Connecticut Lawsuit Says ‘No Child Left Behind’ Is Illegal

Connecticut on Monday became the first state to challenge the No Child Left Behind law in court, arguing that the centerpiece of President Bush’s education law amounts to an unfunded mandate from the federal government.

“Our message today is: Give up the unfunded mandates, or give us the money,” said state Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal.

The lawsuit raises the stakes in a fight between states and the Bush administration over the law. Experts expect that legislatures around the country will be watching the case carefully, and that other states could vote to join the lawsuit or file their own.

The lawsuit argues that No Child Left Behind is illegal because it requires standardized tests and other school programs that the government doesn’t pay for. The suit asks a federal judge to declare that state and local money cannot be used to meet the law’s goals.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has repeatedly denied requests from Connecticut for more flexibility.

“Unfortunately, this lawsuit sends the wrong message to students, educators and parents,” said Susan Aspey, a department spokeswoman. “The funds have been provided for testing, but Connecticut apparently wants to keep those funds without using them as intended.”

The cornerstone of the law is standardized testing -- something Connecticut conducts in grades four, six and eight. But under No Child Left Behind, the state is required to start testing children in grades three, five and seven this school year.

State education officials say they already know that minority and poor children don’t perform as well as their wealthy, white peers, and that additional tests aren’t going to tell them more.

Education Commissioner Betty Sternberg said the state intended to comply with the law while the court decided the merits of the case.

“I think that we’re at the point where we can’t do these discussions anymore on the phone or in the conference room,” Sternberg said. “We really are at the point where they need to be worked out in a different venue, and that’s in the court.”

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who for months urged the state to settle its differences through negotiation, recently joined the teachers, superintendents, lawmakers and parents voicing support for the lawsuit.

“We in Connecticut do a lot of testing already, far more than most other states,” Rell said. “Our taxpayers are sagging under the crushing costs of local education. What we don’t need is a new laundry list of things to do -- with no new money to do them.”

The federal government is providing Connecticut with $5.8 million this fiscal year to pay for the testing, Sternberg said. She estimates federal funds will fall $41.6 million short of paying for costs associated with carrying out the law through 2008.

The state is not the first entity to sue in response to No Child Left Behind. The National Education Assn., a teachers’ union, filed a lawsuit in the spring on behalf of local districts and 10 state union chapters, including Connecticut.

“It is an interesting case,” said Jack Jennings, president of the Washington-based Center on Education Policy. “It’s interesting because a judge has to consider the fact that this is a state that’s suing. It’s not a school district. It’s not a teachers’ union. It’s the state of Connecticut. So that adds a lot more gravity to the lawsuit.”

In Utah, the Legislature passed a measure defying the federal law, and it was signed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on May 2. The law gives state educational standards priority over the requirements of No Child Left Behind.

Connecticut officials say they will go forward with or without the support of other states.

“If there’s a bully on the playground, it often takes one brave soul to step forward and stand up to the bully,” said state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Education Committee.