Dive Summary:

• The U.S. Education Department announced Thursday that states could waive portions of No Child Left Behind through spring 2016.
• In order to receive waivers from the law, which expired in 2007 and is also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, states must agree to put measures in place that focus on low-performing schools and schools with large numbers of at-risk students.
• Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the best solution for the law would be a reauthorization—if Congress can agree on a "responsible" bill.

From the article:

... In 2011, the Education Department announced that states could petition Duncan for waivers from some of No Child Left Behind's most ambitious requirements, such as having all students read and do math at grade level by 2014. Schools that failed to reach that goal faced penalties, such as losing millions of federal dollars to help their most at-risk students.

Duncan had hoped the specter of waivers would compel Congress to update No Child Left Behind, which expired in 2007 and has not been renewed or replaced. ...