Dive Brief:

• South Dakota lawmakers are urging Washington to consider giving states more local control over testing and school governance.
• Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds, as well as Rep. Kristi Noem, have spoken out on the issue and are specifically focused on state-centric changes that could occur with the impending No Child Left Behind re-write.
• Rounds, who is the state's former governor, says the current bill has far too many requirements tied to federal funding, and he believes states should decide what is best for their schools. 

Dive Insight:

It's interesting hearing states talk about local control, especially as so many states are taking over school districts and in turn force them to relinquish their local control. At the end of the day, what becomes clear is that many people believe local control is best, but the group one step above believes it knows what will work best for the system.

The NCLB re-write has been greatly anticipated, especially as it has a chance to end the current waiver system. As of right now, there are so many flaws in the current system that many states require waivers. But those waivers come with the caveat that they obey another set of federal requirements, such as adopting certain standards or teacher evaluation models. The hoops states must jump through can get tiring, though it's also key to point out that schools sometimes feel those same frustrations, as well.