BREWER, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --- More than a decade after 'No Child Left Behind' shaped public education in the U.S., school leaders in Maine are now trying to adjust how the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is carried out here in the state.
The Maine Department of Education has been working on a waiver to submit to the U.S. Department of Education. If approved it would allow state officials to waive certain parts of 'No Child Left Behind' while at the same time implementing their own changes to the law.
The U.S. Department of Education has already approved these flexibility applications for more than 30 states. Four state committees worked on Maine's proposal. It recommends using more personalized standards to evaluate student progress in subjects as well as the performance of schools and educators.
'No Child Left Behind' had the goal of making all kids proficient in school subjects by 2014. If approved, Maine's proposal would establish annual goals for improvement that would be unique to each school.
"The primary goal with this project from the beginning was can we take a proposal back to them {The U.S. Department of Education} and get it approved for a waiver that creates some flexibility," said Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen, "That allows us to look at different kinds of data as we figure out which schools need help...that we can come up with new flexible ways of providing support to schools that are really targeted....that are not kind of one size fits all solutions."
Commissioner Bowen has been taking public comment on the proposal at forums across Maine. Residents can submit their comments online before it is handed in on September 6.
NEWS CENTER