KY Announces No Child Left Behind Waiver

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...The Kentucky Department of Education announced Thursday the federal government has granted the state a waiver from some parts of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Law.  Kentucky applied in November for the relief. Education Commissioner Terry Holliday says the relief means the state can use its newly developed accountability model to report progress to the federal government. Legislators in Washington have been attempting to rework the controversial law, but President Barack Obama bypassed Congress in allowing states to apply for waivers. Kentucky education officials have been overhauling the state's public education system from top to bottom since the 2009 passage of Senate Bill 1, which mandated that every Kentucky public school student graduate prepared for higher education or a career. A White House official says the ten states freed from the strict requirements are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee.