Iowa misses out on No Child Left Behind waiver

DES MOINES - Iowa was not among the eight states announced Tuesday that will receive waivers from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but eventual success for the state was not ruled out.

During a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said department officials expect to make further recipient announcements in the coming weeks.

Still, Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass has concerns about Iowa's chances, spokeswoman Staci Hupp wrote in an email after the news came out.

“We're still talking to the U.S. Department of Education about how the Legislature's education package fits with our waiver request, but the director believes the Legislature did not go far enough this session to meet the requirements,” Hupp wrote. “We are not optimistic.”

So far, 37 states - including Iowa - have requested waivers from certain provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. As of Tuesday, 19 waivers have been granted: 11 of 11 in the first round, and eight of 26 in the second round.

“No one has been denied,” Duncan said.

Iowa is one of 18 states that applied in the second round but have not received waivers yet.

The states announced Tuesday were Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island.

Duncan also called on Congress to act by taking up the No Child Left Behind Act, which was set for reauthorization in 2007.

Congress has not officially reauthorized the act - which requires all students to meet or exceed state testing standards by 2014, among other criteria - despite pressure to do so from several education groups and policymakers.

Because of this, states are required to follow the original statutes. That requirement led to the U.S. Department of Education allowing waivers to some of the rules as long as states can come up with other accountability programs that meet federal requirements.

Duncan said the preferred option would be to have congressional authorization for a new act, but the waivers are a good secondary option.

“These eight additional states are getting more flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLB's one-size-fits-all federal mandates in order to develop locally tailored solutions to meet their unique educational challenges,” he said. “States must show they are protecting children in order to get flexibility. These states met that bar.”