Appeals Court Revives NCLB "Unfunded Mandate" Lawsuit

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

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.