20 U.S.C. § 7907 — Prohibitions on Federal Government and use of Federal funds

(a) General prohibition: Nothing in this chapter lets a federal officer or employee — including through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement — mandate, direct, or control a State's, local agency's, or school's curriculum, program of instruction, or how it spends its state or local money, or force a State or any part of it to spend money or take on costs this chapter doesn't pay for. (b) Prohibition on endorsement of curriculum: No matter what other federal law says, no money given to the Department under this chapter can be used by the Department — through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement — to endorse, approve, develop, require, or approve any curriculum for elementary or secondary schools, including one aligned to Common Core or other widely shared standards. (c) Local control: Nothing in this section: (1) lets a federal officer or employee, through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, mandate, direct, review, or control a State's, local agency's, or school's instructional content, curriculum, or related activities; (2) limits how the General Education Provisions Act applies; (3) requires distributing scientifically or medically false material, or bans distributing scientifically or medically true material; or (4) creates any right someone could sue to enforce. (d) Prohibition on requiring Federal approval or certification of standards: (1) No matter what other federal law says, no State has to get its academic standards approved or certified by the federal government to receive this chapter's assistance. (2) But nothing in this chapter stops a State, local agency, or school from using this chapter's funds to develop or use whatever instructional content, standards, tests, curriculum, or program it chooses under its own state and local law, as long as that use follows the terms of the grant, contract, or agreement providing the funds. (3) Nothing in this chapter forces any State, local agency, or school to follow national school-building standards.