This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, October 10th, 2011.

I'm Caleb Brown.

Trading one education mandate for another.

Education Secretary Arnie Duncan is out with his list of what states must do to get no child

left behind act waivers.

There's only one problem.

Constitution doesn't authorize him or any other federal official to make those kinds of demands.

Neil McCluskey, author of the book, Feds in the Classroom, comments.

For many months the administration has been saying, Congress, if you don't reauthorize the

No Child Left Behind Act and change it, we're going to do it for you.

We will offer states the opportunity to get waivers from the law, but they're going to also have to enact the things

that the administration wants in order to get those waivers. Now this was

constantly threatened and many people rightly pointed out that the No Child Left Behind Act

does allow the Secretary of Education to essentially release

contingent on states

on states adopting whatever the administration thinks

or the reforms they should enact.

But now there's no longer any question, there's no longer any mystery.

The Secretary of Education has said if you want these waivers you're going to have to adopt

something called College and Career Ready standards you're going to have to

evaluate teachers using test scores and you're going to have to do a bunch of other

things that only the Obama administration wants.

...