...BOOK Arguably, New Federalism paved the way toward yet another phase, which has come to be referred to as the era of unfunded mandates. An unfunded mandate works very similarly to Creative Federalism. The national government decides it wants to create a program and then expects the states to comply, but in this case it does not provide the states with the needed funding. The states are then forced to pay for nationally mandated programs on their own. Another example of an unfunded mandate is No Child Left Behind, a law passed by Congress in 2002 that requires schools to meet certain educational outcomes, as usually demonstrated through standardized tests. The law expanded the federal government's role in education, which had traditionally been a state function. The law also requires states to demonstrate academic progress in their schools; provide the federal government with a range of information (a report card) on things like student achievement and performance by school districts; ensure that teachers meet minimum qualifications; and annually test students in grades three through eight in English and mathematics (with other subjects to be added later). The issue of unfunded mandates has been a contentious one. Critics claim that it forces states to spend money they do not have. They also claim that it forces them to pursue policies they do not necessarily agree with or at least do not consider a priority. To this extent, it distorts their priorities As an example, nowhere...
Words: 2108 - Pages: 9
...Grant Schulz Political Science 104 Federalism Federalism is one of the most controversial topics about our government system today. Federalism can be defined as the division of powers and functions between the national government and the state governments (Ginsberg 77). One of the most frequently debated topics is how to divide the power on the state and national level. Where do the national powers stop and where do the states begin? Education has long been a function of the state and local governments, but with new policies and laws being passed the national government has increased its involvement in this area. I believe they should keep doing so to further improve the education system in America today. The main reason I support the national government becoming more involved in the education system is so that we can set a national standard to education. Set a literacy goal that all of the state schools should have to meet. Will it be achieved right away? Most certainly not, but there should be a national standard that has to be met eventually. The 2014 deadline from President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act for every student to be at academically proficient is too soon. I feel that as long as a school district is making a noticeable improvement on test scores from the year before, it should not fall short in test score targets. Under the current law, every school is given the equivalent of a pass-fail report card each year, and according to administrative...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...What is a federal form of government? What image do you have of when you think of federalism? \Do you think of the federal level of government? State government? Local governments? All three? Layer Cake, Marble Cake....21st Century View: Intergovernmental Relations Do democratic governments need to be organized as federal systems? Great Britain has a Unitary form of government How does this differ from the U.S.? Powerful central government with federal or central government mandates (laws) that are implemented (put into place) throughout the whole country= Unitary govt. Examples: National Health Policy throughout the whole country so that you can go from city to city in Great Britain and use your health card at any hospital. (Portability of health insurance in U.S.: can get care anywhere in our country) Current American example of an issue that is being discussed as a national issue: elections Should we have Congress pass federal rules for identification, times polls are open, voting ahead of time, etc.? Do you personally tend to look to the federal government to solve problems in the U.S. ? (synonyms for federal govt.: national govt. and central govt) OR Do you tend to focus on your state government or on your city or county (local) government? We do not have good political theories of when federal minimum national standards are appropriate...
Words: 1421 - Pages: 6
...Chapter Three Federalism: Forging a Nation Chapter Outline I. Federalism: National and State Sovereignty A. The Argument for Federalism 1. Protecting Liberty 2. Moderating the Power of Government 3. Strengthening the Union B. The Powers of the Nation 1. Enumerated Powers 2. Implied Powers C. The Powers of the States II. Federalism in Historical Perspective A. An Indestructible Union (1789–1865) 1. The Nationalist View: McCulloch v. Maryland 2. The States’ Rights View: The Dred Scott Decision B. Dual Federalism and Laissez-Faire Capitalism (1865–1937) 1. The Fourteenth Amendment and State Discretion 2. Judicial Protection of Business 3. National Authority Prevails C. Toward National Citizenship III. Federalism Today A. Interdependency and Intergovernmental Relations B. Government Revenues and Intergovernmental Relations 1. Fiscal Federalism 2. Categorical and Block Grants C. Devolution 1. The Republican Revolution 2. Devolution, Judicial Style IV. The Public’s...
Words: 3398 - Pages: 14
...The two most talked about government programs on education are the No Child Left Behind under the Bush administration. That 2002 law required states to show yearly progress in the number of students who were proficient in English and math on standardized tests, although it allowed states to measure proficiency in their own ways. (Gabriel, 2011). THe other is President Obama's own signature education initiative, Race to the Top, similarly used federal money to leverage change that many Republicans had long endorsed -- charter schools and teacher evaluations that tied effectiveness in the classroom to tenure. (Gabriel, 2011). The pros of these policies, is that by tying federal money to them, that they appear to raise test scores among students on these standardized tests. Charter schools seem to raise education standards by the fact that most of them have specialized programs aimed at the government standards. I think the cons of these programs are that a good general overall education that children should get is ignored somewhat. In other words, teachers on concentrating more on teaching students so that they can do well on the standardized tests and ignore or gloss over other studies that give kids a well rounded education. These programs seem to be consistent with Cooperative Federalism, where they designed and funded programs, and then left their implementation to the states. (Levin-Waldman, 2012). The programs were designed by federal government, but the states were to...
Words: 315 - Pages: 2
...not the national government's responsibility but the state and locals' responsibility to provide education. According to U.S Department of Education, the majority of funds contributed to schools are from state, local and private sources. 87.7 percent of elementary and secondary level education funds are provided by non-Federal sources. However, the small amount contributed by the federal government can only be used according to the regulations which the federal government has given to the state. This is a way to ensure the funds will be used for the intended reasons (Wong, 2008). Keneth Wong (2008) states, “Single-purpose grants stipulate the targeted use of supplementary services aimed at eligible, at-risk students.” But with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), it seems as if the federal government is stepping over its boundaries and getting more involved in education; an increase in federal control. Title I schools are required to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in order to continue receiving funds from the federal government. Schools are required to give standardized test to their students and report test scores by different categories to the federal government. When schools or districts do not meet with the AYP consecutively, the federal government gives the state and local agencies power to improve the school like, transferring students to a better school, help is offered to troubled students, replacement of school staff and closing the school. There are still some debate...
Words: 527 - Pages: 3
...No Child Left Behind and its Effects on City School Districts Abstract The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a federal law that mandates a number of programs aimed at improving U.S. education in elementary, middle, and high school by increasing accountability standards. The aproach of NCLB is based on theories in education that high expectations and goal setting will result in greater educational achievement for most students. High standards for all students as well as educators are quality goals, however, using standardized tests to measure success is not the most effective method. Having high standards is a necessary part of our nation's success, it sets a high level of accountability and provides benchmarks for both the student and educators. Those schools that are categorized as performing poor are required to have supplemental asistance like tutoring, after school programs or even replacing teacher completely. Schools risk being restructured or even taken over by the state is after five years of not making adequate yearly progress. But standardized testing is an ineffective way of assessing individual student performance. This type of test gives reason to teach according to what is on the test, rather than for authentic learning. When using standardized tests there is no room to account for differennt learning styles and strengths of each student. Everyone learns differenntly but with this type of test doesn't allow for...
Words: 3103 - Pages: 13
...the curriculum. Each school creates its exam. You graduate from high school, but there is no national exam, the expectations vary from one school to the other. No child left behind program under Bush: school are encouraged to have higher pass rates, if they have better pass rates, then they receive more money. There is the idea, that to help getting better results, schools have lowered down the expectations, in order to have easier exams, and higher pass-rates. Recruit and train teachers: Better teachers who are paid more, because better trained. He wants to introduce a controversial measure, to introduce merit pay. But the Unions protest, as it would favour inequality between teachers. More charter schools: They are schools, which do not depend on local school board, which are more flexible to choose their curriculum but which are funded by the state. But there is the idea that charter schools take the money of the public schools. He wants longer school days and more of them in order to answer the challenges of today’s century. Increase the number of Pell Grant Awards (federal scholarship): offer tax credits to the families to offset tuition costs. ONE GOAL The US would have the highest number of graduates by 2020 The priority is to raise standards, and to raise the pupils’ achievements. Due to federalism, the action of the president is very limited. Education is highly devolved in the US. (A devolved matter, Devolution:...
Words: 300 - Pages: 2
...1. How is power divided between the federal government and the states in the U.S federal system? The power is divided through a governing authority between the state and the federal government which is known as Federalism. The state deals with local issues such as education, county and state police. The federal government deals with issues such as immigration, national security, and military. 2. What is the difference between categorical grants and block grants? Categorical Grants are federal grants for the states or local government for a specific project. Block Grants are federal grants that allow the state and local government to disperse funds to a specific department or division. 3. Of the Supreme Court cases mentioned in chapter three, which TWO do you think had the most impact on the federal system of government? Why? The Dred Scott decision (1857) made a huge impact on the federal government and paved the way to the abolishment of slavery in the Union. The decision created hysteria in the North and spilt the most powerful political party the Democrats in half. Democrats nominated two different candidates to become president which was spilt in half and made way for a Republican president Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln called for a gradual abolishment of slavery which in turn led Southern states to leave the Union and Civil War began to preserve the Union and end slavery. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) this led to the “separate but equal law” Mr. Plessy was...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...Test 1 (Ch 1-2) ANSWERS | Judge J. D. Langley | Govt 2305 | | 1. Ch01-001-p002 The Jamestown settlement was funded by c. The London Company. 2. Ch01-002-p004 The Preamble to the Constitution begins a. "We the People . . ." 3. Ch01-003-p005 Which of the following is the best explanation of why most American Indian reservations are in the West today? b. European settlers and the U.S. government pushed Indian tribes westward. 4. Ch01-004-p006 Enlightenment thinkers argued that the world could be improved through b. human reason, science, and religious toleration. 5. Ch01-005-p007 The House of Burgesses was c. the first representative assembly in North America. 6. Ch01-006-p008 A social contract theory of government was proposed by d. Locke and Hobbes. 7. Ch01-007-p009 Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government sets out a theory of e. natural rights. 8. Ch01-008-p010 Congress's authority to check the president's judicial appointment power is a concept that can be attributed largely to the ideas of d. Charles-Louis, the Second Baron of Montesquieu. 9. Ch01-009-p010 Why was indirect democracy a necessary alternative to direct democracy? b. It became increasingly difficult to bring all the colonists together in the decision-making process. 10. Ch01-010-p010 Aristotle attempted to devise a way to classify governments. Critical to his analyses was knowledge of d. whom citizens were ruled...
Words: 4920 - Pages: 20
...USA as it is commonly called, I discovered how lovely and different the country really is. The USA was a lot different from what I had heard from stories back home in Nigeria. The previous three years, since January 2009 to be precise, has provided me first-hand experience of some major differences between my country of origin and the United States of America. In comparison, there are four main differences between the lifestyle of the United States of America and Nigeria. First, one of the many significant differences between the United States of America and Nigeria is its political institutions. The United States of America has two major political parties while Nigeria has a multiple party system. Though both practice some form of Federalism, the United States of America utilizes a system whereby the individual States have a high measure of autonomy or political control of their region. On the other hand, Nigeria has a strong central government that imposes law and rules that the state governments have to abide by. Furthermore, in the United States of America, the States provide most of its own resources, while in Nigeria the federal government controls the resources and allocates it to the states. Comparatively, another major difference between the United States of America and Nigeria are public transportation systems. When I first relocated to U.S.A I didn’t have a car which made life very difficult for me because the buses and trains that are available for transportation...
Words: 1009 - Pages: 5
...University of Phoenix Material: Week Five - Assignment Does Not Need to be Based on the Learning Team Selected State (however, specific examples need to be included to support the content) Government Comparisons Matrix: (the Reading Material: Chapters 1, 2, and 12 will help students address the key elements) Based on the readings from State and Local Government textbook, review and summarize how each issue is managed at the state, local, federal levels. Responses should be substantive with specific examples. State | Local | Federal | How these entities cooperate | General Responsibilities | - Conduct Elections- Regulate intrastate commerce - Establish republican forms of state and local government- Protect public health safety, and morals- All other powers not delegated to national government or denied by the states constitution Reference:Ann O’M. Bowman, Richard C. Kearney | - Parks and recreation services- Police and fire departments - HHHHHhhousing services- Emergency medical services- Municipal Courts- Transportation services – Buses, subways, taxi regulations, etc. - Public Works – streets, sewers, snow removal, signage, etc.Reference:http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/state-and-local-government | - Coin Money- Regulate interstate and foreign commerce- tax imports and exports- Make treaties- Make all laws “necessary and proper” to fulfill responsibilities - Make War- Regulate postal systemReference: Ann O’M. Bowman, Richard C. Kearney | All of these entities...
Words: 4643 - Pages: 19
...benchmark for English 12 POS ▪ Students will select a federal policy issue which interests them and research the policy (if it is a historical topic, think about the following: did Congress pass the legislation? Why did the policy succeed or fail? Did the president approve or veto the policy?) ▪ Each public policy topic from the list may only be selected by ONE student in each class period ▪ Students will make connections between their chosen public policy and topics studied in U.S. Government. Students must choose three of the topics below to address in their paper somehow: 1) Bipartisanship or lack thereof in Congress 2) Bureaucracies (agencies or heads of agencies) 3) Divided government or unified government 4) Federalism (lobbying efforts from states) 5) Interest groups (name specific) 6) Media (advertisements – describe) 7) Presidential leadership 8) Party discipline (or lack thereof) in Congress Requirements of the Combined Research Paper 1. Thesis Statement 2. Annotated Bibliography 3. Formal Outline 4. Final Paper (including parenthetical citations and Works Cited) Your paper must address an issue in which there is existing national legislation that needs to be amended and/or an issue where someone has been harmed or is being harmed and legislation is lacking. Your research paper should have an introduction with a clearly stated thesis, an explanation of the problem or controversy,...
Words: 1358 - Pages: 6
...UNIT 1 Answer Key CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 Section 1 Prereading and Vocabulary 2 Reading Comprehension 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. oligarchy citizen democracy constitution state two basic levels; certain decisions; only the federal government; each of the states Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central government and several regional, or state, governments. 1. Population; the people who live within the boundaries of the state 2. Territory; land with known and recognized boundaries 3. Sovereignty; the supreme and absolute power within a state’s territory to decide its own foreign and domestic policies 4. Government; the institution through which society makes and enforces public policies 5. Force theory; the state was born of force, when one person or a small group gained control over people in an area and forced them to submit to that person’s or group’s rule. 6. Evolutionary theory; the state evolved from early families that united to form clans. Later, clans united to form tribes. As tribes settled into agricultural groups over time, they formed states. 7. Divine right theory; God created the state and gave a chosen few the right to rule. 8. Social contract theory; people voluntarily agreed to create a state and give to the government just enough power to promote the safety and well-being of all. Government exists to serve the will of the people, and the people are the sole source of political...
Words: 19014 - Pages: 77
...Licensed to: CengageBrain User Licensed to: CengageBrain User This is an electronic version of the print textbook. Due to electronic rights restrictions, some third party content may be suppressed. Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. The publisher reserves the right to remove content from this title at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. For valuable information on pricing, previous editions, changes to current editions, and alternate formats, please visit www.cengage.com/highered to search by ISBN#, author, title, or keyword for materials in your areas of interest. Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Licensed to: CengageBrain User Criminal Justice in Action, 7th Edition Larry K. Gaines and Roger LeRoy Miller © 2013 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not...
Words: 20398 - Pages: 82
