"We are looking at it in a very general perspective," Schaff said. "The question is, how much does it cost to educate a child who is an illegal alien? I figure the cost to educate a child is probably a set cost."

The Office for Civil Rights did not immediately return phone calls for comment Tuesday.

Throughout the process, Clara said, the task force is looking for accountability to ensure students' civil rights are protected.

"If there is indeed an audit, they're going to tell us how they did it without violating federal law," he said. "I'm saying you cannot do it without violating federal law."

The audit also raised questions from Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the Utah Office of Education, who said the cost of educating children is much smaller than the cost of not educating them. She added that looking at individual costs of educating children is "simplistic," given the broad spectrum of Utah's schools and children.

"Is he in a Title I school? Is he a Title I student in a Title I school? Does he need special education?" Lear said. "There are so many variables."

Lear also raised concerns about any extrapolation from the general cost of educating a child to the cost of educating an undocumented child.

"How do you get the number of kids here if it's not legal to ask." she said. "Are you guessing that two-thirds of the Hispanic kids are here illegally?."

Morgan acknowledged that any efforts, including the education audit, may not be able to pin down the exact cost of illegal immigration. However, she said general numbers should be obtainable.

HB320 claims illegal immigration is contributing to rising costs in "identifying illegal immigrants, processing illegal immigrants through the criminal justice system, incarcerating illegal immigrants and providing education, medical assistance, health care and foster care for illegal immigrants."

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose office would be responsible for administering the legislation, said it would be tough to nail down the costs.

"Who in the heck is going to gather this information? What are the costs?" Shurtleff asked. "If we find there is some way to sue the federal government, how do you establish what those costs are?"

The bill is similar to a Colorado law passed last year. Shurtleff said he will be in contact with Colorado's attorney general, who is looking into that state's law.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com