The Constitution
Spending Clause
Congress's power to tax and spend for the general welfare. It funds programs Congress could not otherwise regulate directly, by attaching conditions to grants.
In full
Spending conditions are how much federal policy reaches areas reserved to the states, from highway funds tied to a drinking age to education grants tied to testing. Conditions must be unambiguous, related to the federal interest, and not so coercive as to amount to compulsion, the line the Court drew over Medicaid expansion in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012).
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.