May 3rd, 2005, 10:22 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: 85249
Posts: 22,973
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Utah fights 'no child left behind' act...
Kinda ironic that utah, the state that backed President George W. Bush more resolutely than any other red state in the last election - is now the first to formally defy his proudest domestic achievement....
Quote:
Utah Snubs “No Child Left Behind”
May 3, 2005 7:07 p.m. EST
JASEN LEE, All Headline News Staff Writer
Salt Lake City, UT (AHN) – In a move that could cost the state $76 million in federal funding for education, Utah’s GOP Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. signs a bill to defy President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Act”.
In what is an overwhelmingly Republican state, Utah’s stance is considered the toughest against the controversial measure taken by any of the 15 states who have come out in opposition to it.
The bill allows state education officials to ignore federal guidelines that conflict with state standards.
State legislators are also using the measure to promote their opposition of federally unfunded mandates.
Utah lawmaker Tim Bridgewater says, "It empowers decision makers in the state education system, where there is conflict with federal law, to choose to follow the state objective first."
Bridgewater says he doubts Utah's stance will actually cost it any money.
He says only schools serving low-income students will have to wrestle over state and federal standards, which would target about 33% of schools.
The state will follow some standards such as informing parents when schools fail to meet minimum requirements and reporting schools' annual yearly progress toward a goal of having all students excel in reading and math for their grade levels.
If schools fall short, parents can send their kids to better performing schools in the same district or demand tutoring for their child.
No Child Left Behind compares the grade-level test scores of students to the students in the same grade level from previous years, but Utah prefers monitoring student achievement with U-PASS (Utah Performance Assessment System for Student) that measures achievement as students move from grade to grade.
The U.S. Department of Education says Utah's bill could result in the loss of funding if state educators forego away from federal standards.
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