In the absence of congressional action to update the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), President Obama announced that his administration will waive the central accountability provisions of NCLB. The waivers are intended to provide flexibility to states in exchange for committing to high standards and a system of accountability that sets goals and measures progress toward those goals. Since the announcement in September, 41 states have expressed interest in seeking waivers, and 11 applied during the first round.

The initial eleven waiver applications varied greatly by state, with various new deadlines and targets set by states and different interventions and consequences contemplated in each application. In addition, states added new measures to the accountability system such as history, science, and writing assessments as well as SAT and ACT scores.

Today, President Obama announced the approval of ten state waivers (Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee). In the announcement, President Obama affirmed that “the goals behind No Child Left Behind were admirable, and President Bush deserves credit for that. Higher standards are the right goal. Accountability is the right goal. Closing the achievement gap is the right goal. And we’ve got to stay focused on those goals.”

Because the waivers limit federal accountability measures, the U.S. Department of Education must hold the states accountable for assurances made, or otherwise retract their waiver. It is also imperative that the business community guarantees the promises made are kept at a high standard. In the coming months the Chamber’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce will host roundtables in affected states with Chamber leaders and education policy experts to fully educate and engage the business community on the impact of the waivers.

For more detailed information about each of the state waivers, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce, the education and workforce nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will be hosting roundtables in each of the state capitals that received waivers. For more information on the roundtables, please contact Cecilia Retelle at cretelle@uschamber.com.