Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich Applauds President’s Education Waiver For Florida Students

TALLAHASSEE – Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich on Thursday applauded the announcement by President Barack Obama that Florida had won a waiver from the federal government freeing it from the rigid teaching restrictions imposed under “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB).

“As Florida has seen first-hand ever since the FCAT was imposed as the sole judge of a child’s education success, teaching to one test, as NCLB required, severely limits the ability to evaluate a child’s progress in totality,” said Senator Rich (D-Weston) “One size does not fit all, as the President wisely noted,  neither at the federal nor the state level.

“I urge Florida education officials to seize this reprieve as an opportunity to rethink our own state requirements for teaching our children, and to strive for effective approaches built on tried and true education basics.”