We can think of any number of legitimate, constitutional functions of the federal government. National defense and foreign relations quickly come to mind, as do some other tasks.
But we can find nothing whatsoever in the Constitution that makes it a federal duty to come up with guidelines for public school districts around the country to use to prevent cheating by schoolchildren. Unfortunately, that has not stopped the U.S. Department of Education from doing exactly that.
Of course cheating is a serious problem. No one disputes that. The state of Georgia, for instance, has had a series of damaging cheating scandals in recent months that involved apparently hundreds of teachers helping children cheat on standardized tests -- or at least failing to stop the cheating.
That and other types of cheating in schools rob children of the education they are supposed to be getting, and make the cheaters believe they can get good results without putting in the necessary effort. That attitude will do them serious harm as adults, when they will discover that they lack the skills necessary to obtain good jobs.
But as serious as cheating is, it simply is not Washington's responsibility to be developing guidelines to combat it. Constitutionally, matters having to do with education are clearly left to the states and to the people.
If Washington wants to fight cheating, it should first set an example: It should not "cheat" the states by usurping their responsibilities.