From Deseret News archives:

Utahns hope to reform NCLB

Matheson bill would give more leeway to states

Published: Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007 12:19 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
WASHINGTON — As debate starts on Capitol Hill over the next federal education policy bill, Utah's congressional delegation is probing ways to give power back to the people who run local schools.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, introduced a bill last month that outlines changes to testing and gives flexibility to teacher requirements. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, has a panel of education experts working on recommendations on how to make the education law better, and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who was a high school teacher for almost 30 years, would rather allow Utah and other states to opt out of the federal rules and use federal money for education as it sees fit.

On Monday, the House Education and Labor Committee heard from 43 witnesses as part of reauthorization work on the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bush administration's controversial federal education bill.

The law, known as NCLB, seeks to have all children, regardless of race, native language, disability or income, reading and doing math on grade level by 2014. It requires annual reports on progress toward the goal of each student and school. If one student group doesn't meet state test score goals, then the whole school fails to make adequate yearly progress.

Story continues below
There are other parts to the law, too, like requiring a teacher be highly qualified to teach, meaning a major in the subject, and sanctions for low-income schools not meeting state goals. Education officials decry the regulations as a one-size-fits-all program that doesn't really fit in, say, rural areas where teachers teach many subjects at once and students with disabilities.

The state receives about $109 million a year under No Child Left Behind, mostly for low-income and disadvantaged children.

The Utah Legislature has talked about opting out of the program they largely view as trampling on states' rights to govern public education. Twice state lawmakers have examined bills to assert their position, both to hasty response from the U.S. Department of Education seeking their retreat.

But lawmakers nevertheless passed a law requiring state resources be put toward state — not federal — education goals.

Now Congress is trying to figure out how to fix the federal law.

"We still feel like the general nature of the bill must be changed to restore the control of public schools to states and to their state leaderships," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington said.

Recent comments

Bishop has a bill that's not going anywhere; it's going to die...

Hawk | Sept. 11, 2007 at 5:52 p.m.

Thank you Chris Cannon for taking up this issue. Matheson has simply...

Iron | Sept. 11, 2007 at 2:41 p.m.

It is all the Democates fault because NCLB was a system devised by...

Swrl | Sept. 11, 2007 at 10:49 a.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

My family has know Mark for nearly 20 years. When I found out that he was...

I didn't know him and probably would have hated what he has done. I started...

Protests against Phoenix LDS temple

And you know this why??? I guess your degree in sociology? Or maybe your vast...

"Why would anybody vote for someone who had friends and associates like...

Girls basketball rankings

Wow..Wasach number one in 3A...and no mention of Emery when the State...

Utah sells most 'New Moon' tickets

Try some reality girls, maybe your life would change. Living in a fantasy...

It sad that people don't look at this the way they should. These were just...

Thank you all for reading my posts. I grew up in AZ and then went to the U of...

America is tired of ANTI religious zealots, trying to force therr...

3A: Juan Diego's last-gasp play

I think that you're in for a big surprise. You've already got losing in your...

Advertisements