Fight over No Child Left Behind cash continues

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it will ask a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling in a lawsuit related to No Child Left Behind Act funding.

School districts in three states including Michigan and the nation's largest teachers' union have sued the federal government, arguing that schools should not have to comply with requirements of the education law that aren't funded by the federal government.

On Jan. 7, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided with the plaintiffs by a 2-1 decision.

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

MLive.com