State seeks to block 'No Child Left Behind'
Connecticut rebels against Bush education policy
Thursday, February 2, 2006
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) -- The Bush administration's "No Child Left Behind" policy will lead to "dumbing down" tests in public schools because Washington has not fully funded the policy, the state of Connecticut said in a court hearing Tuesday to try to block the program.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told the U.S. District Court in New Haven that President Bush's signature education policy was "mistaken" and "misguided," as he fought a motion by the federal government to throw out his lawsuit.
The suit, filed in August, makes Connecticut the first state seeking to block the 2002 policy that calls for standardized testing of students.
"If the federal government asks us to undertake the mandate, we would be willing to do it, but they have to provide the money," Blumenthal told the court in New Haven.
Blumenthal said federal funding was not enough for the state to test in a way that maintains its high standards, leaving Connecticut $41.6 million short of what it needs to comply with the law. He said that dynamic would force Connecticut to rely on multiple choice tests rather than costlier written tests which would better challenge students....
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/02/02/education.reform.reut/index.html
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