Local Control Rules: USDOE Can’t Cut Off Federal Funding of Schools
July 14, 2020
Earlier this month, the Trump Administration demanded that schools reopen full-time in the fall despite the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to maintain social distancing. However, the federal government has little authority in the reopening of schools as decision-making, in large part, remains under state and local control as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act. California, as an example, has released guidance for reopening schools in the fall but insists that plans “be realized at the local level,” and that communities come to decisions that will best serve their students.