January 26, 2015 6:21 PM

Texas and the feds on a collision course over No Child Left Behind waiver

No guarantee of course, but GOP control of both houses of Congress could lead to a resolution over NCLB reauthorization

Texas seems destined to square off again with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Commissioner Michael Williams is making it clear he won’t blink.

The animosity between Texas and the Obama administration’s education department is long standing, stretching back to Gov. Rick Perry’s refusal to compete for the Race to the Top grant. At the time, Duncan told Bloomberg television he felt “very, very badly for the children of Texas.”

Now Duncan has rejected the Texas Education Agency’s application to extend its waiver of No Child Left Behind and its ties to federal dictates around teacher evaluations. The Duncan administration apparently wants uniformity to teacher and principal evaluations. In the past, discussion around uniform evaluations has faltered, and the idea that teachers can be compared using a growth model has resulted in outright rebellion.

“Well before this waiver, TEA’s work to develop new teacher and principal evaluation and support systems was under way with the clear intent of offering it to districts as a resource to improve instruction,” Williams said in news release. “I have always made it clear to federal officials that as part of the waiver process TEA could not exceed its current authority nor would we do anything to erode our state’s strong commitment to local control in public education. My position on this front has not, and will not, change.”

By Kimberly Reeves