JURIST - Paper Chase: NEA to appeal dismissal of No Child Left Behind suit

[JURIST] The National Education Association (NEA) [association website] has promised to appeal a Wednesday ruling by a federal judge in Michigan dismissing its lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) [PDF text; executive summary; US Dept. Ed. factsheet]. According to the complaint [PDF; NEA case summary], filed by the NEA and individual school districts in Texas, Michigan and Vermont, school districts should not be forced to comply with parts of the law not funded by the federal government. US District Judge Bernard Friedman held that if Congress had intended the law to be fully funded, it would have done so in the legislation. NCLB requires states improve their academic achievement and measure progress through standardized tests. School districts whose students fail to make progress may be sanctioned with loss of funding, dismissal of and replacement of staff, or the transfer of students to better performing schools. NEA President Reg Weaver said [NEA press release], "Parents in communities where school districts are financially strained were promised that this law would close the achievement gaps. Instead, their tax dollars are being used to cover unpaid bills sent from Washington for costly regulations that do not help improve education." AP has more. The NEA has more on the legal challenge. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] has not yet posted Judge Friedman's decision.

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