Florida Submits Application for Flexibility on Elementary and Secondary Education Act
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Florida Submits Application for Flexibility on Elementary and Secondary Education Act
~ Education reform efforts to help students prepare for college and career ~Tallahassee - Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson today submitted Florida's flexibility request for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The Sunshine State is one of several states that submitted an application that centers on four major principles for reform, including college and career readiness, accountability, effective instruction and reducing and removing burdensome state rules and regulations.
The ESEA flexibility request will help strengthen Florida's accountability system and aims to support all of our students in their endeavors toward achieving academic success," said Commissioner Robinson. "This is a historic time in our state as we continue to prepare our students for their next steps in life, whether that is college or career, and reforming our education system is vitally important to our nation's growth and sustainability."
The federal government enacted the ESEA in 1965 and fine tuned it through NCLB by establishing broader requirements for state standards-based reform. Florida's ESEA flexibility request aligns with the state's long-range education priorities and goals outlined in the Department's strategic plan which is supported by the State Board of Education.
The U.S. Department of Education will notify states that submit flexibility requests as early as January 2012 on the status of their submissions. Florida's request and related materials are available at www.fldoe.org/esea/. For additional information on ESEA, visit the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility.