TEXAS FINED FOR NO CHILD DEFIANCE

TOE THE LINE, EDUCATION CHIEF WARNS THE AGENCY SHE ONCE HEADED

   Houston Chronicle -- April 23, 2005

                by Justin Gest

Washington - Education Secretary Margaret Spellings fined Texas $444,282

Friday for the state's continued defiance of the No Child Left Behind Act.

For the last two years, the Texas Education Agency has exceeded the

federal cap on how many students with learning disabilities can be

exempted from regular state testing, mandated by the act, in favor of an

easier exam.

In a stern letter addressed to Texas Education Commissioner Shirley

Neeley, Spellings said "the TEA has not shown cause why" she should not

withhold the money from the agency's 2004 federal grant.

"The TEA's proposed amendment was not consistent with the law and the

regulations, and something the Education Department could not approve,"

Spellings wrote.

It is only the second fine ever levied against a state under the 2001

landmark education law. It is also the steepest.

Minnesota was fined $113,000 by Spelling's predecessor, Rod Paige, for

not testing an adequate number of students in 2003.

In January, Paige threatened to fine Texas for noncompliance, but he

gave the state time to submit a defense.

Spellings, formerly of Houston, who took over later that month, was not

convinced by the state's justification of its actions.

Texas' fine comes a little more than two weeks after Spellings announced

that she would offer more flexibility in meeting No Child Left Behind

requirements to states that otherwise adhere to federal rules.

But Texas had flouted the federal guidelines.

Neeley's defiance touched off a public dispute between her and

Spellings, who helped design the original No Child Left Behind Act in

Texas when she advised then-Gov. George W. Bush from 1994 to 2000.

Neeley was accused of exempting the extra students to falsely inflate

state scores. In response, she said the Education Department was out of

touch with needs of students in Texas.

Texas may be subject to further sanctions.

The federal limit on the number of students who can take the special

exam remains capped at 1 percent, and Texas again exempted nearly 9

percent of its students during the current school year.

"We're going down another path where there's going to be another

standoff," said Patty Sullivan, director of the Center on Education

Policy in Washington. "They're probably going to fine the state again

this year."

But education experts said the penalties were not severe enough to force

Texas to change its guidelines.

The $444,282 fine represents a fraction of Texas' $1.1 billion federal

allocation, and a sliver of the state's $33 billion annual public

education budget.

"Texas got a slap on the hand for breaking a fundamental principle of No

Child Left Behind. Now any other state that doesn't comply is going to

expect a similar financial penalty," said Scott Young, a policy adviser

for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"Texas called their bluff. Apparently, the department's not going to

jeopardize public education in Texas and the individual students there.

I can only imagine what Utah and Connecticut are thinking right now."

On Tuesday, Utah's Legislature passed a resolution that declares federal

education laws subordinate to state policy.

Last week, Connecticut officials announced plans to sue the Education

Department for the right to disregard federal rules, saying the federal

government fails to provide enough money.

It is unclear how Texas will return the money from its 2004 federal

allocation, all of which has been spent. Officials at both TEA and the

Education Department were unavailable for comment when the letter was

released Friday at 7:20 p.m. EDT.