Senate votes to roll back parts of No Child Left Behind

The U.S. Senate has voted to roll back significant parts of the No Child Left Behind education law.

The overhaul was approved by a 81-17 vote Thursday and sets the stage for what could be contentious negotiations with the House of Representatives over the federal government's influence over education policy.

A week ago, the House passed its own update of the 2002 law. The Senate bill would leave in place the law's annual testing schedule. But senators voted to give states and districts more control over whether and how to use tests to assess the performance of schools, teachers and students.

The bipartisan vote will trigger negotiations to work out differences with a similar House bill passed last week to revamp the law. It was once hailed as a hallmark achievement of former President George W. Bush, but in recent years it has come under heavy criticism for its stress on standardized tests for both students and teachers.

No Child Left Behind has been up for reauthorization since 2007, but lawmakers haven't been able to agree on an update until now. 

Since 2012, the Obama administration has granted requests from 42 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia for waivers from some of the law's strictest requirements because it became clear they wouldn't be met.

Wire services