BOISE - State education officials received more than 50 public comments on their plan to adopt a new five-star rating system for schools while rejecting the latest benchmarks under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

A 21-day public comment period ended Wednesday. As of Friday, about half of the comments were supportive of the state seeking a federal waiver to get around the latest testing requirements under No Child Left Behind, which passed in 2001 with broad support but has since been widely panned by critics.

"A waiver will give the state of Idaho more flexibility to address these needs and lift restriction of the law that most likely will hamper continued academic improvement in Idaho," said Kasey Teske, who is principal at Robert Stuart Middle School in Twin Falls.

While several who weighed in on Idaho's plan offered suggestions for the proposed new school grading system, others bemoaned losses to funding for education and took direct shots at Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, who introduced a polarizing education overhaul that was signed into law last year.

Luna touted his education changes Tuesday, saying Idaho is in a good position to receive a waiver from the latest No Child Left Behind requirements.

"This application for a waiver of NCLB requirements is yet another instance that Tom Luna has no qualifications," said Marilyn Ames, who identified herself as former teacher. "Consider this a 'no star' patron endorsement of this application for waiver and of the Luna plan."

The comments also included specific questions about how special education students will be treated under the new rating system and what will happen to schools that were identified as needing improvement under No Child Left Behind, the nation's governing education law.

"Will they be able to earn a 4- or 5-star rating?" said Barney Brewton, a principal at Seltice Elementary in Post Falls.

Under the new system, Idaho will use standardized test scores to gauge student academic growth and proficiency in grades 3-10, while factors like graduation rates and student enrollment in advanced courses would come into play in later grades.

Idaho is embarking on its own course after opting to ignore the latest requirements for determining school progress under No Child Left Behind, which is known primarily for its emphasis on standardized tests and the labeling of thousands of schools as failures.

Critics say the federal law sets unrealistic benchmarks for public schools while failing to accurately measure student growth.

President Barack Obama announced in September that since Congress had failed to rewrite No Child Left Behind, he would allow states that meet certain requirements as a way to get around it.

Under Obama's plan, states could ask the U.S. Education Department to be exempted from some requirements if they meet conditions such as imposing standards to prepare students for college and careers and setting evaluation standards for teachers and principals.

Luna told lawmakers Tuesday the state is already adopting these changes as part of his Students Come First plan.

"Because of Students Come First, Idaho is now poised to get out from under the federal law known as No Child Left Behind," Luna said.

Eleven states have already formally requested waivers from the federal government. Idaho plans to meet a second deadline to apply on Feb. 21, but the application will first go before the state board of Education for approval.

The board meets Feb. 15 in Boise.