Does RttT violate Federal Code section 3403?

Secretary Arne Duncan is violating U.S. Code - Title 20 section 3403: Education (January 2004).

His Race to the Top as written is not in compliance with U.S. Code. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) had no provisions that allowed him to create a program in which state and school districts are bribed to comply with his direction.

{Read the legislation; the ARRA hardly gives Duncan the power and control he has seized through Race to the Top … The ARRA does not allow his RttT bastardization of the original legislation.}


Examples:
#1 .. In Maryland Secretary Arne Duncan visited a school where he announced the availability of $44 billion from the Recovery Act. The funding will drive education reforms and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. The announcement includes guidance and the application for $32.6 billion under the State Stabilization Fund, as well as fact sheets and guidance for other programs funded under the Recovery Act:

#2 .. In Washington State E2SSB 6696
(passed and signed into law 2010):

Background: Federal Funds. One component of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is the Race To The Top (RTTT) Fund, estimated to provide $4 billion for one-time, four-year competitive grants to encourage states to improve student outcomes by implementing strategies in four education reform areas and to reward states that have already made significant progress in these areas:
1. implementing high academic standards and rigorous assessments;
2. improving teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution;
3. improving collection and use of data; and
4. supporting struggling schools.

The federal guidance provided for the federal competitive RTTT grants provides that implementation of the four federally defined school intervention models
(turnaround,
restart,
school closure, and
transformation)
can strengthen a RTTT application and facilitate the reforms required to be addressed by the RTTT grant.

Accountability: In 2010 phase I of the accountability system is voluntary; will use federal funds to target the lowest 5 percent of persistently lowest achieving schools in the state eligible for federal Title I funds; and will use federal intervention models. A required action process will begin in 2011 for those eligible schools that did not volunteer and have not improved student achievement. Phase II will use state funds for a required action process in schools that are not Title I eligible and begin in 2013.

Federal Code 3403 includes:
It is the intention of the Congress in the establishment of the Department to protect the rights of State and local governments and public and private educational institutions... The establishment of the Department of Education shall not increase the authority of the Federal Government over education…

No provision of a program administered by the Secretary or by any other officer of the Department shall be construed to authorize the Secretary or any such officer to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or ......
====================
Download the 12 year story (nine pages) that created this mess.

The legal appeal over the New Technology Network at Cleveland H.S. in Seattle is an attempt to thwart Billionaires' federally assisted extortion of the public. Filed on Friday. NOTICE OF APPEAL (filed 5-7-2010).
====================
VIDEO HERE
====================
The ARRA provides $4.35 billion for the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring student preparation for success in college and careers; and implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas.

RttT contained:
 Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.
Race to the Top will reward States that have demonstrated success in raising student achievement and have the best plans to accelerate their reforms in the future. These States will offer models for others to follow and will spread the best reform ideas across their States, and across the country.