House Democrats to seek waiver from Bush education law
By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer
State House Democrats will propose a resolution asking Congress to give states waivers to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, joining a growing number of state lawmakers nationally who are challenging President Bush's signature education law.
The resolution will request that Congress give states waivers from a provision in the law that uses participation rates on tests as one of the factors in determining whether schools are making progress. It will also ask for sufficient federal money to meet the law's goal of improving student performance.
In Hawai'i, a number of schools, including a few high schools, have fallen short of the law solely because 95 percent of students — either overall or among several sub-groups — did not take the annual tests.
"This should not be a partisan debate," said state Rep. K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit). "It's a dictate from the federal government and a states' rights issue."
Last session, the House approved a resolution urging the state Department of Education to opt out of the law and give up federal education money. While the resolution did not advance in the Senate, the vote put Hawai'i among the first states in the nation to consider fighting the law.
Democrats recognize, however, that it could be crippling for the state to give up millions in federal money — especially money directed at low-income students — so they are altering their approach this session.
Lawmakers in several states, including the Republican-led House in Utah, have cast votes against spending state money on the law or have voted to request waivers, exemptions or other changes, although no state has formally opted out. Some school districts have vowed to give up federal money — some only at certain schools — rather than face the law's sanctions.
U.S. Rep. Ed Case, a Hawai'i Democrat and member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said he supports giving states more flexibility but doubts that the Bush administration and Republicans who control Congress will reconsider the law in a presidential election year.
Case said he has spoken to school administrators in his district, which covers rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, and found that the resounding theme is that the law is too rigid.
The law requires schools to test students annually toward the goal of having all students proficient in core subjects by 2014. Schools that fail to make adequate progress are required to offer students tutoring and the opportunity to transfer to other schools. Schools that fall behind over several years face substantial overhaul, including the replacement of school staff.
Last school year, 60 percent of Hawai'i schools did not make adequate progress under the law. The DOE is now sending intervention teams into 25 schools at risk of the most severe sanctions.
State superintendent Pat Hamamoto said she agrees with the law's goals of raising student performance and does not believe that Hawai'i should opt out. "I don't think it's realistic," she said.
But the DOE has asked the Legislature for more state money so the department can comply with the law, because Hamamoto has said that federal money alone does not cover the costs.
State Rep. Guy Ontai, R-37th (Mililani, Waipi'o), said he is sympathetic to the Democrats' arguments about states' rights but believes their real motivation is political.
States, he said, choose which tests schools give students to meet the law, and the results have revealed important information about which students are doing poorly.
"Looking for exceptions is basically saying, 'We can leave these children behind,'" Ontai said. "It's definitely an attempt to embarrass the president."
Reach Derrick DePledge at depledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
