Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement of states that are being granted waivers from NCLB requirements:
Given the politics, President Obama and Secretary Duncan pushed the reform envelope as far as they could be expected with these waivers. In doing so, they have reached a consensus with a critical mass of states that there is, and should be, a role for the federal government to play in ensuring an equitable and high-quality education for every child. We remain skeptical, however, of the storyline that says we are a nation filled with states chomping at the bit to do the right thing for children but which are hamstrung from doing so by federal bureaucrats and paperwork. History simply proves otherwise. It still falls upon Congress to establish the right balance of carrots and sticks to make the aspirational rhetoric a reality nationwide.
– Joe Williams, DFER Executive Director