Alaska Eligible for No Child Left Behind Waiver

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's office said it is analyzing the criteria of the waivers but has not made a decision as to whether the state will be applying for them.

Tools

By Alexis Fernandez

Story Created: Sep 24, 2011 at 8:40 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Sep 24, 2011 at 8:40 PM AKDT

The era of the education policy known as “No Child Left Behind" could be coming to end in schools across the nation, including here in Alaska.

President Barack Obama announced a plan Friday that would allow states to opt out of certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act by applying for so-called "waivers."

In order to qualify, states would have to set their own curriculum standards, develop plans to help low-performing schools, and implement a system to evaluate teachers and principals.

If states met those requirements, they would no longer have to follow the school evaluation system outlined under No Child Left Behind.

Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau said the expectations of NCLB in Alaska are unrealistic because there are limited options for parents if a school doesn't perform well.

“We have our unique standards and we also have very unique conditions. A rural school in Alaska is very different than a rural school in any other state because in other places you just drive down the road. But here, you know how hard it is to get to most communities,” she said.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's office said it is analyzing the criteria of the waivers but has not made a decision as to whether the state will be applying for them.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KTVA CBS 11 | Anchorage, Alaska News and Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.