In response to reports that American teachers were using the…
In response to reports that American teachers were using their own money to provide classroom supplies to their students, Congress appropriated funds for and directed the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (“Secretary”) to effectuate, the “Help The Teachers Program.” Under that Program the Secretary could grant funds to any school district demonstrating that its teachers were personally spending, on average, more than $50 per year on supplies for their students. The President reluctantly signed the appropriations bill, stating that she believed the U.S. Department of Education was not authorized by the Constitution. Alpha United School District (“AUSD”) is the largest in State X. AUSD provided evidence to Secretary that its teachers spent an average of $500 of personal funds per year equipping their classrooms. Secretary determined that a grant of $10 million would rectify the problem and reduce personal teacher expenditures on supplies to less than $50 per year. Secretary directed AUSD to ensure that the $10 million was used solely for classroom supplies and other closely related administrative costs. Upon receiving such assurances, the $10 million grant was made to AUSD. Subsequently, the President read a study about banning cell phones in elementary and secondary schools. The study concluded that reading and math scores had improved significantly in schools implementing cell phone lock-ups during classes. President signed Executive Order 15666 authorizing Secretary to encourage all school districts in the U.S. to immediately implement cell phone bans during educational hours using lock-ups that would secure the devices from the beginning of classes until dismissal. AUSD’s Board was concerned about safety and communication issues arising from students having their devices locked up all day. AUSD informed Secretary that it would not comply with the Executive Order. As a result, Secretary demanded the claw-back of $5 million from the “Help The Teachers Program” grant. Is the “Help The Teachers Program” constitutional? Discuss fully. What constitutional challenges, if any, can AUSD bring in federal court to the Secretary’s claw-back demand? Is AUSD likely to prevail? Discuss fully.