Publius: The Journal of Federalism Advance Access originally published online on May 7, 2008
Publius: The Journal of Federalism 2008 38(3):444-468; doi:10.1093/publius/pjn008
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebels and Their Causes: State Resistance to No Child Left Behind
*Wake Forest University; E-mail: shellybt{at}wfu.edu
The formal state resistance to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) may surprise scholars of federalism, who have generally found that states rarely resort to legislative and legal challenges to federal regulation. This article considers that factors influence states level of resistance to NCLB. Using an original data set, I estimate a series of ordered logit models with a dependent variable measuring state legislation and legal action against NCLB and find that states with lower poverty rates and a larger Hispanic population offer greater resistance. The discussion uses these results to suggest five factors towards which scholars may look to predict future formal challenges.