National Conference of State Legislatures provides lawmakers with recommendations to get around regulations that come with accepting federal education funding

Leaders of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) told Tennessee lawmakers there may be options to get around the requirements that come with federal education dollars without outright rejecting them.In recent months, some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying with federal requirements.  Leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year and this week members held four meetings to hear from experts.NCSL Senior Legislative Director Austin Reid provided a briefing Wednesday morning, saying Washington is the only state the organization is aware of that has lost federal funds for refusing to comply with a federal policy. That policy is no longer a requirement.