Utah's largest teachers union Wednesday joined the National Education Association and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Bush Administration over its No Child Left Behind education policy.

The Utah Education Association, plus unions in eight other states and several school districts, are part of a lawsuit filed by the the 2.7 million-member NEA. The suit, which names U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings as the defendant, seeks to stop the education department from denying federal funds to school districts refusing to spend their own money to comply with NCLB regulations, the UEA announced.

"If you're going to mandate regulations under No Child Left Behind, you need to pay for those regulations to be taken care of, and that's not happening," UEA spokesman Mark Mickelsen said. "Teachers and parents are tired of federal regulations that drain money from classrooms and instead are required to be spent on paperwork and testing."

"Pontiac School District v. Spellings" was filed in U.S. District Court for eastern Michigan.

U.S. Department of Education press secretary Susan Aspey called the action regrettable.

"President Bush and Congress have provided historic funding increases for education, and yet we continue to hear the same weak arguments from the NEA. Four separate studies assert the law is appropriately funded and not a mandate," Aspey said in a prepared statement. "We intend to continue moving forward in partnership with national and state education leaders, and look forward to the day when the NEA will join us in helping children who need our help the most in classrooms, instead of spending its time and members' money in courtrooms."

The lawsuit, which the NEA calls a national first, notes NCLB itself says it shouldn't be interpreted as federal control of state or local education agencies or curriculum "or mandate a state or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act."

That NCLB clause was often cited at the Utah Legislature, which Tuesday met in special session and passed a bill challenging the law's reach into Utah public schools. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which prioritizes Utah education goals over NCLB.

"The benefit of this lawsuit is it's only asking for clarification. . . , asking that no money be taken from states and states not be forced to comply," said Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, who carried HB1001. "The fact that it's a clarification issue, it's going to benefit a lot of people."

NCLB aims to have all students, regardless of race, poverty or disability, reading and doing math well by 2014. Education officials say helping strugglers clear the bar will cost a lot more money than they're getting from the feds.

The NEA contends NCLB funding falls short $27 billion of the amount Congress was supposed to give states to meet the regulations since 2002.

In that sense, Utah ended up $27.4 million short this fiscal year, the UEA reports. In next year's proposed budget, Utah would come out $68.4 million short.

Utah, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas and Vermont are listed in the lawsuit as states where non-federal funds have been used to comply with the federal law.

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