| Venue: | Ct. App. 8th Cir. |
| Facts: | The Section 50 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 794) calls for mainstreaming of autistic children. Arkansas didn't do this, but was accepting federal funding for education. Plaintiffs sought to compel the Arkansas Dept. of Education to mainstream autistic children or forfeit federal funding for education. |
| Posture: | Motion to dismiss under 11A sovereign immunity denied, because this is a valid exercise of congressional power under 14A. Reversed on appeal, saying that this wasn't the sort of thing covered by 14A section 5. Also, Arkansas had not waived immunity by accepting federal funds. Appeal. |
| Issue: | Is this a valid exercise of the spending power, and did Arkansas waive immunity by accepting the funds? |
| Holding: | Yes, and yes. |
| Rule: | Congress can require a waiver of state sovereign immunity as a condition for receiving federal funds, even though it can't directly order the waiver. |
| Reasoning: | Congress can attach conditions to the receipt of federal funds. Perhaps there's a limit on how much coercion can be tolerated, but this isn't it. Also, we're not talking about ALL federal funds-- just the ones dealing with education. |
| Dicta: | Dissent: There is such a thing as excessive compulsion. Also, note that the money the feds are proposing to withold is actually Arkansan money, since it was collected by taxation. It's crazy to think that congress can use the spending clause to accomplish indirectly what it can't do directly. 11A immunity trumps congressional power: that is a solid principle. If we don't honor it, congress can just tear the states down. |