WASHINGTON — The federal government has expanded a college grant program to award $4 billion to students who take what the education secretary would deem "rigorous" classes focused on math and science, based on a bill signed by the president last month.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, a former high school teacher, has no problems with federal money going to students to help pay for college but does not want the government tampering with a school's curriculum — which is what he says this new law would do.

Bishop has introduced a bill that would slightly alter the new law's language, taking out that the secretary has to sign off on what constitutes a "rigorous" program and instead leaving it up to a state's "chief school officer."

"The states should have this responsibility, not the Department of Education," Bishop said.

He said the department right now may say it would still leave the decisions mainly up to the states but the law "opens the door" for future department officials to have an unneeded — and even illegal — influence on schools' classes. Bishop said the Constitution and federal law prohibits the federal government from interfering with a state's curriculum. He called the potential for abuse "almost unlimited."

"We've gone too far already with No Child Left Behind. This is not what we are supposed to do," Bishop said.

He realizes the need for accountability but said the Constitution prohibits interference by the federal government.

Inside the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Congress created the Academic Competitiveness Grant program and the Academic Competitiveness Council. The council, made up of officials from all the federal agencies with programs that promote education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, met for the first time at the White House with President Bush on Monday.

"Currently, there are more than 200 programs that focus on math and science, spread across 13 agencies, all of whom were represented today," Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in a statement. "Our goal is to gauge effectiveness and better coordinate these programs. Over the next several months, we will be looking at the data to see what policies are working for students and where we can use taxpayers' dollars more efficiently."

According to the law, the grants would go to students majoring in physical, life or computer sciences, mathematics, technology or engineering, as determined by the secretary, or in a foreign language deemed "critical to the national security of the United States." Students could receive up to $4,000 in grant money through the program.

The department maintains that this is not a change in the federal role of overseeing education and that during this implementation phase it will work with the states and utilize much of their guidance, department spokesman Valerie Smith said.