Ohio is exploring how to take advantage ofPresident Barack Obama's plan to let states opt out of parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law.State schools Superintendent Stan Heffner says Ohio is reviewing details from the U.S. Department of Education.

The 2001 law sought to hold schools more accountable for student performance and require better qualified teachers.

Ellen McWilliams Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for Akron Public Schools says the district is already in place to qualify for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind mandates because it's already achieving them through its participation in the Race To The Top program.

McWilliams tells AkronNewsNow " To be eligible for the waiver you have to be able to demonstrate that you are incorporating student performance into teachers evaluations. We're already implementing that, and have plans to implement that, rolling that out."

McWilliams says thanks to Akron Public Schools participation in Race To The Top Akron schools are fare ahead of others in compliance with the tougher education rules. " We're already ten paces down the street compared to a lot of districts because of the same strategies in Race To The Top that are listed in the waiver process."