Family Life

09.26.11 | Sarah Harnisch

   New York could be one of the first states to choose to opt out of the No Child Left Behind law. Last Friday, President Obama offered school districts to trade off mandatory testing of all students by 2014 in exchange for teacher evaluations. New York said Sunday it is considering being one of the states that takes the President up on his plan. The Board of Regents will vote on it at a meeting in October.
   Conservatives argue President Obama does not have the authority to give states the power to opt out of the act. Lindsay Burke with the Heritage Foundation says "we are seeing the administration once again excersize signficant executive overreach. And this time, it comes in the form of policy overhaul without the approval of Congress." New York Congressman Tom Reed says "the bottom line is we have to have these decisions more centered at the local level: local teachers, local administrators, local parents; not some bureacrats in Washington D.C. trying to come up with a one-size fits all solution. What works in Corning, New York may not work in Bozeman, Montana."