The federal funding is essentially an incentive for districts to provide certain kinds of programs, and the funds must be used only for those programs. In California the federal funds get to the districts through the state. Often it’s not such a big percentage of total funding for a particular district (about 10% on average in California, I think), and usually the federal funds come with a lot of strings attached in terms of “accountability” (e.g., No Child Left Behind). Because most districts are usually strapped for educational funds, they need all the help they can get, and most usually need the federal programs anyway, so they’re not likely to reject the federal funds, and they adopt the programs and comply with accountability requirements. Even adult education gets federal funding (usually a higher percentage of its total), which comes about because of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), and in order to get that funding, adult education programs have to demonstrate that students make certain achievements (get a GED, or improve reading scores, etc.)
So the federal government doesn’t technically require or mandate the programs that it funds, but it’s rare that the incentives it provides for districts to deliver them go ignored.
Not just that, but I believe NCLB was the first policy of its kind to have a penalty for non-compliance. I don’t remember the details, but up until NCLB, federal bills of this sort would always either give money for compliance, or no money for non-compliance. NCLB actually granted negative dollars for non-compliance, rather than being a binary money/no money thing.
That makes the German system less extreme than the US one, not more. In the US, we have some classes of laws which cannot be passed at the federal level, at all, with no workaround.
I know a university professor in Passau, Bavaria whose wife cannot get a job in the civil service because she is not Catholic and whose children must go to Catholic schools because the government provides no other. That seems to me much more bizarre than any aspect of American federalism.
Wisconsin passed a state law years back that public schools cannot start until September 1st. Most schools run into mid-June. 180 days of instruction per school year. This idea was pushed hard (and financed) by the tourism industry. Kindergarteners must be 5 before school starts. Many schools have a 4-year-old kindergarten option.
Mumps, Measles, Rubella
Maternal Mortality Rate
Multi-Mode Receiver
Massachusetts Military Reservation
Mass Market Retailers
Meet Me Room
Multi Mode Radar
Mismatch Repair
Multi Mode Radar
Master of Marketing Research
Master Model Railroader
Movimiento Manuela Ramos
Moderated Multiple Regression
Merchant Marine Reserve
Main Machinery Room
Memory-Mapped Register
Money Market Rate
Military Munitions Rule
Marine Mammal Regulations
All these, and many more, are listed by acronymfinder.com as possible meanings of MMR, although the first (designating the combined vaccine for those diseases) seems to be by far the most commonly used.
They have the same in Germany. There are basically three areas of legislation: areas of Federal prerogative, areas of State prerogative, and areas where it is shared, a large part of the work of the Bundesrat involves hammering out the details of the shared legislation. Legislation that isn’t part of the shared prerogative I believe does not require Bundesrat approval at all.
The big difference is that specific area of shared legislation, where the governments of the States have to work in the Federal Council to come to an agreement. In the United States any “shared” area, we have the Supremacy Clause, so it just has to pass Congress and it’s obvious how the conflict is resolved–Federal law trumps State law. In Germany since each State’s Bundesrat delegation is actually part of its respective State government (they are not elected like Senators, but are often the German equivalent of that State’s Governor + his/her cabinet members or delegates) the State governments themselves are involved in passing this category of laws.
They also have to be involved in any constitutional changes. But some areas of law the Bundesrat is not required to be involved at all.
Its a case of Your Mileage May Vary — in most states Amish/OOD kids can leave at 14 and although things are changing it wasn’t very long ago that few advanced beyond roughly a 3rd Grade level as “us English” measure it. Since the establishment of Amish Schools and other changes within the community its better but its still the very rare exception to find one of their kids who could pass entrance into even a community college. In other words, even those who do go 12 years are far behind what the average American would call educated.
Now on the other extreme, in most states a person cannot be removed for reasons of age until they hit 21. Usually when that comes to play is students with various disabilities or long stints out of the classroom for medical reasons.
Must be different in Pennsylvania - here in Indiana the Amish schooling leaves off at 14 but the Amish I’ve met here have all be literate, numerate, and certainly seem to have been educated beyond 3rd grade. Those who leave the Amish generally don’t try for community college first, they get a GED first, then look into higher education if that’s what they want. There doesn’t seem to be much issue with them getting that GED either.
Yes, they’re light in some areas due to the Amish focus on practicality over theory, and being anti-evolution, but the kids learn how to read and do some thinking so those who want to catch up with the outside world can do so with reasonable time and effort.
I guess I’m confused by the “just do so” rubric and the suggestion that it relates to federalism. Is there some external legal requirement upon European countries to provide 1-12 education, or do their legislatures “just do so”?