Utah presses federal fight

A group of lawmakers voted Tuesday to continue the state's challenge of No Child Left Behind — but with new concerns whether the high-profile, states' rights battle could hurt students by jeopardizing funding or letting ethnic minorities slip through the cracks.

The questions, and assurances neither would happen, arose at the Education Interim Committee's public hearing on NCLB. The meeting was called to gear up for a special legislative session two weeks from now where HB135, which challenges NCLB's reach, will take center stage.

Federal officials did not attend the meeting, saying they were short-staffed and previously committed, legislative staff reported. But others, including the National Conference of State Legislatures, residents, school leaders and congressional staff members, chimed in — overwhelmingly in favor of Utah's quest.

"The clarity achieved in this meeting has been phenomenal," said committee co-chairman Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper.

The 2001 federal law aims to have all students, regardless of race, income or disability, reading and doing math well by 2014. It measures schools' annual progress toward the goal, and it red-flags schools where any one group of students isn't up to snuff. A main idea is to close the achievement gap between whites and ethnic minorities.

But the law's all-or-nothing approach has irritated Utah policymakers. They say education is constitutionally a state responsibility and that the federal government has overstepped.

They also think that U-PASS, the state's accountability system, is a superior way to hold schools accountable for student achievement. U-PASS includes the same tests as NCLB, plus more, and focuses on individual student growth, they note.

The state has been negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education to use U-PASS to comply with NCLB, plus other requests to loosen testing requirements for students with disabilities and who are learning to speak English.

Other recent requests, such as one to let the state decide whether elementary schoolteachers are highly qualified, have been granted — some speculate, because the state Legislature has rattled chains in Washington.

State Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, last year carried a bill to opt out of NCLB but backed off when federal officials told her the bill would cost the state $106 million in federal funds.

This year, she carried HB135, which would give Utah's educational goals priority over No Child Left Behind, particularly when it comes to directing resources and doing what state education leaders believe is best for students.