The U.S. Department of Education has invited each State educational agency (SEA) to request flexibility regarding specific requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive State-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction. Currently:

• 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Bureau of Indian Education submitted requests for ESEA flexibility
• 34 States and the District of Columbia are approved for ESEA flexibility (see the list of peer reviewers)

Choose a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Bureau of Indian Education Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin

States approved for ESEA flexibility
States with ESEA flexibility requests under review

Overview
ESEA Flexibility Policy Document
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Critical Topics
Accountablility Addendum to Flexibility Request and Sample Addendum
Amendment Submissions Process and Template
Graduation Rates & ESEA Flexibility
Monitoring Process and Documents

For more see Additional Support and Technical Assistance

The Opportunity of ESEA Flexibility	Protecting School & Student Accountability	Advancing Accountability and Graduation Rates
Continuing to Expose and Close Achievement Gaps	Turning Around the Lowest-Performing Schools	Supporting Teachers, Leaders and Local Innovation

Looking Back and Moving Forward (NCLB & ESEA Flexibility)
Supporting State and Local Progress (Principles of ESEA Flexibility)
What ESEA Flexibility Means for Students, Teachers and Parents

• ESEA Flexibility Request
  Submission Windows 1 and 2 (September 23, 2011-February 28, 2012)
  Submission Window 3 (February 29, 2012-September 6, 2012)
  

• ESEA Flexibility Review Guidance
  Submission Windows 1 and 2
  Submission Window 3

If you have questions regarding ESEA flexibility that are not answered in the attached documents, or as SEA teams you would like to schedule a time to speak with Department staff about ESEA flexibility requests, please contact us at ESEAflexiblity@ed.gov.

Click here to sign up to receive an email when this page is updated.