NC Gets NCLB Waiver

North Carolina is one of eight states that have been granted a waiver from some of the most significant requirements of the education law "No Child Left Behind."

Dave DeWitt: Last year, the Obama administration announced it would grant the waivers as a way to deal with a Congressional standoff over re-newing No Child Left Behind. Twenty-six states have applied for waivers, 18 have now received them. North Carolina learned it got one of those waivers yesterday. In a conference call with reporters, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says the waivers allow for more local control of schools.

Arne Duncan: These states are getting more flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLV's one-size-fits-all federal mandates in order to develop and implement locally tailored solutions in order to meet their unique educational challenges.

North Carolina's waiver application includes its own system of student accountability. The waiver will allow states to avoid No Child Left Behind's deadline that all students be proficient in math and language arts by 2014.