Obama rolling back Bush-era education law

[ensho]

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-rolling-back-bush-era-education-law-205024454.html


President Barack Obama is giving states the flexibility to opt out of provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, a move he says is designed to energize schools but Republicans challenge as outside his authority.

-snip-

Under the plan Obama was to outline Friday, states would be allowed to ask the Education Department to be exempted from some of the law's requirements if they meet certain conditions. That includes enacting standards to prepare students for college and careers and setting evaluation standards for teachers and principals.

"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," Obama said in a statement Thursday. "The purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at the local level."

The administration says it is acting because Congress has been slow to address the issues by rewriting the law.
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of course the repugs are all in a tizzy over it

[valerief]

1. I thought the rethugs liked states controlling their own destiny. I guess only when it fits their

agenda.

[MH1]

7. they can't stand Obama getting ahead of them on this

although I this is one I think most liberals and conservatives agree on, that NCLB is a mess.

[Oceansaway]

2. K&R...n/t

[bluestateguy]

3. Honest conservatives should oppose NCLB

It is a set of meddlesome mandates from Washington DC upon state and locally run schools.

But I guess some conservatives are all for meddling from Washington if it means making schools turn over lists of names to military recruiters, abstinence only sex education, more standardized testing and one size fits all teacher evaluations. That is meddling from Washington that some hypocrite conservatives will endorse.

[jmowreader]

9. Not quite...

Conservatives are only for meddling from Washington if President Obama is against it.

If President Obama were to announce he thought red, white and blue were the most beautiful colors in the world and apple pie was the best dessert ever, the Republicans would immediately rush to have apple pie taken off the menu in the Senate Dining Room and they'd write a law to change the national colors to purple and green.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Republicans are so funny.

They want the public schools to be treated with a broad brush law, while they promote private schools which are flexible.

I just don't get those funny Republicans.

[Inuca]

5. Obama has the R gov of TN

present at the announcement.

markknoller Mark Knoller (tweet)
Gov Haslam said as a GOP governor he doesn't often agree witih Pres Obama, but this is one of those times.

[ellisonz]

6. That's my President!

woot!
:woohoo:

[vaberella]

8. Thanks Mr. President. n/t

[bhikkhu]

10. I was so glad to see this!

I'd rather see it replaced with something sensible, but given the crippled-up congress we have, Obama has probably taken the best course of action. Anyone who's followed the problems with NCLB knows they are something of a time-bomb, and things were about to get very much worse if nothing was changed.

Credit and thanks to the president!