The youths of today are the future of tomorrow. For this reason, education is critically important. The better we educate the youth, the better the future will be. As we look at our American education from a worldly perspective, we see that not only is it average, relative to how rich we are as a country, it is far below average. So who has the responsibility to ensure that American students get a good education? It is obviously the Federal Governments responsibility if we decide that Americans as a whole are getting a poor education compared to other nations. Hence, the Federal Government proposed and is executing a solution to a sub-par education system from K-12th grade called the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which passed in 2002. The NCLB Act involves nation-wide standards that states must comply with, or otherwise become ineligible for the Federal money. But, shouldn’t individual states have a say in the matter of education? Originally, when the Constitution was written, welfare, health, and criminal justice fell under the Federal Government’s control while education was exclusively under state control. This Federalist system, upon which the Constitution is based, focuses on a balance between Federal powers and state powers in order to share responsibilities so that one side does not become too powerful. A unitary Government structure is one where a Central Government makes the laws and the state is obligated to enforce these on its citizens—a linear progression. Since the birth of the Constitution there has been a gradual progression from a Federalist structure towards a unitary structure as evidenced by Federal intervention into the meaning of the Constitution, worker wages, and the current NCLB act on education.
The most important document in the United States Government’s history, the Consitution, implicitly promotes a Federalist system whereby states’ rights are protected. The Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights ratified in 1791, restricts the Federal Government’s power and dominance and reaffirms states’ rights. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Therefore, all unstated laws should fall under the jurisdiction of the states. In Gibbon v. Ogden in 1824, the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the United States Constitution is the, “Supreme Law of the Land” and that every law must be referred to it. That is, the Federal Constitution is and will always be predominant to a State’s Constitution. Thus, a state law cannot contradict the Constitution. Also, Marshall’s opinion on the case established the Constitution as the determinant on whether a law is legal or not. Thus, the words in the Constitution are of paramount importance. What the Constitution states clearly in the Tenth Amendment is that a State Constitution can never contradict the Federal Constitution and also that all matters outside the Federal Constitution are “reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. This system gives the state power upon the citizen and the Federal government power upon the citizen. It also creates a balance between Federal powers and state powers.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is an example where the Federal Government exercises its power and influence over states. The FLSA was a law that ensured Federal protection of worker’s labor through regulation of minimum wages and overtime wages. In the 1985 Supreme Court case, Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Supreme Court overruled any state immunity to the Fair Labor Standards Act. This case provides a broad affirmation of mandatory state compliance to the FLSA. Under such Federal control, can the Government decide on worker’s clothes, work conditions, etc. and basically control not only state rights, but citizen’s rights? What worker’s rights does a State still control? A law such as the FLSA is mandatory, but allows a state to act upon regulation. For example if the minimum wage is Federally $5.25, the State can add to the number and make it $6.25. In this situation, the hierarchy of regulations upon the citizens begins with rules made by the Federal Government; the state must adhere to and pass these rules on to its citizens—a unitary, linear Federal system.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002 is the most current example of Federal unitary control. Based on poor overall educational standards, the Federal Government decided to intervene in a state issue and consequently sway the control from state to Federal—from a Federalist to a unitary system. A recent report by UNICEF on education around the world ranks the US at, “an abysmal ranking of 21st out of 24 industrialized nations in educational equality” (Mathis, No Child Left Behind) and as a result of this and other studies, the US government took the initiative to legislate the NCLB of 2002. If a state wished to adopt the NCLB, the state’s standards of education would remain while Federal standards would be additionally imposed such as, “progressively harsh penalties on schools if students do not get passing scores” (Mathis, No Child Left Behind). Improved test scores is another standard of NCLB. These test scores must improve at an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and if so, then the Federal Government gives the state promised benefits. In return for adopting the NCLB requirements, the states would receive additional funds for education. Essentially, this is a unitary Government. It is a linear progression where The Federal Government makes laws and the State Governments ensure that they are enforced. The Federal Government thereby has direct power and influence over its citizens.
Every state that accepts the NCLB Act, has also in theory accepted the Federal Government’s idea of an education person. They have become students molded according to the standards of the Federal Government. It is here that we see most clearly the harmful effects of a Unitary system versus a Federalist system. With a Unitary system, the decisions descend from the top- down to the states to the local areas without being checked. It is risky to put so much trust in a Federal Government that may have many ulterior motivations over a state, which has only the state in mind.
Trends in Federal control have been leaning towards a unitary Government system. When the Constitution with the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791 and considered, “the Supreme Law of the Land” in 1824, the Government was established as a Federalist system containing a balance between the Central Government and the State Government. With the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Federal Government extended its power over the states so that the states were mandated to comply with the Federal Laws—a unitary move. The question is, to what extent can the Federal Government decide what is good for the citizens? The Federal Government was acting on behalf of the citizens in controlling wages and civil rights over the states. In a similar fashion, the Federal Government is influencing education on behalf of citizens bypassing state control with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Based on these examples, the Federal Government has shown a tendency to progress from a Federalist structure to a unitary structure. Though, it is important to note, that the Government has recognized this tendency, and has provided the NCLB as an option for states. However, lawsuits and fear of lawsuits have placed all states under NCLB. In addition there are many incentives to adopt the NCLB Act such as increased finances and a supposedly better education, but a state is not required to adopt the Act. In a strictly unitary Government, the state Government would be completely forced to comply with the Federal Government. Hopefully, this is a sign of the caution that the Federal Government is using in controlling states’ rights. While we may be progressing towards a more unitary Government, the fundamental state powers still exist and we still have the foundation of a Federalist Government that was outlined in the Constitution.

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