Right now, federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan is joining Gov. Dannel Malloy and members of the state’s congressional delegation in announcing that the state has won a waiver on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. In case you think we’re special, other states also getting the waiver today are Delaware, Louisianan, Marylanbd, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island. That makes a total of 19 with 18 more applications in the pipeline, according to the White House. The waivers confirm that the state is making serious efforts on education reform and focusing on the neediest pupils. The waivers exempt the state from meeting the thorniest requirements of NCLB.