Recent Trends in Intergovernmental Relations

Abstract

In this essay, the authors explore trends in intergovernmental relations (IGR) by analyzing recent education policies—No Child Left Behind Act, Common Core State Standards, and local empowerment policies. Identifying a resurgent role for local actors in education policy, the authors argue that recent federal efforts to exert more control have in many ways strengthened the influence of local actors by providing avenues for school districts and other local “non-system” players to challenge traditional governance arrangements. In a similar vein, because the federal government’s ability to achieve its goals rests primarily on actions of local players, federal policies have in the course of implementation strengthened the hand of many local actors. Based on their analyses, the authors stress that IGR is not a zero-sum game. As one level gains power in certain domains, other levels may simultaneously acquire power in the same or different domains. The authors further argue that relations among federal, state, and local governments are bidirectional. Federal policy often requires states and districts to alter local policies, and conversely, decisions made by states and districts can also influence federal decisions. The authors begin the essay with an overview of the intergovernmental landscape, followed by an analysis of current education policies to illustrate the ways in which local actors have retained and asserted significant control over schooling, despite the expanded federal role in education policy. The essay concludes with questions for future research and practice.

Teacher evaluation and local control in the US: an investigation into the degree of local control afforded to districts in defining evaluation procedures for teachers in non-tested subjects and grades

“…The former of these two goals is particularly germane in the realm of teacher evaluation, which has been a controversial area for states to address on their own. The result is that the increased role of the federal government in education policy has not diminished, but rather commensurately increased, the power of state governments in such areas (Marsh & Wohlstetter, 2013). In fact, this symbiotic expansion of the federal and state roles in education policy was observed in the years preceding NCLB as well (McDonnell, 2013).…”

“…A simple conclusion from this literature might be that individual school districts now have less sway in policy matters, on average. However, some have argued that a stronger national and state presence does not necessarily diminish the importance of district-level decision-making (Henig, 2009; Marsh & Wohlstetter, 2013). Rather than view the education policy labyrinth as a zero-sum game, one could infer that increased federal and state influence may actually empower localities.…”

National Affiliation or Local Representation: When TFA Alumni Run for School Board

“…But as test scores lagged, state and federal officials entered the education policy arena often curbing the power and influence of local school boards. Often framed as a tug-of-war between different levels of government, the increased role of state and federal officials is assumed to accompany a decline in the role of local school boards (Henig, 2009;Marsh & Wohlstetter, 2013). Such a characterization runs throughout the limited literature on local school boards, often without empirical evidence.…”

“…The efforts outlined above demonstrate that running for public office, and school boards specifically, is a priority for the organization. But involvement in school boards seems curious given popular criticism that local school boards are ineffective and losing power (Finn & Petrilli, 2013;Kirst & Wirt, 2009;Marsh & Wohlstetter, 2013).…”

“…It is often assumed that increased involvement by state and federal agencies and national organizations like TFA necessarily means a corresponding loss of power at the local level (Kirst & Wirt, 2009) while others suggest that increased involvement by state and federal officials is not a zero-sum game (Manna, 2007;Marsh & Wohlstetter, 2013). The involvement of a national organization, like TFA, with its own national educational agenda in local school board elections, provides an interesting case to study the way that power may (or may not) shift away from local decision makers and towards more centralized decision making.…”