Md. Lawmakers Fight School Takeover Plan

U.S. education officials threaten fiscal sanction if intervention scuttled.

The U.S. Department of Education upped the ante in the battle over Baltimore schools last week with a threat to withdraw Title I funds from Maryland if the state fails to move forward with a plan to restructure 11 low-performing schools under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The department’s position raises the profile of the restructuring effort, which put Maryland in uncharted waters as the first state to attempt to exercise the ultimate intervention—a school takeover—under the accountability provisions of the federal law.

As of late last week, however, the plan appeared headed for defeat as foes in the legislature vowed to scuttle the restructuring effort, arguing there is little proof that state takeovers help low-performing schools. ( "State Steps In Under NCLB in Baltimore," ...