Alaska Takes Action to Fix Federal NCLB Law

Changes/Waivers Requested

Action Type: Legislation

Description of Action: State Legislature introduced SJR30, a resolution that notes the progress Alaska has made with its own education reform and calls on the President and Congress to amend NCLB to allow states, such as Alaska, to receive waivers if they can demonstrate increases in student achievement

Status of Action: last action on the bill took place on 5/11/04

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Changes/Waivers Requested

Action Type: Official Action

Description of Action: “At least one-fifth of the states say they plan to apply for a pilot program that would let them use a measure of student growth over time to help determine whether schools and districts have met their annual achievement targets under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Many other states, moreover, appear eager—judging from their participation in recent conference calls and meetings on the topic—at least to explore the possibility of applying for the ‘growth models’ pilot. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the program in November, following pressure from states and education groups. (“U.S. to Pilot New Gauge of ‘Growth’," Nov. 30, 2005.)

Officials in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Utah all told Education Week that they were planning to apply for the pilot initiative. The Department of Education released further guidance on the program, which has a Feb. 17 deadline for applications, on Jan. 27. As many as 10 states could take part after going through a peer-review process.”
- Education Week, February 1, 2006

Status of Action: Secretary of Education has approved for peer review process

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Changes/Waivers Requested

Action Type: Official Action

Description of Action: N-size has proven to be a major deal-breaker for states seeking to use the 2 percent rule, a development that threatens to diminish the number of states that take advantage of the new policy. / The Education Department has rejected the 2 percent requests for the 2004-05 school year from Alaska, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin, all of which have larger N-sizes for their special education students than for other groups, according to interviews with state officials. At least one other state, Utah, has also been turned down for reasons not related to N-size. By rejecting their requests, ED has made it clear that the condition is nonnegotiable that N-sizes be the same for all subgroups before states can employ the new 2 percent rule (ED, May 2). That firm stance has significantly dampened some states' interest in the new flexibility.)
- Education Daily 08/04/2005

Status of Action: