NCLB doesn't have to be funded?

The Minneapolis Star/Tribune reports that "a judge threw out a lawsuit Wednesday that sought to block the No Child Left Behind law, President Bush's signature education policy. The National Education Association said it would appeal.

"The NEA and school districts in three states had argued that schools should not have to comply with requirements that were not paid for by the federal government.

"Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman, based in eastern Michigan, said, "Congress has appropriated significant funding'' and has the power to require states to set educational standards in exchange for federal money."

You can read their complete story here. I haven't found the complete decision yet, but it looks as if he failed to accept the "unfunded mandate" argument, at least not in its entirety. And I'm not going to go off half-cocked until I find his reasoning in more detail. I will admit to a certain amount of scepticism about the ramifications, however.

Update: DetNews has more (and I'm still reading). OF course, things like this: "In an eight-page opinion, Judge XXXXX said xxxxx" are part of the story. It's early yet.