HARTFORD, Conn., April 6 (UPI) -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the state will sue the federal government over the No Child Left Behind Act.
Blumenthal said the law -- a vital section of President Bush's overall education plan -- represents an unfunded mandate. In announcing the lawsuit Tuesday, Blumenthal said he was checking with other state attorneys general but expected to formally file the lawsuit soon, The New York Times reported.
Connecticut would be the first state to sue because of NCLB, although several schools districts have taken similar legal actions on their own.
Blumenthal told the Times NCLB is "illegal and unconstitutional." The newspaper cited legal scholars as saying the law forbids the federal government to require state officials to spend state funds to meet federal policies mandated by the law.
Connecticut education officials told the Times NCLB requires the state to pay $112.2 million on its testing program and other aspects of the law but provides $70.6 million. A federal education official said the lawsuit is based on flawed accounting and said it marked "a sad day for students in Connecticut," the Times reported.
