The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday finished its sweeping rewrite of No Child Left Behind that eases coast-to-coast requirements for schools and gives states greater independence to set their own goals, The Associated Press reports.
On a party-line vote, the Democratic-led panel sent to the full Senate a bill that that gives states flexibility to implement reform as long as Education Secretary Arne Duncan approves their plans.
Republicans opposed the revisions, saying they give too much power to Washington and to Duncan.
‘‘He has the states over a barrel,’’ said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the top Republican on the panel.
Duncan already has given 37 states and the District of Columbia permission to ignore parts of No Child Left Behind in exchange for overhaul plans.
Those waivers emerged as a fault line between the parties, with Democrats defending the moves as necessary to avoid harsh penalties for failing to meet requirements and Republicans claiming Duncan abused his authority.
