U.S. to ask full Sixth Circuit to reconsider ruling on NCLB funding
The U.S. Department of Education says it will ask all active judges on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear a Jan. 7 three-judge panel ruling in favor of school districts in three states and the nation's largest teachers' union who argued that schools should not have to comply with requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that aren't funded by the federal government. The panel, in a 2-1 decision, said NCLB fails to provide clear notice as to who bears the additional costs of compliance. The court majority found statutes enacted under the spending clause of the U.S. Constitution must provide clear notice to the states of their liabilities if they accept federal funding under those statutes. “We think we have a very strong case,” said Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. “We don't believe No Child Left Behind is an unfunded mandate.” Spellings said that if the appeals court decision were to stand, it could undermine efforts to improve education. Plaintiffs include the Pontiac, Mich., school district and eight districts in Texas and Vermont, along with National Education Association affiliates in several states. They claim federal funding is not keeping pace with additional mandates required by NCLB, requiring schools to pay from local and state sources to keep up.
Source: Washington Examiner, 2/1/08, By Associated Press
[Editor’s Note: The Sixth Circuit comprises Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Secretary Spellings recently sent a letter warning chief state education officers to continue to comply with NCLB’s accountability standards. Details and background on the decision are available starting at the link below.]
NSBA School Law pages on School Dist. of the City of Pontiac v. Spellings