"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Kline Introduces State and Local Funding Flexibility Act: Bill Would Allow States and School Districts to Move Money Among Education Programs, Receives Criticism from Democrats; (2) To Waive Or Not To Waive: New CRS Report Finds Secretary of Education's Waiver Authority Is "Very Broad" Under NCLB, but Does Not Include Power to "Unilaterally Impose" New Requirements on Grantees; (3) Senators Introduce Secondary School Reform Act: Legislation Targets Low-Performing High Schools and the Middle Schools that Feed Into Them; (4) Civil Rights Data Collection: New Data from U.S. Department of Education Reveals Wide Disparities in Education Resources and Opportunities; and (5) "Improving Lower Secondary Schools in Norway": OECD Report Offers Lessons for All Nations to Improve Student Performance in Middle Grades.