After applying for a waiver for flexibility from the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, Vermont has changed its mind and will not pursue the application.
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that it has approved waivers for another eight states. A total of 19 states have gotten waivers to date in exchange for providing their own plans to improve student outcomes and teaching quality.
But the Vermont Board of Education voted to opt out of seeking the waiver May 15 because of the requirement for annual testing. It says the waiver is not as flexible as officials hoped it would be.
The federal law requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. The waiver gets rid of that mandate as long as the states come up with an acceptable alternative plan.
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