Federalism and Education

Yesterday, the New York Times came out with an article profiling Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. Previous secretaries have tended to stay out of the public focus, as state and local governments are largely responsible for the programs and funding given to schools. Arne Duncan is seeking to expand the role of the federal government in local schools. His "assertive" measures include a $4 billion school improvement competition and $3.5 billion to help failing schools. Congress doubled the Department of Education's budget last year in emergency education funding, giving Duncan far more resources than his predecessors had. Although there is a proposal to change the No Child Left Behind Act to give schools more flexibility, most of Duncan's efforts promote federal involvement in schooling.

Even though the budget for the Department of Education has doubled, it still accounts for very little of the overall budget on local education. The New York Times notes that "in recent decades, states and districts have paid more than 90 cents of every dollar spent on public schools." Some critics of the Department of Education's increased role have pointed out that the federal government is attempting to get more leverage in an area where they provide little of the funding. Such tensions in who should control and ultimately be responsible for social programs reflect the occasional challenges presented by our federal system. Education has traditionally been a state and local issue - while it is admirable that Duncan desires to improve our current education system, it is also understandable that local and state officials might resent increased regulations when they are the ones ultimately footing most of the bill.