The Rule Of Men, Not Law: It Started With The Blizzard Of Arbitrary Obamacare Waivers, Now "Waivers" Spread To Department Of Education

An executive branch end-around Congressional legislation in No Child Left Behind. The New York Times reports:

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that he will unilaterally override the centerpiece requirement of the No Child Left Behind school accountability law, that 100 percent of students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

Mr. Duncan told reporters that he was acting because Congress had failed to rewrite the Bush-era law, which he called a “slow-motion train wreck.” He is waiving the law’s proficiency requirements for states that have adopted their own testing and accountability programs and are making other strides toward better schools, he said.

The administration’s plan amounts to the most sweeping use of executive authority to rewrite federal education law since Washington expanded its involvement in education in the 1960s.

In a republic that adhered to Constitutional principles, the President would seek to have the legislature repeal the provision of the law that is now found to be impractical or against public policy, rather than outrightly usurp legislative authority and unilaterally declare the provision "waived." It becomes more evident with each passing day, that we now live under the rule of whim, and not the Constitutionally intended rule of law. Tweet