Leaving No Child Left Behind behind

Neal McCluskey reports that some states are flirting with the idea of withdrawing from the federal No Child Left Behind program (NCLB). It's unlikely that many will, however, since it would mean giving up millions of dollars that go with the program.

This just makes me laugh. For years, I've been yelling at the liberal talking heads every time one of them describes NCLB as an "unfunded mandate." It is neither unfunded nor a mandate. If it were a mandate, states wouldn't have the choice of withdrawing; if it were unfunded, they wouldn't lose the accompanying money. I remember reading a Heritage Foundation study showing that states had millions in surplus NCLB funds on hand and were having trouble spending the money fast enough.

We so need to get government out of the education business.

Update: Ugh! Even Newt Gingrich is in favor of keeping the federal government involved in education. Not that long ago, the GOP was in favor of eliminating the Department of Education. Where have you gone, Ronald Reagan? Looks like I'll be yelling at conservative talking heads now too. *sigh*