Wary Districts Shift or Forgo Federal Funds

They might not constitute a revolution, but more districts and schools are joining the list of those that have turned away federal Title I money or found other ways to avoid having to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act.

Last month, the 13,000-student Suffolk school system in Suffolk, Va., elected to sidestep sanctions from the federal law by redistributing Title I aid within its district.

And earlier in the summer, Consolidated High School District 230 in Orland Park, Ill., turned away $115,000 in Title I funds for its three high schools. "The sanctions that might come with that could cost more than what we might get from the grant," said Jim Sibley, the director of communications...