By Dan Modlin/AP
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky Department of Education Spokesperson Lisa Gross has confirmed that Kentucky will apply for a waiver from student testing mandates in the Federal "No Child Left Behind" law. Officials with the U-S Department of Education have indicated that they plan to offer such waivers to all fifty states, as long as those states meet other school reform requirements. President Obama had requested the waiver process.
Gross says the federal government is expected to release guidelines for the waiver process in upcoming months. According to Gross, the state of Kentucky will use its state model for accountability purposes. The goal of the "No Child Left Behind" law was to have every student proficient in reading and math by 2014. Some critics have charged that the "No Child Left Behind"law labels schools as failures when they have made some progress.