Appeals Court Deals Major Blow to NCLB
On the eve of NCLB’s sixth anniversary, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled yesterday that Secretary Spellings is violating the Spending Clause of the Constitution by requiring states and school districts to spend their own funds to comply with No Child Left Behind.
NEA, nine school districts, and nine NEA state affiliates brought the lawsuit in April 2005 to oppose costly federal regulations that divert money from children and classrooms to paperwork and bureaucracy. At issue in the case was Section 9527(a) of the law that says, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to …. mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act.”
“It’s time for the Secretary to comply with the law and the Constitution,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “If the Bush Administration won’t ensure that states and schools have the federal funds needed to implement the law, then they must cease with threats to punish states and districts who cannot comply due to lack of federal funds.”
