Patty Murray’s new federal education legislation that will replace the troubled No Child Left Behind Act will have a “huge impact” in Washington, the senator said during a visit to a Bellevue school on June 2.

Murray visited students and administrators at Sherwood Forest Elementary last week to discuss the Every Student Succeeds Act, which she worked on with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee). The bipartisan bill will allow states to develop their own markers for school improvement rather than one-size-fits-all federal regulations assigned under No Child Left Behind.

“We are really looking at states to be the next wave of creators,” Murray said.

The act requires that State Education Agency to be the key decision maker in formulating each state’s standards. In Washington, that is the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instuction in consultation with state leadership, district and school representatives and other organizations.

During her Bellevue visit, Murray got feedback from district Superintendent Tim Mills, Deputy Superintendent for Student Academic Performance Eva Collins, Director of Student Intervention Services Anissa Bereano, school board President Christine Chew, board member My-Linh Thai and Sherwood Principal Danelle Edwards.

The act will also reduce the focus on testing as an indicator for school success.

Over the next year, the biggest change local parents will see is that they will no longer receive letters informing them their children’s school has received a failing grade.

After the state lost its pre-existing waiver in March 2014, Washington’s Title 1 schools were required to reach an Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark to avoid receiving a failing grade. That meant that 100 percent of the students at all schools receiving federal funding under the Title 1 program had to demonstrate proficiency in both reading and math.

All six Title 1 schools in Bellevue — Ardmore, Lake Hills, Sherwood Forest and Stevenson Elementary, and Highland and Odle Middle School — failed that benchmark last year. Most schools in the state also did not meet that benchmark.

“Not one child got a better education because of those letters,” Murray said of the reporting system under No Child Gets Left Behind.

In districts with public school choice plans such as Bellevue, that failing grade meant parents had the option to move their children, casting a negative atmosphere in those failing schools.

“It created a negative label and wasn’t great for the morale of our staff,” said Bereano said.

Murray called the next 12 months a “year of transition” while the Department of Education and the states define the standards for student success.

“This is the time for everyone to weigh in,” she said.