LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nine California school districts are submitting a joint application to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver of stringent school standards and are proposing an alternative way to measure performance.

The superintendents of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Fresno, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento City, Santa Ana, Sanger and Clovis unified districts said Thursday that they are seeking their own waiver from No Child Left Behind standards after the federal government rejected a waiver application by the state of California last year.

The superintendents want a broader measure of school performance that is not so heavily weighted on test scores. Their proposal calls for also considering parent satisfaction, suspensions, expulsions, absenteeism and graduation rates.

If approved, the districts would receive $110 million in federal funding that is currently being withheld.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.