ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Florida has become one of the first 10 states to be excused from the rigid requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The change will affect how federal Title I money is spent, the standards and rules schools must meet, and the way schools are rated.
President Obama said the program's original goals were good, but schools need more flexibility.
WFTV's Lori Brown checked with local school districts, and learned one of the biggest changes developing from this was that A-rated schools that NCLB considered as failing won't have the double standard.
Orange County Public Schools deputy superintendent Barbara Jenkins said the two rating systems will now be merged into one.
"Having the two systems in place here was just confusing. A parent would get notified that their school was an A, then they would get notified it wasn't making Adequate Yearly Progress," Jenkins said.
Here's why: NCLB is all or nothing. It grades schools by demographic groups, and has increasing goals each year to make 100 percent of every group proficient by 2014. If one group fails, the whole school fails.
Florida's rating system looks at the student population as a whole, with an emphasis on learning gains.
The waiver also frees up school district's Title I funds. Under NCLB, Orange County Public Schools must spend $8 million on tutoring.
With the waiver, it must only spend $300,000, and districts can now choose the tutoring companies.
Parent Linda Kobert with Fund Education Now said she hopes the waiver will mean less teaching to the test.
"The culture of high-stakes testing has hurt our schools, it's hurt our curriculum, and it's hurting our kids," Kobert said.
But one reason Florida received the waiver is because of its high standards and testing accountability.
Jenkins said testing will remain rigorous.
"You're not going to see a doing away with standardized tests in the near future," Jenkins said.
The school choice component of NCLB is not expected to change. Students in D or F schools will still be allowed to transfer under Florida's own law.
WFTV
