Re: Appeals Court Revives NCLB "Unfunded Mandate" Lawsuit

[aburke5054@aol.com]

I thought I had seen it all when a teachers' union, together with 
districts and states, argued in federal court that states should not 
have to spend their own money on their schools.  Now the Appeals Court 
says that NCLB might leave states confused about whether they have to 
spend their own money on their schools.  I can't wait to see what comes 
next.

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>
To: ARN Main List <arn-l@interversity.org>; arn2-strategy 
<arn2-strategy@yahoogroups.com>; rethinkaccountdc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 10:33 am
Subject: [arn-l] Appeals Court Revives NCLB "Unfunded Mandate" Lawsuit

U.S. APPEALS COURT REVIVES NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LAWSUIT

Associated Press -- January 7, 2008


Lansing, Mich. --A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit
challenging how the No Child Behind law is funded.


School districts in three states, including Michigan, and the nation's
largest teachers union sued related to the financing of the education
program backed by President Bush. They argue schools should not have to
comply with requirements that aren't paid for by the federal government
and that the government is imposing unfunded mandates even though the
act itself prohibits unfunded mandates.


Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in Detroit dismissed the
lawsuit in November 2005, saying the plaintiffs failed to support their
claim. But a three-judge 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in
Cincinnati, in a 2-1 decision released Monday, reversed that ruling.


The majority said the No Child Left Behind law fails to provide clear
notice as to who bears the additional costs of compliance.


Although the Pontiac, Mich., school district is the plaintiff named in
the lawsuit, the National Education Association is paying the costs of
the appeal. Other plaintiffs include eight school districts in Texas 
and
Vermont, and NEA affiliates in several states.


Messages seeking comment were left Monday with the NEA and the U.S.
Department of Education.


The No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law in 2002.







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