[JURIST] The National Education Association (NEA) [association website] joined three school districts on Tuesday in appealing the dismissal of a lawsuit [JURIST report] that challenged the funding of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) [PDF text; executive summary; US Dept. Ed. factsheet]. In an appeal filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the NEA and school districts argued that Congress has failed to appropriate enough funding for local school districts to comply with the federal program. The government maintains that the Act was never intended to provide complete financial support for the new policies that President Bush advocated.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed [JURIST report] the lawsuit in November 2005. The NEA and individual school districts in Texas, Michigan and Vermont filed the lawsuit [JURIST report] in April 2005 in hopes of forcing the federal government to pay more of the costs incurred under the Act. AP has more.