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A Cure Worse than the Disease

My initial excitement that Connecticut’s Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, announced he would file suit against the Department of Education over No Child Left Behind was tempered by a moment of reflection. The Bush Administration probably wants nothing more than to have No Child Left Behind struck down as an unconstitutional “unfunded mandate”. This would allow all parties involved to explore the topic of school vouchers, which is the ultimate hope of a person like George W. Bush.

Vouchers would achieve several of the global themes adopted by the Administration. First, they provide a subsidy to otherwise not-so-profitable businesses that benefit the well off at the cost of America’s poor. Secondly, vouchers would have a chilling effect on the strength and militancy of the Parent Teacher Association. But most of all, vouchers would extend the reach of the Executive Branch down to the classroom floor, without guarantying the success of the schools and without allowing local and state authorities to intervene.

It is true that if ALL unfunded mandates are struck down by the Supreme Court that would put all parties involved in a tough situation. And perhaps this is a true slipknot: every outcome has the potential to be a nightmare. If the federal government has the power to enact unfunded mandates universally, the results could be as disastrous as if it had no power to under any circumstances.

That being said, it’s not like NCLB is a good program or is improving the lot of America’s public school children. Curing it with vouchers however, sounds worse than the disease.
posted by Thomas at 6:44 PM 0 comments