Federal agencies do not need to submit “interpretive rules” to the same notice-and-comment procedures required of formal regulations, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.
The National School Boards Association, which had joined other local-government groups in filing a brief against the Obama administration, says the decision issued this month could embolden the U.S. Department of Education to exert authority through “dear colleague” letters and other less-formal guidance.
Although the court was unanimous in the case’s outcome, three justices expressed concerns about the growing administrative power of the executive branch of the federal government.
