Earlier this week, nine organizations representing state and local officials, including the National Governors Association, sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to prioritize a bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In the absence of a long-term ESEA reauthorization, states have sought flexibility from certain No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements through waivers from the U.S. Department of Education. However, the letter notes that waivers will not work for all states and that they "only provide temporary relief from specific provisions of the law and in exchange require new criteria of states, school districts and schools not formally authorized in NCLB or by Congress." The letter details the coalition’s priorities and stressed that ESEA reauthorization should be a "must pass" piece of legislation in this Congress. 

Link: Letter