"WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As the U.S. government discusses reauthorizing a sweeping education law and prepares to distribute billions of stimulus dollars for school reform, state legislatures are sending it a strong message: hands off.
Education policy has always been the territory of state and local governments, but in the last decade the U.S. government has interjected itself into curriculum and school reforms, the National Conference of State Legislatures said on Monday.
The group, which represents state legislatures, suggested using a federal model to fund education akin to that used to build the interstate highway system, whereby money is given to states, which then pass it on to local governments.
It would also like federal funds concentrated in areas where students are the most disadvantaged and not handed out equally to every congressional district.
The education law passed under former President George W. Bush and known as No Child Left Behind created a system of standards by which schools and school districts would be judged and federal funding awarded."
