Summary: Many Americans view the nation's public elementary and secondary schools as average at best. With many students graduating without the skills sought by employers, dissatisfaction with the educational system has fueled calls for reform. Some educators and legislators believe that providing more regulatory flexibility to educators at the state and local levels will enable local school districts to direct more resources to the classroom and to adopt more innovative instructional approaches. In response, Congress established the Education Flexibility Partnership Demonstration Act (Ed-Flex) in 1994. Under Ed-Flex, the Department of Education authorized 12 states to grant waivers from federal requirements to their local school districts. Recent proposals would expand the number of states participating in Ed-Flex and the range of federal requirements that could be waived. This report (1) describes the scope of Ed-Flex and how it works, (2) describes the criteria that states must meet to participate in Ed-Flex and identifies the extent to which states not currently participating satisfy these criteria, (3) identifies the number and the type of waivers that Ed-Flex states have granted to their local school districts, (4) discusses participating states' views on the usefulness of Ed-Flex, and (5) identifies issues for ensuring accountability if Ed-Flex is continued or expanded.
