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Standard and Short Edition:
1 American Political Culture
2 The Founding and the Constitution
3 Federalism
4 Civil Liberties
5 Civil Rights
6 Public Opinion
7 The Media
8 Political Participation and Voting
9 Political Parties
10 Campaigns and Elections
11 Groups and Interests
12 Congress
13 The Presidency
14 Bureaucracy In A Democracy
15 The Federal Courts
16 Government and Economy
17 Social Policy
18 Foreign Policy and Democracy
Texas Edition:
19 The Political Culture, People, and Economy of Texas
20 The Texas Constitution
21 Parties and Elections in Texas
22 Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Lobbyists
23 The Texas Legislature
24 The Texas Executive Branch
25 The Texas Judiciary
26 Local Government in Texas
27 Public Policy in Texas

Chapter 3: Federalism

You Decide Exercise

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This exercise is designed to get students to understand federalism through the lens of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Students will not only explore the expanded federal role in education, but also how our federal system allows different states to implement those rules differently. They will also appreciate how this new law dramatically expanded the role of the federal government in education and how states have responded to this encroachment on their turf. (NCLB website-- http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml )
  1. Read the introductory section from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/nclb.parent.guide.heath.htm and explain how the national government is forcing states to comply with its educational goals. In other words, what would happen to states that refuse to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)?

  1. Read the “Qualifications of Teachers” and Proficiency Testing of Children” sections. How can a state show that its teachers are qualified and that its students are learning?

  1. Read this letter by William Mathis at http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0305mat.htm . Is the national government paying the full cost of the No Child Left Behind law? Give an example from the section of the letter titled “ Estimating the National Costs of NCLB” to illustrate your answer.

  1. Go to the Frontline website at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/state/

    Click on the following states and discuss how they approach the requirements of the 2002 No Child Left Behind provisions: California, Montana, Missouri and Texas.



  1. How does your state compare with these others?

  1. Read this article from pbs.org : http://www.pbs.org/now/society/nclb.html and list one benefit of having the national government force states to use standardized testing to demonstrate student progress.

  1. List one drawback of having the federal government select the approach of every state.

  1. The authors of the text argue that a key issue of federalism is deciding when differences between states represent proper democratic decisions and when such differences represent inequalities that should not be tolerated. Is education an area that should be left to state control or should the national government play a larger role?



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