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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion January 26, 2004
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Bush Education Law Not Adequately Funded, States Claim



President Bush asserted in his State of the Union last week that "the No Child Left Behind Act is opening the door of opportunity to all of America's children."1 But several states are taking issue with the president's signature education law, including neighboring Virginia, whose Republican-controlled legislature last week passed a near-unanimous resolution calling on Congress to exempt it from the law's requirements.

The president warned those who would oppose the law, saying,"the status quo always has defenders. Some want to undermine the No Child Left Behind Act by weakening standards and accountability." But Virginia's House of Delegates passed a resolution by a vote of 98-1 last week, claiming that the No Child Left Behind Act "represents the most sweeping intrusions into state and local control of education in the history of the United States."2

The president defended his administration's funding of education, saying, "We're providing more funding for our schools -- a 36-percent increase since 2001."3 But key Republicans in Virginia argue that the new law will cost "literally millions of dollars that Virginia does not have."4 The House Education Committee Chairman added, "the damn law is ludicrous."5

Virginia isn't the only state with a Republican legislature that has raised questions about the federal funding of the No Child Left Behind law. Ohio recently commissioned a study that found the No Child Left Behind law would cost Ohio $1.5 billion annually. Washington's contribution last year to Ohio totaled $44 million.6

At least four other states, Utah, Vermont, North Dakota, and Indiana, have commissioned studies to determine how much it costs to comply with the law. This is viewed as a step towards considering rejection of federal funding in order to avoid what they perceive to be harsh penalties for failing to meet the standards of the law.7

President Bush promised to increase funding in this year's budget by an additional $1 billion8, a figure that is still approximately 27% below full funding for the program.

Sources:
  1. 2004 State of the Union Speech, 1/20/04.
  2. "Va. Seeks To Leave Bush Law Behind," Washington Post, 1/24/04.
  3. 2004 State of the Union Speech, 1/20/04.
  4. "Va. Seeks To Leave Bush Law Behind," Washington Post, 1/24/04.
  5. Ibid.
  6. "Report: Federal education law costs Ohio $1.5 billion a year," Associated Press, 1/15/04.
  7. "Utah considers opting out of No Child Left Behind," Stateline.org, 12/30/03.
  8. "Renewing His Focus on Schools, Bush Proposes Spending Increase," New York Times, 1/9/04, A14.



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