From the Texas Tribune: State Gets Waiver From No Child Left Behind

From 2306's look at both federalism and education policy:

After nearly a year of negotiations, the state has finally secured a waiver from No Child Left Behind, the Texas Education Agency announced Monday.
 
With the reprieve, only the lowest-performing 15 percent of schools will be subject to a series of federally prescribed interventions, instead of what would have been nearly all of the state's school districts next year because of a failure to meet the law's requirement that 100 percent of their students pass reading and math exams by 2014. Struggling school districts will also no longer be required to set aside 20 percent of their funding for remedial tutoring services.

“The underlying message throughout our negotiations with the federal government has been Texans know what’s best for Texas schools,” TEA commissioner Michael L. Williams said in a statement. “I believe our school districts will appreciate the additional flexibility this waiver provides while also adhering to our strong principles on effective public education.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a letter to the agency that he had granted the waiver for the 2013-14 school year with the condition that Texas continue development of a new teacher evaluation system. The Obama administration has pushed for student achievement on standardized tests to be included as a review of teacher performance, while the agency has said it does not have the authority to require districts to use a specific evaluation measure.