SAN FRANCISCO — California education leaders agreed Thursday to join 37 other states that have sought relief from the most strenuous requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law, which expects all students to be at grade level in math and reading by 2014.
Saying the measure had confused parents, demoralized teachers and drained money from programs that would do more to boost student achievement, the state Board of Education voted unanimously to ask the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from certain funding and achievement requirements.