As nonprofit organizations like LearnerStudio look at the future possibilities for education and professional membership organizations like CCSSO evaluate the futures of student assessment, they are bringing together like-minded organizations and state leaders to create collaborative solutions to address some of the most pressing challenges facing K-12 education.
Federal waivers were repeatedly mentioned as a possible transformative strategy. While perspectives on the value and impact of waivers were far ranging, I came away with five distinct insights worth sharing.
1. Start asking what’s possible
With the federal government’s approach to waivers, there’s potential to open the door for more thoughtful discussion of what might be possible if federal and state leaders work together to align accountability and funding with a broader vision for student success. If states are wondering what the federal government might consider, it’s worth an initial conversation.
Innovating Assessment Through Partnerships: Explore how states can work with the federal government to innovate assessments »
2. Create conditions for innovation
Some view the slow uptick in waiver requests as a sign that states lack a compelling vision. It’s true that most waiver requests have been incremental, focusing largely on targeted flexibilities or funding, not system-level redesign. But that’s most likely because states are facing a whole range of limiting factors including reduced funding and capacity, volatile political environments and high leadership turnover. To see more transformational use of waivers, conditions that support long-term innovation, not just the authority to pursue it, are necessary.
The Go-to Policy Framework: KnowledgeWorks details eight essential policy conditions for personalized learning in our state policy framework »
3. Timelines matter
For states already managing funding uncertainty, limited capacity and leadership turnover, a short runway changes the calculation. Recent federal waiver approvals came with a 2029 or 2030 deadline. Systems change work takes time. If state leaders believe federal priorities could shift with the next administration, they may question whether it is worth investing significant time and political capital in a waiver strategy that could be narrowed, reversed or deprioritized before it has a chance to take root.
Funding change: What funding streams look like affect the pace of change. See what funding opportunities look like »
4. Quality waivers don’t appear out of nowhere
Leveraging use of waivers for meaningful change requires significant foresight and pre-planning. It is tied to a thoughtful state process that engages deeply with the community and stakeholders to create a shared vision for learning and to identify potential barriers to success. Indiana’s federal waiver is a great example of a waiver request aligned to years of statewide work well before the waiver opportunity presented itself.
Get Inspired: See what Indiana’s waiver entails »
5. There’s a lot we can learn if we pay attention
The current conditions for education innovation are not ideal, but there is much to learn from the challenges states surface in their requests. For instance, Indiana elevated the need to focus on academic and skills mastery to ensure students are ready for the future of work. Iowa advocated for local funding flexibility, so districts, particularly small rural districts, could roll federal funding toward a bigger investment with the potential for greater student impact. Paying close attention to the issues that states are trying to solve with waivers can provide great insights for the next Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization.
What states want: Get the latest in education policy trends with our annual policy trends report »
