Sen. Mark Begich (D) will go on the radio in Alaska on Monday with an ad highlighting his opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act.

The spot, timed to the start of a new school year and shared first with POLITICO, stresses that the red-state Democrat supports an Alaska-specific approach.

“One of my priorities in Washington is dumping No Child Left Behind mandates that don’t work in Alaska, like the yearly progress tests that don’t fit the diversity of Alaska schools or Alaskan kids,” Begich says in the 60-second spot. “I fought for waivers to get Alaska out from under this one-size-fits-all law hurting our children, but we need a permanent fix.”

He notes that his son, Jacob, is starting the sixth grade and says that he is pushing hard for more support of vocational education so that Alaska graduates can take good-paying jobs in oil, mining and construction.