The Chief of Staff for Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow says the federal No Child Left Behind law as it's currently written doesn't work.

Dicky Shanor says the fact that 40 states currently have waivers from the law "speaks volumes" about the lack of effectiveness of the legislation which originally was passed in 2001 as an effort to improve accountability in education.

Shanor says one problem with "governance by waiver" in enforcement of the No Child Left Behind law is that states are "subjected to the whim of the Department of Education" in educational programs.

He says the conditions of the waivers granted to various states have varied widely

Shanor notes a rewritten bill to reauthorize the legislation recently narrowly passed the US house in a mostly partisan vote, with Democrats voting against the bill and most Republicans (including Cynthia Lummis R-Wyo.) voting in favor. There were 27 Republicans who voted against the bill, while no Democrats voted for it.

The bill is currently under debate in the U.S. Senate and Shanor says he thinks the discussion of the bill as it is debated in the Senate is a good thing.

Critics of the law say it forces teachers to spend too much time preparing for tests at the expense of actually teaching an overall subject. Some critics also feel the law sets unrealistic goals and erodes local control of schools.

Supporters of the legislation, while in some cases admitting the current version of the law has flaws, argue that it is important step in improving the accountability of American schools.

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