Last week, the Department of Education (ED) denied Iowa's request for a waiver from the provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

According to ED, Iowa does not have the capacity to enforce the teacher and principal evaluations that are required for a waiver. This is the first state to be denied a waiver, but ED maintains its willingness to work with the state, once Iowa’s legislature grants the authority to implement the evaluations.

To qualify for NCLB waivers, states must adopt evaluations that put teachers into at least 3 categories—highly effective, effective, and not effective. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have requested NCLB waivers, and, so far, 19 have been granted them.