39 Applicants Lining Up for NCLB Waivers

Yesterday was the deadline for states to give the U.S. Department of Education a heads-up that they want to apply for a waiver under the No Child Left Behind Act, and 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico say they plan to go ahead.

These notices of “intent” to apply aren’t binding—and would-be applicants can change their minds and decide to apply, or not to apply. But the list, which the department released this morning, gives an early indication of the status of waiver interest across the country.

The waivers would offer added flexibility under the law, in exchange for adopting certain education-reform conditions. The rest of the states didn’t file a notice of intent, which is merely a courtesy for the department.

In addition to saying if they plan to apply, those filing a notice also indicated when they plan to apply: by the first-round Nov. 14 deadline, in mid-February, or some other time.

These are the 17 early-birds that say they plan to apply by Nov. 14: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Twenty others plan to apply in mid-February: Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington.

And two states, Connecticut and Oregon, say they want a waiver but didn’t indicate a timeline.

Most interesting , to me, are the 13 states that so far have not not signaled they want a waiver: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.