Leaders seeking answers from D.C.

Legislative leaders hope that a visit from White House officials could help calm the dispute over the No Child Left Behind Act.

"I hope they'll come with some ideas about how to implement this program," House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said Wednesday during a weekly question-and-answer session with the media. "I like their willingness to come and talk."

The sit-down with federal officials was prompted by HB43, sponsored by Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, which seeks to give the state the option to opt out of the federally mandated education reforms. The meeting is planned for Friday.

Senate President Al Mansell said that the bill may have gotten the attention of the White House because it reflects frustrations that have been expressed by a number of less-populated states.

"There needs to be some flexibility in rural schools," Mansell, R-Sandy, said. "It is not unique to Utah. It is a problem that can probably be found in most states with large rural populations."

Although neither Mansell nor Stephens had prepared comments for the session, they did respond to reporters' questions on a variety of topics:

• Parental Rights: The almost 30 bills dealing with parental rights have been given to a joint Senate and House work group, which will review all of the bills to attempt to combine them into a reform package that "makes sense," Mansell said. He expected that bills would start moving out of the group and into committees soon.

• Arbitration: Mansell said that he still expects to see a bill this session, although he expects it will be part of a compromise that is currently being negotiated between both sides, including Intermountain Health Care and the various pro- and anti-arbitration groups that have formed. He said that there could be an announcement about the compromise next week.

---

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com