools at the local level.” The White House
argued that the 10-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was inhibiting progress for implementing reforms, and because Congress had
not passed a bill to reauthorize ESEA/NCLB, it
was time for the administration to step forward.
The goal is to provide states and school districts
with flexibility by the end of the 2011–12 school
year. States that wish to apply can submit requests by mid-February for a spring review.
The Department of Education will provide
waivers of 10 provisions of ESEA in exchange
for state and local reforms to improve academic
achievement and increase the quality of instruc-
tion. The flexibility falls within three areas:
