Virginia county faces loss of federal funds

 The U.S. Education Department has threatened to withhold more than $17 million from Fairfax County schools in Virginia if the system continues to defy a federal mandate to give reading tests to thousands of immigrant children. Other Virginia school systems would also be in jeopardy if they refuse to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The dispute started last summer when federal officials rejected the test Virginia uses to measure the progress of many immigrant children. The exam shows how well students learn to read, write and speak English. But it doesn’t, as the No Child law requires, test students on their understanding of grade–level reading material. Read about the standoff at washingtonpost.com.