U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has approved New Hampshire's request for a waiver freeing the state from some provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.
State education officials made the request last year. At that time, then-Governor John Lynch wrote Duncan, saying that New Hampshire school districts are increasingly hampered by inflexible provisions in the law. Lynch said the waiver would allow New Hampshire to use a new, more flexible accountability system.
Lynch said New Hampshire has excellent schools, but proficiency requirements under the federal law have led to many school districts in the state being labeled as failing.
Under No Child Left Behind, about 75 percent of the state's schools would have been labeled as "failing" next year.
