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Federal ESEA Waivers as Reform Leverage: Politics and Variation in State Implementation

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  • Kenneth K. Wong

Abstract

Under President Obama, over 80 percent of states have received executive approval for waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act in the absence of Congressional reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). These comprehensive ESEA waivers have been quite ambitious, in that they were designed to address broad changes in K-12 education in nearly all fifty states and not in response to specific-state concerns or to foster experimentation on a focused set of issues. In reviewing the actual state implementation, we found that the Obama administration has enjoyed substantial success in using the waiver process to leverage states to adopt policy changes. But there are limits, as seen in the difficulties the administration has encountered in leveraging changes in teacher and principal evaluation, and inducing changes in student learning and performance standards. The major obstacles to the accomplishment of administration objectives are internal state political dynamics.

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  • Kenneth K. Wong, 2015. "Federal ESEA Waivers as Reform Leverage: Politics and Variation in State Implementation," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 45(3), pages 405-426.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:publus:v:45:y:2015:i:3:p:405-426.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/publius/pjv020
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Nolette, 2017. "The Dual Role of State Attorneys General in American Federalism: Conflict and Cooperation in an Era of Partisan Polarization," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 342-377.
    2. Andrew Saultz & Lance D. Fusarelli & Andrew McEachin, 2017. "The Every Student Succeeds Act, the Decline of the Federal Role in Education Policy, and the Curbing of Executive Authority," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 426-444.
    3. Carol S. Weissert & Benjamin Pollack & Richard P. Nathan, 2017. "Intergovernmental Negotiation in Medicaid: Arkansas and the Premium Assistance Waiver," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 445-466.

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